Re: Need a publisher

[Lourdes Perez <lperezwritestranslates@gmail.com>]

My friend (I don't know you, but I was a home school mom of a teen who has
been accepted at Iowa State, and I am a journalist), your idea is wonderful
and valuable.
nevertheless, never put your valuable creative stuff in vehicles like these,
unless you register them first at the USA Office of Copyrights. My husband
is a copyrights lawyer and has seen many writers, artists and crative people
lost their creations becase they share it with strangers before registering
them.
A bit of advice from the heart.
Lorudes Perez-Ramirez

On Thu, Apr 23, 2009 at 2:50 PM, ElsaHaas <ElsaHaas@si.rr.com> wrote:

> I'd like to publish a case study about my own son.
>
>
>
> Tentative title: My Son the "Late Reader".
>
>
>
> Does anyone have a contact for me in the publishing world?
>
>
>
> The book GNYS AT WRK (Harvard University Press, I think first published in
> 1980 and still in print) is somewhat similar, except for two things. First,
> the author's child was in school and mine isn't (we homeschool/unschool).
> Second, her book is about how her son learned to write, while my manuscript
> is mostly about how my son learned to read (at age 8).
>
>
>
> You can see a description of GNYS AT WRK here:
>
> http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/BISGNX.html
>
>
>
> The potential audience for my book is anyone who might want to see a case
> study of a child who was not pressured (much) to learn to read and did so
> anyway (so that's not only homeschooling/ unschooling parents, but
> professors of education, elementary school teachers, linguists, etc.).
>
>
>
> My book would be unusual in that books by homeschool parents often mention
> "late reading", but don't give many details. (They tend to say something
> like, "At age X it just clicked.")
>
>
>
> Following are some excerpts, all of them from the official homeschool
> paperwork I filed with NYC for "first grade" and "second grade".
>
>
>
> EXCERPT #1 ("first grade"):
>
>
>
> Trying to "blend" letter sounds together leaves him dubious that such a
> tortuous process could ever result in a word. He recognizes most of the
> letters by sight, but sometimes confuses letter names with their sounds -
> thinking, for example, that the letter "w" makes the sound "duh" (this is,
> in fact, a reasonable error). He can copy letters with some difficulty, but
> doesn't consistently remember how to write them on his own (saying, for
> example, "Is the H the one with the line that goes straight across?") Since
> we are unschoolers, we avoid quizzing him and do not require him to do any
> "practice" at all. We are prepared to wait for Tyler to learn to read and
> write in his own time, however long that takes.
>
>
>
> I am not unaware of the controversy surrounding methods of reading
> instruction. I recently read all or much of each of the following books:
> Why
> Johnny Can't Read, Reading Without Nonsense, Reading With Phonics (Hay,
> Wingo), The Reading Reflex, Why Our Children Can't Read, and Gnys At Wrk.
> Before Tyler's "first-grade" year began, we had also tried the Bob Books
> (he
> wanted me to read them all aloud to him, which somewhat defeated their
> purpose); Saxon Phonics K (one video lesson on the letter "L", which he
> never wanted to pursue further); and How to Teach Your Child to Read In 100
> Easy Lessons (we didn't get through even one lesson of that).
>
>
>
> In other words, we know what's available in terms of instructional
> materials
> for reading, and we aren't denying Tyler access to it. But I know a number
> of unschooling families in which a child didn't learn to read until
> somewhere between the ages of 8 and 12, and the extensive literature on
> unschooling (in the modern era) - dating back some thirty years - recounts
> the stories of many more. In unschooling, "late reading" doesn't bring with
> it the two disadvantages it might in school - the child isn't labeled, and
> the lack of reading skill isn't an insurmountable barrier to the
> acquisition
> of other knowledge. In an unschooling family (or in an unconventional
> school
> like, for example, the Albany Free School), fluent reading is not always
> attained in a gradual, linear fashion. Instead, there may be an "Aha!"
> moment that leads to a rapid "catching up" to peers. Since many children
> leave conventional school competent in reading, but hating books, we feel
> it's worth the wait.
>
>
>
> EXCERPT #2 ("first grade"):
>
>
>
> I'm going to give a detailed description of Tyler's reactions to the
> Chronicles of Narnia series, because my reading aloud to him may continue
> to
> be the backbone of what we do for some time to come, and I feel the need to
> justify (for the record) our indulging in it rather than pushing "phonics
> instruction".
>
>
>
> In the first book or two of the Narnia series, Tyler spontaneously and
> proudly picked out the words "Witch" and "King" and a couple of others (all
> with initial letters capitalized, I think). After that, he stopped picking
> words out (at least for my benefit). While I read, he sometimes balances
> atop the back of the sofa, pacing back and forth along it, or jumps
> repeatedly onto the sofa seat from the armrest. Even when he is still, he
> doesn't often look at the text. This doesn't concern me, since it's his
> enjoyment of the book and his developing comprehension that most matters,
> rather than whatever he may be picking up about letter-sound relationships.
>
>
>
>
> He occasionally asks what a word means, but this is rare. It happened, for
> example, when Lucy was standing on the deck of the Dawn Treader (in Book 3,
> Chapter XII). I read: "At first it looked like a cross, then it looked like
> an aeroplane, then it looked like a kite, and at last with a whirring of
> wings it was right overhead and was an albatross." Tyler immediately asked,
> "What's THAT?"
>
>
>
> In such cases, I refrain from giving him "teacherly" hints ("Well, if she
> can hear the whirring of the wings, what do you think it is?"). I assume he
> wants the most informative quick description I can give him so that he can
> picture the thing in his mind, right there in the gap that has opened in
> the
> scene. So I just answer the question - "It's kind of like a seagull, but a
> lot bigger."
>
>
>
> More often, he asks no questions at all and I can only assume he
> understands
> enough not to want to interrupt the flow of a story with vocabulary words.
> At one point (Book 4, Chapter XIV) the gnomes of the underworld are
> hurriedly flinging themselves into the rift that leads into the depths of
> Bism as it quickly closes forever: The text reads: "The chasm was now no
> broader than a stream. Now it was narrow as the slit in a pillar-box. Now
> it
> was only an intensely bright thread. Then, with a shock like a thousand
> goods trains crashing into a thousand pairs of buffers, the lips of rock
> closed." In those four sentences are two words ("pillar-box" and "buffers")
> I'm sure he wouldn't know if quizzed, and another ("goods trains") he'd
> probably never heard, though he might have been able to work out that a
> goods train must be a train that carries stuff. But three unknown words in
> four sentences were not enough to cause him to ask a question, nor to ruin
> his enjoyment of the story.
>
>
>
> I must have read phrases like "drew his sword" or "drew their swords" ten
> or
> more times before he finally asked what that meant (he may have been
> imagining the characters pointing their swords at someone, holding them up
> over their shoulders ready to strike, etc.). Evidently he's adept at using
> contextual clues to keep going. (See Appendix B for a quote on how children
> really learn new words.)
>
>
>
> How do I know that he really does understand much of what he's hearing, and
> isn't just faking comprehension? There is no reason for him to fake it,
> because listening to books isn't something he does in order to get out of
> doing something else, (like filling out worksheets). Our lack of academic
> requirements makes it possible to use his free choice of read-aloud
> material
> as a guide to understanding what he understands.
>
>
>
> Not surprisingly, Tyler doesn't pick up on everything a more experienced
> reader might.
>
>
>
> I read (in Book 3, Chapter VI): "He [Eustace] saw two thin columns of smoke
> going up before his eyes [.] This was so alarming that he held his breath.
> The two columns of smoke vanished. When he could hold his breath no longer
> he let it out stealthily; instantly two jets of smoke appeared again. But
> even yet he had no idea of the truth. [.] He began extending his right arm.
> The dragon's foreleg and claw on his right went through exactly the same
> motion. Then he thought he would try his left. The dragon limb on that side
> moved, too. Two dragons, one on each side, mimicking whatever he did!"
> Somewhere in here I began nudging Tyler and making "Aha! Huh, huh?" noises.
> But he remained convinced that Eustace was indeed flanked by two dragons -
> right up until the author explained what was really going on.
>
>
>
> EXCERPT #3 ("first grade"):
>
>
>
> He does occasionally ask a question or make a comment that shows he is
> learning more about letters and sounds. He asked (pointing to the ad for
> EXO-FORCE, a series of Lego toys), "What does this say?" and then "Why does
> it have a E instead of just a X?"
>
>
>
> He held up an envelope from Chase Bank and said, "This says Chase." I
> asked,
> "How did you know that?" and he answered, "Because I know the logo." But
> then he added, "Anyway, I know what letters make the CH- sound." I couldn't
> resist asking, "Which ones?" He had to take the envelope back and examine
> it
> to answer, but did so correctly.
>
>
>
> At the same time, he seems to have "regressed" in his knowledge of letter
> names. Recently, in Brooklyn, he spelled out loud the words on numerous
> signs to me, but inserted "I dunno" every time he came to a letter he was
> unsure of. These included lowercase "n", "u" and "r" (admittedly
> similar-looking), uppercase "N", and many others. I think that as he moves
> toward sounding words out, he finds it increasingly difficult to hold in
> his
> mind both the letter name and the letter sound. So an apparent "regression"
> is really a sign of growth.
>
>
>
> As far as I can remember, Tyler hasn't written anything at all this
> quarter.
>
>
>
>
> Finally, Tyler's verbal skills are excellent, even though if you listen
> closely (when, for example, he's trying to reproduce a set phrase), he
> still
> says things like: "His own worstest enemy is heself." We avoid correcting
> his speech, trusting that he will self-correct in time (and aware of the
> notorious experiment in which children at an orphanage were induced to
> stutter through constant correction of their speech).
>
>
>
> EXCERPT #4 ("second grade"):
>
>
>
> Tyler brought me a Pokemon card and said, "This says 'Armored Dragon'." He
> was excited, saying he had figured it out himself. He was still excited
> when
> I told him it actually said, "Armed Dragon." He argued that it should
> really
> say "Armored" because the creature had spikes and plates. I wrote "ARM" and
> read it to him, then made it into "ARMOR." I started to make it into
> "ARMORED", but he grabbed the pen away before I had finished the "D." I
> struggled with him for the pen initially, then caught myself and paused. He
> began talking about the different words. I then held my thumb over the "OR"
> and said that when I covered that part up it said "ARMED". He took the pen
> and circled the "OR" and said, "Like that it says 'ARMED.'"
>
>
>
> I explained that most people would cross out, rather than circling, to get
> rid of letters. He started crossing out and ended up vigorously eliminating
> the whole word. This was a mixed bag as an unschooling incident. I'm not
> sure I backed off quickly enough - I may have caused the energetic crossing
> out. But I did stop myself before telling him, "And this is 'FARM'" - I
> wrote it on a fresh sheet of paper and in the nick of time decided to just
> leave it on the table. He didn't notice it.
>
>
>
> For some reason one day I noticed that he'd said "brang" (for "brought").
> He
> had in the past used "bringed", and I don't know when this changed.
> Thinking
> back, I remember that on another occasion he'd said, "I seen it on TV" and
> I'd almost corrected him - probably because this sounds like a disfavored
> dialect to me rather than a child's mistake. After I stopped myself, I
> realized that he had at some point moved from "seed" to "seen" - in his own
> process of self-correction that will surely end someday in "saw."
>
>
>
> EXCERPT #5 ("second grade"):
>
>
>
> On one occasion (maybe because he was nervous and had been feeling
> pressured
> to sound words out), he tried to sound out the word "a" (pronouncing it
> like
> the "a" in "cat").
>
>
>
> On another occasion, he pointed to the word "log" as I read The Call of the
> Wild to him, and said, "That says 'ice'." I know he confuses "i" with
> lowercase "l" and uses the length of the word as a guide, so this
> misreading
> startled me for only a moment.
>
>
>
> EXCERPT 6 ("second grade"):
>
>
>
> One phrase he used recently got to me a little. He said, "But I am reading
> better now, right Mommy? I'm out of the woods." I don't know when he picked
> up that expression or whether it means "danger" to him. He added something
> about the fact that there are bushes in the woods, but I didn't catch it
> before he went on to something else.
>
>
>
> January 14 or 15: He saw the work shift schedule for the Food Coop on my
> computer and knew I was talking about which day was which. He said, in a
> warning tone, "Okay, I am TOTALLY guessing this, all right? But I think
> that
> says: 'Saturday.' And that says 'Sunday Only.' " (I'm not sure whether he
> recognizes the word "only" on his own, or whether I had just used it
> aloud.)
>
>
>
> January 17: His dad told me that Tyler knows how the word "war" is spelled
> and thinks "door" should be spelled "D-A-R." Tyler said, shrugging his
> shoulders, "English is totally crazy." His dad commented that the two words
> were probably from different languages. Later Tyler told me that he knew
> the
> word "war" from the computer game Civilization. I said, "Well, door is
> spelled a lot like floor." Tyler said, "I know! F-O-O-R!" I said, "You're
> missing a sound in there. How about the .?" [I made the sound "L" makes]."
> Tyler said, "F-O-O-R-L." I said, "That sound doesn't go right at the end,
> though." He guessed, "F-O-O-L-R." Finally I told him, regretting having
> pushed.
>
>
>
> January 18: He came to me with his Pokemon book and said, "Does this say,
> 'Fire Maker Pokemon'? (It really said "Fire Mouse Pokemon.") A few minutes
> later he came running back, saying, "Look, this is the same word here! It
> says, 'Thunder Mouse Pokemon'!"  (It really said "Tiny Mouse Pokemon.")
>
>
>
> Later the same day: He asked what "infamous" means (when I was reading
> Cedar
> B. Hartley to him). He asked what "inevitable" means (when his grandma was
> reading him the funnies).
>
>
>
> EXCERPT #7 ("second grade"):
>
>
>
> June 22: I was busy doing my e-mail and Tyler wanted to get my attention,
> so
> started trying to read (in reality, remember) words on the milk carton that
> I had read to him at his request in the past. When he pointed out that he
> could tell the difference between "carbohydrate" and "cholesterol" because
> the former has a "b" in it, he pointed to the "d". I pointed out that it
> has
> both a "b" and a "d". I then remarked that "cholesterol" is a weird word
> because you'd expect the "ch" to make the same sound as at the beginning of
> "chocolate" (a word he has recognized in the past). He said, "Oh, I know
> how
> it works! Listen -" and then, running his finger along under the word, he
> said something that sounded like "cohesterol", with a heavy, throaty
> emphasis on the "h" sound. So much for my point about the "h" being silent.
>
>
>
> ----------
>
>
>
> I hope those excerpts have given you the flavor of the book. These days my
> son (who just turned 10) reads (on his own initiative and of his own free
> will) five-hundred-page novels like Firestar's Quest and Dragonrider.
>
>
>
> Please get back to me if you have any publishing contacts. (I'm also
> considering self-publishing, maybe through Lulu.com.)
>
>
>
> Elsa Haas (in NYC)
>
>


-- 
Lourdes Perez Ramirez