The Brain and Heart of Instant Reader

Teacher Vicki

It’s undeniable, teaching runs in our blood… from my list of grandmas, grandpas, aunties, uncles and older cousins almost everyone is a teacher. It was something that I was trying to run from years back, knowing how hard and difficult the task is but somewhere along the road, I found myself caught into the intricate beauty of teaching and the priceless value that it brings. My mom never ever forced anyone of us to teach.She never taught us how to do it but her passion and undying commitment made us catch the positive influence that it bears.

Now, I carry the torch of her legacy and fully support her steadfast rally in deeply inculcating the power of reading and the love for learning into the fabric and hem of every child’s early learning foundation. This became more meaningful when I had my daughter, my very first child. Being a teacher and a first time mom, I wanted to give everything of value to her young life. When she turned four there was nothing more important to me but to let her learn how to read. I basked on telling her stories and can’t wait to see and hear her read books on her own.

Years back, I have no idea what formula or how exactly will a child learn how to read. After all I was teaching high school students who of course are already readers. What I only know is to just teach the alphabet, memorize every letter, sing the song and lo, reading would transpire! I was so frustrated when the formula that I have known to be accepted and practiced globally didn’t get the result I was expecting. Yes, my daughter memorized every letter, sang and entertained our visitors with the tune but reading never happened. I got hold of many more children’s books from the bookstore, chose the ones with loads of pictures and was so happy seeing and hearing her identify the many objects and letters she could point and say. But it was all from her memory, reading never happened.

Well, just like any other mom, you wouldn’t give up for your child. I started to analyze, research and find the answers to my many questions about what and how a child could genuinely read. There were sleepless nights, piles of books and readings, scattered papers on the floor and many trial and error self-made drills and exercises I have to juggle and put together. They were never wasted. All these lead to what Instant Reader™ is today. While working and developing the program, there’s just one thing that I have strongly proven---teaching the Alphabet first totally delays the way a child learns to read. It is a big trap… the culprit that hinders a child from genuinely learning the skill the fastest and most effective way.

My daughter had to wait for a year to learn to read words and sentences on her own. I can’t contain my happiness hearing her enjoy reading books on her own. I focused more on her as I was so excited to see her through and apply the new found skill in her next level of learning.

It was my son who was already 5 years old then ( second child) who experienced the 20- day eureka thing! My husband was my first teacher trainee. I just told him to follow my rules and make sure that all the given strategies work. Just 30 minutes a day for 20 days was what he needed to devote for our son. . He had no choice. After all he would be teaching our very own son to read. The result he got was more than an accomplishment. It was such a big pride for a first time, non-teacher( he was in sales and marketing profession then) to teach his own son to read.

Now many are asking me why teach reading in hurry? Twenty days of learning it for four year old kids? That’s totally impossible! You are going against the norm! I just listened. I do understand and know where they are coming from.

In our fast-paced driven world, we cannot afford to just be complacent and see our children being robbed of their need to develop and acquire skills that would ensure them of a strong basic foundation in learning. With our unpredictable economic survival state, the choice to be with our children in their most crucial and formative years are oftentimes sacrificed and even replaced by temporal gadgets and “modern caregivers” ---boob tubes, computers, internet, Ipads, 24/7 cartoon network, tekkie games and never-ending telenovelas daily.

We cannot fully protect them but we need to move fast and be open to alternatives and innovations. Everyone is pressured to accomplish and produce more in lesser time, however, READING, as the very basic core to learning has taken a back seat. It struggled in coping with the so-called “e-living” we are in. It settled on how the usual and globally accepted strategy has established.

This is the very reason why I took the challenge, put all the system and innovative strategies in place which gave birth of a new category in teaching reading--- INSTANT READER™.

If our kids can quickly move along with the innovations of media and technology and if a child can utter words and mimic sounds, if he can see and distinguish things, if he has all the natural faculties to respond to his surroundings, then there is no reason why teaching him to read early has to be delayed. Not teaching the alphabet first makes it very possible to fast track the learning of reading.NO DOUBT that they can successfully match with the proven, research-based, values-laden and child friendly approach of Instant Reader™.

The need to intervene and expedite the way we teach our kids to read allow us to be three steps ahead in enticing and leading them to enjoy life, get-hooked and enter into the world of so much possibilities. With thousands of learners (and counting) not only here in the Philippines but across our Asian borders who already learned to read and speak through Instant Reader™, nothing could make us retract from our claim- “Let your child read and speak in English in just 20 days or your MONEY BACK!”

It’s very true that every vision written and done in faith will always come to pass and it is bound to give birth to bigger vision and more noble mission. I felt a deeper sense of responsibility, genuine understanding and heavy burden to reach out more not only to the less fortunate kids who need to learn to read but to the many parents who have children with learning difficulties rooted to Reading. Instant Reader now offers its program and services not only to non-readers but the many struggling readers who are already trapped inside the walls of their classrooms, silently craving and crying for help— the Dyslexics. Statistics reveal that 20% of the population is affected but never diagnosed. At Instant Reader™, we give them hope by helping unlock the keys that would allow them to finally own the skill to READ.