Reading Is Hard

Teaching the boy to read is a rewarding but arduous task. I’ve never thought about it before, because I never had to. But as I’ve been sitting and helping him to sound out words and the like, I’ve come to realize just how difficult reading English is.

The main reason is because there are no rules when it comes to reading. There is no pattern to be deduced. Sure, certain letters have certain sounds, but that’s almost meaningless beyond the most simple “Dick and Jane” type story. For instance, what sound does the letter ‘y’ make? Here’s a hint: the first response to answer that question is “Where is it in the word?” And that before we get to what happens when you stick certain other letters in front of it.

One of the rules I learned was the “Silent E” rule. That’s the one where if word ends with a ‘e’ then a previous vowel uses it’s long sound. For instance, ‘rule’ or ‘blade.’ Of course, then there’s words like ‘have’ or ‘come’. Guess we can toss that one…

How about certain letter combinations? So far, the only one I’ve found that has been consistent is ‘ight’ as in ‘fright’, ‘fight’, and so forth. Luckily, we haven’t come across ‘freight’ or ‘straight’. What’s that? ‘ough’ making a long ‘o’ sound like in ‘dough’ or ‘though?’ Hmmm. I’ll have to think that one ‘through’ and give it some more ‘thought.’ Even simpler combinations like ‘er’ or ‘ea’ or even ‘ed’ can be inconsistent.

Ugh.

So, ultimately, I suppose the answer comes down to practice, practice, practice. Or in a word- work. It takes a lot of work and a lot of reading. My guess is there’s a threshold beyond which his progress will accelerate. When that happens is anybody’s guess. Being able to recognize 1000 words? 5000?

He gets frustrated as well. Sometimes he can read 4 or 5 sentences without help. Then he’ll get stuck on a simple four-letter word or he needs help sounding out every-other word in a sentence. All the encouragement in the world is useless at that point because, where’s the reward? What’s the immediate benefit to him struggling through that stuff? All he’s got is a parent that won’t just pronounce it for him; meanwhile, his brain is turning into mush trying to blend sounds. Where’s the fun in that?

So after all that, I suppose I should come to a point. Problem is, I can’t. It’s just an observation I’ve made. Perhaps mileage varies with this stuff. Certainly if the kid has an eidetic memory, they’d be at an advantage. For the rest of us, it’s just a slog to work this whole English language thing out.