In comp.mobile.android, on Wed, 11 Sep 2019 08:30:06 -0400, Ralph Mowery
wrote:

In article , NONONOmisc07
says...

OT How old are you and how were you taught to read?

I heard a very interesting radio show tonight, and apparently the same
fight about how to teach reading, that was going on at least since 1951
is still going on


Things are much different now.

With computers children are learning to read and spell much younger.
About 40 years ago I had a radio shack computer. I made my son learn
the letters and how to spell some things to get the games up on the
computer. That was way before the 'point ad click' of the mouse system.
All we had was a keyboard.

My grandson did much the same and also he watched much TV and learned
how to spell many things off the TV shows he watched.

When I started the 1st grade I doubt I had even learned the alphabit.
We did the old readers with 'Dick and Jane,. The 'See Dick run. See
Jane run.

Yes, I think we had the same book, and afaict, no one knew a single
letter before first grade started. There was kindergarten - my best
friend and I didn't go, but some did -- but aiui it was for playing, and
learning to play with others, and not for book learnin'.

My mother used to read to my 7-year older brother, and I think he looked
over her shoulder and learned to read without her trying to teach him.
He skipped the first grade and was in a grade where all the boys and
probably the girls were bigger than he was. I don't know details but it
didn't seem to work out well.

So she was careful not to teach me a thing.

Some time in December, my parents went to my mother's best friend and
her husband's house. My brother was picking on me, nothing serious but
I didnt' like it. So I looked the Fisher's number up in the phonebook
and I called to talk to my mother. They were all so impressed that I
could do that. I was sort of mystified. What was the point of going
to school for 3.5 months if not to learn how to read? (And to cipher.)