For most of its long history in English, the adjective 'literate' has meant only ‘familiar with literature, well-educated, well-read, learned, lettered’. It comes from the Latin word littera, ‘letter’.

‘Lettered’ means versed (experienced or skilled) in literature and science.

This definition can be found in antique dictionaries such as Samuel Johnson’s 1785 Dictionary of the English Language, or Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. The 1895 Lloyd’s Encyclopaedic Dictionary also contains this definition. It was always implied and understood that a literate person could read and write, and could understand what they were reading and writing. It was a given.

Fast-forward 130 years, and this definition has practically vanished from modern dictionaries. In fact, as we scan through dictionaries from the early 1900s to present time (2022), this definition begins to disappear early on in the 1920s, and is no longer readily found in modern dictionaries except in very large dictionaries such as the twenty-volume Oxford English Dictionary or the likes of Webster’s Third New International Dictionary.

The result? The principal definitions for ‘literacy’ and ‘literate’ now found in most modern dictionaries only refer to the basic ability to read and write; a definition which has never existed until very recently.

From the late 1800s to the present, a literate person has gone from being well-educated, learned, well-read, lettered, well versed in literature and science to just ‘being able to read and write’; to utter some sounds off a page, and write or type some symbols, without necessarily having any understanding of it at all!

And herein lies the crux of the matter: the expectation to read and write with understanding has but disappeared from our education systems. Parroting, mechanically repeating or paraphrasing texts and facts, without understanding and critical thinking, so as to pass exams or get a certificate or appear intelligent in life or at work, on the likes of social media, seems to be the order of the day!

The negative repercussions of this huge change can no longer be ignored.

Although statistically the literacy level of the world's population (based on the current definition) has steadily increased globally over the past 50 years (yet according to the United Nations, there are still 773 million illiterate adults in the world) the educational standard of Western education has been steadily declining for several decades to a point where we find ourselves in a dire situation of rampant ‘functional illiteracy’ - a state of being not literate enough to function in life or in a job, or even get a job. It is estimated that there may be up to one billion functionally illiterate individuals globally, in addition to the 773 million illiterate adults. There are over 40 million functionally illiterates in the United States alone.

Then there is the category of ‘hidden illiterates’ which are those people who, while seemingly normal in their intelligence, yet have numerous terms and words that are misunderstood, causing them to make mistakes, alter instructions, make financial errors that can cost millions of dollars, and get into arguments and upsets (especially with their bosses and co-workers). These also number in the millions.

Those students passing their maths and English exams who yet cannot function in a college or university or work place, who cannot write a simple sentence correctly and cannot do simple sums are typical examples of functional or hidden illiterates.

So yes, while more people can read and write, the ability to derive full comprehension of what is being read or listened to is on a steep downward curve. True literacy based on the original meaning of the word is being continually undermined.

Illiteracy in its various forms directly affects a person’s ability to communicate and to receive communications. It hinders the person from understanding what they read and hear and often cause them to communicate, verbally or in writing, in such a way that they cannot be easily understood by others. It effectively hinders and impedes their ability to independently think for themselves.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 

What happened? What is at the back of this heart-breaking mess?

It’s very simple. The inception of the Prussian Model of education in the early 1800s and its swift spread across the West, together with the advent of the new subject of psychology in 1879 and the incursion of psychiatry into the field of education, are time coincident with the calculated alteration and dilution of what it means to be literate. These three factors combined to begin a chain reaction of events which would cause the complete decline of education in developed and developing countries that we are experiencing today.

The Prussian Model of Education

It is not a commonly known fact that the education system used in most of the world today is based upon a Prussian public education system, usually referred to as the Prussian Model, introduced in the early 1800s for producing obedient soldiers (Prussia was a former state of current day Germany).

Shortly after several crushing defeats by Napoleon at the beginning of the 1800s, Prussia’s political and military elite came to the bizarre conclusion that the independent thinking and the individualistic spirit among Prussian fighters and soldiers was in fact a root cause and major contributing factor to their defeat. Consequently, the Prussian elite began a programme aimed at reducing the 'aliveness', intelligence and independent thinking in the majority of the citizenry. The goal was to make the bulk of the population compliant servants rather than free individuals who could think for themselves, and create and enrich the Prussian culture. Such a perverse goal could only be accomplished via the mechanisms of education. American educator John Taylor Gatto provides a description of the reforms and the social transformation that resulted [1]:

The familiar three-tier system of education emerged in the Napoleonic era with one private tier and two government ones. At the top, one half or one percent of the students attended Akademiensschulen , where, as future policy makers, Prussians learned to think strategically, contextually, in wholes; they learned complex processes, and useful knowledge, studied history, wrote copiously, argued often, and read deeply, and mastered tasks of command.

The next level, Realsschulen, was intended mostly as a manufactory for the professional proletariat of engineers, architects, doctors, lawyers, career civil servants, and such other assistants as policy thinkers at times would require. From 5 to 7.5 percent of all students attended these 'real schools', learning in a superficial fashion how to think in context, but mostly learning how to manage materials, men and situations – to be problem solvers. This group would also staff the various policing functions of the state, bringing order to the domain. Finally, at the bottom of the pile, a group between 92 and 94 percent of the population attended Volksschulen or 'people’s schools', where they learned obedience, cooperation and correct attitudes, along with rudiments of literacy and official state myths of history.

This universal system of compulsory schooling was up and running by 1819, and soon became the eighth wonder of the world, promising for a brief time – in spite of its exclusionary layered structure – liberal education for all. But this early dream was soon abandoned. This particular utopia had a different target than human equality; it aimed instead for frictionless efficiency. From its inception, Volksschulen , the people’s school, heavily discounted reading because 'reading produced dissatisfaction', it was thought. Reading offered too many windows onto better lives, too much familiarity with better ways of thinking. It was a gift unwise to share with those permanently consigned to low station; thus was created a standard of virtual illiteracy formally taught under state church auspices.

Wilhelm Wundt

Up until the second half of the 19th century, the subjects of learning, education and knowledge were very much within the purview of philosophy, and were rightly studied by philosophers and religious men.

Indeed, we find throughout history men and women who, while dedicated to their religion, also made significant contributions to the secular (non-religious) world at large and to the betterment of mankind.

Just to mention a few notable examples, there is Noah Webster (1758-1843), a ‘born-again’ Christian and the father of the American dictionary and the American system of copyright laws. In 1783, Webster published a little book entitled Blue Back Speller which sold 100 million copies and taught many notable Americans to read, such as Frederick Douglass and Booker T Washington.

Another example is Joseph Priestley (1733-1804), who was a minister in Leeds, England. He was also the chemist who discovered pure oxygen, something essential to hospitals and respiratory care patients.

Many of the most well-known institutions of higher learning were founded by men of strong religious conviction. Harvard, for example, established in 1636, became an official college when minister and philanthropist, John Harvard, gifted it with his entire library and half his estate. Morehouse College in Atlanta, the largest private liberal arts college for men in the US, was started in the basement of a Baptist Church by Dr William Jefferson White, a Baptist minister. Morehouse College’s most famous graduate, Dr Martin Luther King, employed the philosophy of another religious figure, Mahatma Gandhi, and changed the face and future of the American with his philosophy of non-violent human rights. Another example is Christ's College in Cambridge, England, which was first established as God's House in 1437 by William Byngham, a London parish priest, for training grammar school masters.

And of course, let's not forget the famous, ancient Greek Academy, or Academia, founded in Athens by the philosopher Plato in around 387 BC, where he taught many students. The Greek philosopher Aristotle studied there for twenty years before founding his own school, the Lyceum.

However, in 1879, philosophy and religion suffered an unexpected incursion which would have devastating consequences and global repercussions to this present day. In that very year, German physiologist Wilhelm Wundt opened the Institute for Experimental Psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany.

Wundt separated the study of the human soul from philosophy by proposing the theory that Man was an animal and could be completely studied and understood by studying material things only, that it was just all a matter of brain cells. He believed that studying the soul or spirit was a waste of time because a man could be studied in the same way that a rat or monkey could be studied. He was the first person ever to call himself a psychologist. It is rather ironic considering that the word ‘psychology’ means ‘the study of the soul’ from the Greek word psyche, meaning ‘the soul’. But to this day, psychologists do not study the soul or the spirit or the mind. They study behaviour and stimulus-response and brain cells (a misguided idea that the brain is the mind, which it isn’t).

One of Wundt’s students was Russian physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, best known for his demonstration that a dog will salivate when a bell rings, if he was fed earlier at the same time as a bell ringing. This laid the principles of ‘mental conditioning’ and the idea that humans could be conditioned like dogs. Sadly, through the course of the following decades and guided by the fallacy that humans are simply animals and therefore can be controlled like animals, Pavlov’s conditioning theories found numerous applications in behavioural therapy, across experimental and clinical environments, and in educational classrooms. [2]

Thorndike and Dewey

Western education began its descent in earnest around the time that American educational psychologists John Dewey (1859-1952) and Edward Thorndike (1879-1949) introduced their theories on learning and behaviour in humans, the crux of which was derived from a Wundtian offshoot of Pavlov. [2]

Thorndike developed his theories by studying learning and behaviour in animals, particularly cats (following in the footsteps of Wundt and Pavlov). Now, how can one somehow connect human learning to the learning behaviour of cats is quite the mystery! However, by that time, the philosophical fields of learning and knowledge (epistemology) had been thoroughly highjacked by psychology.

Thorndike’s view of a school was not simply as a place of learning, but an institution for social adjustment, or more precisely for ‘controlling human nature and changing it to the advantage of the commonweal [welfare of the public]’.

Thorndike also believed that humans required moulding to a civilised status, because humans were not civilised at all. And here is the turning point: suddenly and universally, the psychological shaping of a child was considered far more important that the teaching of any traditional subject such as reading, writing or arithmetic, because humans were now apparently ‘uncivilised’! [2]

Dewey’s views were not too dissimilar. He disdained religion, tradition, and inherited values, claiming that such beliefs were at least signs of unintelligent thinking and, at worst, outright oppression by the wealthy and powerful. Considered a somewhat nihilistic view (a viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless), Dewey also rejected religion and traditional values in favour of encouraging perpetual experimentation via the scientific method. Numerous readily available studies and books expound the catastrophic consequences of Dewey’s theories and practices on the American educational system. [3] I encourage you to do your own research.

Western education’s dwindling spiral had indeed begun and has continued unhindered to present day, at a vertiginous rate, where we find our 21st century Western educational systems wholly concerned with classroom and child behaviour, along with the myriad of psychobabble and nonsense that has supplanted real teaching, real education and real learning which for millennia was within the purview of philosophy.

But if that wasn’t enough, there’s more. With its world-wide network of soul-sucking tendrils, the true villain of the piece has insidiously infiltrated not only all aspects of education in developed and developing countries but also all major walks of modern life.

The Scourge of Psychiatry

Psychiatry, the purported study and treatment of mental illness, emotional disturbance, and abnormal behaviour, has been with us for centuries if not perhaps millennia, under different guises and names, but with us nonetheless.

From the Bethlem Royal Hospital (also known as Bedlam for its barbarism), the first and oldest psychiatric hospital in the world founded in 1247, to the Medieval witch hunts across Europe for around 300 years, to the invention of drapetomania (a ‘mental illness’ enslaved Black people were struck with when they felt an urge to flee bondage and seek freedom, and which was ‘cured’ by heavy flogging), to the atrocities perpetrated by Nazi Germany during the Second World War, to the invention of electric convulsive therapy (ECT) to ‘treat’ patients by passing up to 400 volts current through their brains, or to its modern multi-billion dollar global  child-drugging industry - and this is only a glimpse - psychiatry has been very busy.

Ironically, the word ‘psychiatry’ derives from the Greek psukhē ‘soul, mind’ + iatreia ‘healing’. The term ‘psychiatry’ was first introduced in Germany in 1808 by a Johann Christian Reil, at the University of Halle where he worked. Up until that time, practitioners of this ‘evolving discipline’ had been called alienists, because they treated ‘mental alienation.’

The ‘evolution’ of this so-called discipline in Germany  was also relatively time-coincident with the creation of the Prussian Model of education. When Wundt opened his Institute for Experimental Psychology some decades later, it would only be a matter of time before psychiatry, keen on establishing itself as a valid ‘science’ alongside the new kid on the block, would also seek to spread itself throughout academia and eventually all walks of life including global education systems. After all, the trade in lunacy throughout Europe in the 18th century had boomed. There was a lot of money to be made in ‘madness’.

How could a discipline intended to ‘study and treat mental illness, emotional disturbance and abnormal behaviour’ have ever gained such an iron grip on the education systems of so many developed and developing countries?

Perhaps the answer lies in psychiatry’s bible: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, now in its fifth edition, published by the American Psychiatric Association.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, (DSM-5)

A recent John Hopkins University Press article [5] describes how the first edition of the DSM appeared in 1952 as a slight, spiral-bound pamphlet that required just 32 pages to define all of its 106 diagnoses. However, only six decades later, the most recent edition, the DSM-5, published in 2013, is now a massive 947-page tome that defines about 300 conditions in precise detail. A 300% increase in mental disorders and a 3,000% increases in pages! This increase is in direct proportion with the demand from insurance companies to have more specifically-worded diagnoses for insurance pay-outs, and government funding for curing ‘mental illness.’ As in the early 1800s, there is a lot of money to be made from mental illness and disorders.

It is worth also noting that the DSM’s symptom-based criteria have been formulated by ‘expert committees’ and then, apparently, tested in studies to see how well they define distinct groups of patients. This is surprising considering the recent debunking of ‘the chemical imbalance in the brain’ theory, thus casting certain doubt upon any scientific or medical bases for these 300 conditions.

Suffice to say that if you were to examine the contents of the DSM-5 (and I highly recommend you to do so; it is readily available online to read), and notice ‘disorders’ such as ‘caffeine dependency disorder’ (that is you drink a lot of coffee) or 'fear of injection or blood transfusion' (a pretty understandable phobia) you would soon come to the conclusion that 99% of the population of Earth must be afflicted by some sort of mental illness. The fancy terminology and buzzwords in the DSM gives the manual an authoritative air which dissipates the moment you work out how to read through the pompous verbiage.

Unfortunately and most worryingly, when it comes to the ‘learning disorders’ section of the DSM-5, you will discover that behaviour considered absolutely normal, and to be expected, in a young human, has been classified as a ‘mental disorder’. Considering the modern psych-based education systems replicating the Prussian Model of producing obedient soldiers and citizens, focussed on behaviour management and punishment, with students more often than not herded like cattle in large classes, the listed ‘learning disorder symptoms’ in DSM-5 are factually and wholly indicative of broken schooling systems which, by their own utter inefficacy in educating children, fail to take any responsibility or accountability for their actions by readily and conveniently pointing the finger to the children being the problem, and thus promptly labelling any child who is not doing well academically with a ‘learning disorder.’ This is an easy get-out-of-jail card for anyone involved in the education sectors who has failed to do something about the problem.

I have personally witnessed the lives of incredibly bright children and young people, full of hope and future, completely destroyed because of the DSM.

For illustrative purposes (you can read the complete, extensive section in DSM-5) here is a selection of symptoms for so-called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a multi-billion dollar profit-inducing ‘learning disorder’ label. It should be noted that ADHD was voted into existence as a mental disorder in the late 1980s by a group of American psychiatrists. It became the reason for behavioural problems in children and young people, despite the fact that it was not proven to be biological in nature. It has become a label that is quickly given to children and young people who display challenging and wayward behaviour, without doctors or parents investigating any underlying cause.

Selection of ADHD 'symptoms' in the DSM-5:

• Often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, at work, or during other activities (e.g., overlooks or misses details, work is inaccurate).
• Often has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities (e.g., has difficulty remaining focused during lectures, conversations, or lengthy reading).
• Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly (e.g., mind seems elsewhere, even in the absence of any obvious distraction).
• Often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (e.g., starts tasks but quickly loses focus and is easily sidetracked).
• Often has difficulty organizing tasks and activities (e.g., difficulty managing sequential tasks; difficulty keeping materials and belongings in order; messy, disorganized work; has poor time management; fails to meet deadlines).
• Often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort (e.g., schoolwork or homework; for older adolescents and adults, preparing reports, completing forms, reviewing lengthy papers).
• Often loses things necessary for tasks or activities (e.g., school materials, pencils, books, tools, wallets, keys, paperwork, eyeglasses, mobile telephones).
• Is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli (for older adolescents and adults, may include unrelated thoughts).
• Is often forgetful in daily activities (e.g., doing chores, running errands; for older adolescents and adults, returning calls, paying bills, keeping appointments).

And now, here is a sample list of symptoms for ‘specific learning disorders’. This list is somewhat disturbing when you realise that all the ‘symptoms’ are in fact indicative of illiteracy and poor teaching methods. Therefore illiteracy itself is being classified as a learning disorder or mental illness.

• Inaccurate or slow and effortful word reading (e.g., reads single words aloud incorrectly or slowly and hesitantly, frequently guesses words, has difficulty sounding out words).
• Difficulty understanding the meaning of what is read (e.g., may read text accurately but not understand the sequence, relationships, inferences, or deeper meanings of what is read).
• Difficulties with spelling (e.g., may add, omit, or substitute vowels or consonants).
• Difficulties with written expression (e.g., makes multiple grammatical or punctuation errors within sentences; employs poor paragraph organization; written expression of ideas lacks clarity).
• Difficulties mastering number sense, number facts, or calculation (e.g., has poor understanding of numbers, their magnitude, and relationships; counts on fingers to add single-digit numbers instead of recalling the math fact as peers do; gets lost in the midst of arithmetic computation and may switch procedures).
• Difficulties with mathematical reasoning (e.g., has severe difficulty applying mathematical concepts, facts, or procedures to solve quantitative problems).
• Note: Dyslexia is an alternative term used to refer to a pattern of learning difficulties characterized by problems with accurate or fluent word recognition, poor decoding, and poor spelling abilities.
• Note: Dyscalculia is an alternative term used to refer to a pattern of difficulties characterized by problems processing numerical information, learning arithmetic facts, and performing accurate or fluent calculations.

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The inception of the Prussian Model of education in the early 1800s, coupled with the advent and rise of Wundt’s psychology and the discipline of psychiatry, has steadily and remorselessly gnawed at the very fabric of education and society in developed and developing countries, to the point where we find ourselves at a decisive crossroads: as a civilisation, do we continue down that unworkable road towards the destruction of human intelligence and creativity and the creation of unthinking but obedient puppets, or do we take a few steps back, take a good look at what has happened in the last two hundred years and decide enough is enough.

We face an immediate urgency. In recent decades, the situation has gravely worsened with the focus now wholly on student ‘disabilities’ using a system of not only labelling students with fabricated ‘learning disorders’ but drugging them as a ‘solution’ (a drugged society is a malleable and easily controlled society), instead of providing real teaching and education. The labelling and drugging of children and adults for ‘learning disorders’ has become a global multi-billion dollar industry. It has also gone as far as using electric-convulsive therapy (ECT) on children as young as 5 years old in countries such as the USA.

Psychology and psychiatry’s obsession with the brain and behaviour and their relentless onslaught, for profit, on the rights of human beings to learn and think for themselves have got us where we are today - the systemic destruction of humankind’s native ability to look, learn, practice, evaluate and critically think for themselves. The cost is a return to the Dark Ages.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that until education is firmly restored to the field of philosophy and effectively freed from the nefarious influences of psychiatry and psychology, the decline of Western education will not slow down and will not reverse.

While this challenge may appear too gargantuan to ever be feasible, there are indeed definite, real, simple and effective solutions which are actionable right now. Solutions which you, whether a student, a teacher or a parent, can put in place immediately to improve your learning abilities or your children’s learning abilities independent of the existing education system, putting you in better control of your future or your children’s future.

What can be done about it?

With over 25 years’ experience in various training, educational and teaching environments, I have looked far and wide for workable solutions: not memory tricks or various theories on the brain or behavioural and learning tactics and tricks, drugging of children etc. None of them are workable.

I have found some good solutions which I have put into practice during the few years I homeschooled my children. I also put them into practice when I taught aerospace engineering at college, and when teaching high school students, when tutoring and when mentoring. I have put them into practice when working in corporate training environments. I have put them into practice for myself when at the age of 33, with no formal school qualifications at all, I decided to study aircraft engineering at university, full-time, with children at school, and while still holding down a part-time job. I graduated with a first class, and within weeks secured employment in the UK Ministry of Defence. What’s more, during those four years of university, not once did I fail to get a full night’s sleep - I don’t do all-nighters to pass exams. There is no need if you know how to study and how to learn with understanding, if you are an able learner and work towards continually improving your level of literacy (according to the original meaning). After all, learning is a life-long process.

1. Envisioning the ideal scene

Let’s start by clarifying what would constitute good education. Let’s answer simple questions such as what would be true literacy? What is education, or what should education be? What is an able student? By getting these concepts clear in our minds and being able to envision them insofar as possible, we can then start to work towards those goals.

The meaning of education

Education is the activity of relaying an idea or an action from one person to another, in such a way as not to stultify* or inhibit the use of that information. Education should permit the person being educated to think and develop with the subject being taught. The word 'educate' stems from the Latin word educere 'bring out, lead forth'.

* Stultify: cause to lose enthusiasm and initiative, especially as a result of a tedious or restrictive routine.

The meaning of learning and studying

To learn means understanding new things and getting better ways to do things. Learning is not just getting more and more facts. That is not learning. The word 'learn' comes from Old English leornian which means 'learn' and later 'teach.

When someone has decided that there is something they want to learn, the next step is to study it.

To study means to look at something, to ask about it, and to read about it, so that you learn about it. The word 'study' comes from the Latin word studium which means 'painstaking application' (done with or employing great care and thoroughness).

Sadly, many, many people believe that they study so that they can pass a test. But that is not what learning is about. That is not why a person studies. A person studies so that they can actually use and put into practice what they have learned.

However, since very few students are ever taught how to actually study, they are not able to learn properly, and the focus becomes only to pass exams. Similarly, many teachers also do not know how to study, and therefore only teach students so that they can pass exams, without regard for the ability of the students to actually use and apply the information in their life for success.

What is true literacy?

Could you imagine being able to read a paragraph, a page, a chapter, a whole textbook with full understanding, and then being able to easily put into practice what you had just been read? This ability would be true literacy.

Currently, anyone who can read and write is considered literate. However, being able to utter some sounds from a page (read) or write words on a page, without understanding, does not constitute true literacy. It is robotism. Robots can't think for themselves and are easily controlled, tricked or fooled.

Therefore, true literacy would be the ability to read a paragraph, a page, a chapter, a whole textbook with full understanding, and then being able to easily put into practice what had just been read. You can find out more about true literacy here.

What is an able learner?

You could learn anything you wanted to, and you would be able to think for yourself, because as an able learner, you would possess the following characteristics [2]:

a)  A student is one who studies. He is an attentive and systematic observer. A student is one who reads in detail in order to learn and then apply.

b)  As a student studies, he knows that his purpose is to understand the materials he is studying by reading, observing and demonstrating so as to apply them to a specific result.

c)  He connects what he is studying to what he will be doing.

d)  A student knows what he is going to do with what he is studying.

If you could carry out the above points smoothly, you would be a very able learner. Desperately committing data to memory in order to pass an exam, even when you don’t really understand it, is not really going to help you become truly successful.

Working towards becoming an able learner is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. It will set you up for life. You will be able to study anything you want to study, and retain and develop the ability to think for yourself. You can take back control of your own education. This journey begins with taking great care to understand all the words you are reading - not guess at them!

2. Effective, doable and immediate solutions

With the understanding of what is an able learner and what would constitute effective education and learning, the following sections outline several ideas and activities you can put into practice right now to improve your learning or your children’s learning and actively work towards becoming an able learner if you are not one already. I have practiced all of them and obtained real, positive results.

A. Destructive pedagogical practices to avoid

There currently exists two pedagogical (relating to teaching) practices in the Western schooling systems which I consider to be very destructive but which you can tackle straight away. There are certainly other destructive practices, but you can do something about those two immediately.

A1. Guessing

The practice of encouraging students from a very early age – usually when learning to read – to ‘guess’ the meaning of a word by looking at the context in which it is located instead of encouraging the student to use a dictionary as a correct source of definitions, and then use the context of the word to locate the CORRECT meaning of the word in the dictionary. Only in this way can real comprehension be achieved. For very young students who cannot yet use a dictionary, the teacher or parent should use the dictionary, locate the correct meaning, and explain it to the child ensuring that the context is fully understood.

Training a very young student to guess at the meanings of words will set them up for a life-long disability in the field of communication and learning. Because from as early as they can read, they are trained to invent meanings of words, and very often those meanings couldn’t be further from the truth.

To compound the problem, many, many textbooks actually encourage the student to ‘guess’ at the meaning, for example by using ‘hints’ and ‘clues’ rather than simply defining the necessary words  in the textbook itself.

Consequently, as the student progresses through years of schooling to adulthood, he or she will unwittingly go through life with distinct misunderstood words in their knowledge which can be traced back to this practice. They will continue this destructive practice in their adult lives, at work and in social settings, automatically ‘guessing’ or ‘inventing’ the meanings of words which will only worsen their situation.

The ‘automaticity’ has been installed; when encountering a word or symbol they do not know, or do not understand or are not sure about, they do not think to seek the right meaning because they automatically either invent or guess what the meaning might be. As a result, they will make mistakes, gross errors, become a hidden illiterate, not follow instructions and in many cases even make it to high posts in a company or government but be wholly incompetent (and we see this sort of situation all around us). They may often feel stupid among their peers or in social situations because they may say something or do something based on the false definitions they have acquired through guessing at words instead of simply looking them up in a good dictionary.

This problem is easily resolved by using dictionaries. If you are an older student, or a parent or an adult, it may require a lot of practice to break the mental habit of automatic guessing. If your children are still very young, you can build good habits right from the start. When they do not understand a word, do not ask them to guess. Grab a dictionary, get them accustomed to one, and look up the word for them. Give them the correct meaning. Discuss it, have the children give examples of how to use the word and make sure they see how it fits in the context of what they are reading or listening to.

I recommend that you have hard copy dictionaries available, not just online. Nothing can replace good, solid dictionaries that you can refer to without a screen or an internet connection. Besides, owning reputable dictionaries ensures you have a correct source, which may not be the case on the internet. Obtain dictionaries of the English language (or relevant language the student studies in) for the age group, or for the level of understanding required.

It would not make sense to use a large Oxford English Dictionary for a young nursery child! You would need to shop around and locate a dictionary suitable for that age range. This does not mean that as an adult you are obliged to only use large dictionaries. Simply have a look around, check out dictionaries, their layouts and their meanings. If a dictionary seems too hard, then go for a simpler one. Avoid tiny pocket dictionaries as they do not suitably define words, even for children. The more you practice using a dictionary, the more your vocabulary will expand, and you will be able to use larger, more comprehensive dictionaries. A wide selection of dictionaries in your home will always come in handy!

A2. Global reading method versus phonics reading method

The second practice which you need to be aware of and avoid, especially if you have kindergarten-aged children, is the global reading method, also called the whole-word approach, introduced in the early 1900s by educational psychologists. This approach to teaching reading includes the presentation of the whole word to children and relies on his or her visual perception and the ability to remember visual information. Thus, the child does not read the word letter by letter, but remembers it as a picture, which consists of letters. This approach teaches children to read by sight and relies upon memorization via repeat exposure to the written form of a word paired with an image and an audio. With this method, children are not actually taught to ‘decode’ a word by learning the sound of the letter and then putting these sounds together, as is done with the traditional phonics method which teaches children to pair sounds with letters and blend them together to master the skill of decoding. [4]

By not being able to decode words, and therefore not being able to read properly, children are placed in the precarious position of facing a lifetime of reading difficulties, relying on memory to attempt to read, and failing that, various self-created systems to attempt to read and succeed in life. They are also opened to false ‘learning disorder’ diagnoses in accordance with the DSM-5 discussed earlier in this article. This is something you want to avoid at all cost.

It should be noted that the introduction of the global reading method at the beginning of the 1900s and fully adopted by 1930 in the USA is coincident with the steep decline of reading, writing and spelling levels, in Western education. What is also noteworthy is the fact that the practice of labelling students with various ‘learning difficulties or disabilities’ such as ‘dyslexia’ began to appear around that same time.

B. Additional recommendations

The following additional recommendations which you can put into effect rather easily will help steer your or your children’s education in the right direction:

1. Do not place any ‘learning disorder” labels on students. If you have had a label placed on you or your children, see to it that it is removed.
2. If you are a parent, getting together with other like-minded parents to form a support group can be very beneficial. You can exchange ideas, help each other, and even work on your own learning and dictionary skills so that in turn you can help your children. If you are already very skilled in using dictionaries, then you could perhaps share your knowledge with other parents who might need help. Expanding one’s vocabulary, knowledge and understanding is fun! Your support group doesn’t have to be limited to dictionaries! You can include all aspects of learning and share good practice.
3. If you are a student, you can do the same by getting together with other like-minded students and working together to improve your word skills and practice breaking the ‘guess’ machine in your mind, if you have an active one.
4. If you are a parent with young children learning to read, then use only the phonics reading method. Do not use the global method (whole word approach). I have very successfully used the Jolly Phonics system in teaching my children to read. I have also used the Ladybird Peter and Jane reading scheme to very good results. The Oxford Reading Tree programme with Kipper, Biff and Chip is also very good.
5. When helping your children to read, take the time to clarify the meanings of any word or symbol they do not understand or fully grasp. Time well spent on this will pay off a thousand times. Ensure the student is never left with a confusion.
6. WARNING!: The small common words of the English language such as ‘to’, ‘of’, ‘that’, ‘from’ etc. make up almost 50% of the words used in writing and speech. Just because they are small does not mean that they are easily understood. On the contrary, it is quite the reverse. Did you know that the word ‘to’ has around 30 definitions in a good-sized dictionary? It is vital that you ensure the small words are fully understood. Of course, let’s take the Oxford School Dictionary and we can see that it does not have all the meanings of ‘to’ as it would be too overwhelming for that age. Only the most used meanings are given. While it is fine for that age range, as the student progresses and begins to use larger dictionaries, those small words should be further clarified.
7. A good quality grammar book often defines the small common words of the English language. This is another avenue to explore.
8. To steadily develop and improve your literacy level (that is per the true meaning of literacy) or your children’s literacy level, extensive drilling and practice in the language, reading and handwriting (not on computers) is required, for example:

• Develop a command of grammar in your native language and any other language you are using in your education. Obtain good quality grammar books for this. Some dictionaries will have a grammar section in them. Grammar is an essential component of true literacy. It is easy to learn, it just needs a lot of practice and the correct textbook (that is harder to find). There are  good grammar books available as well as terrible ones. The challenge is to look around for a good one. This may take a bit of trial and error.
• Develop the necessary know-how to competently use a dictionary in your native language and any other language you are using in your education. Usually, dictionaries have a section at the beginning which explains how to use that particular dictionary. This is a good start.
• Learn and practice spelling. There are very good spelling books around as well as terrible ones. Do your research. Some vintage spelling books going back to the early 1900s and earlier are some of the best. Getting spelling right takes a lot of practice and requires learning a number of language rules. Learn and practice. Practice, practice, practice. The same goes for languages other than English.
• Develop the ability to independently write and develop good penmanship. As we advance in this modern age, beautiful penmanship and handwriting skills are slowly disappearing with writing being replaced by typing on a computer, and in some cases, by voice-typing. We cannot let handwriting and penmanship to disappear from our culture. You can download handwriting practice sheets or purchase handwriting books for practice.
• To continue improving your penmanship, spelling and written expression, write stories, reports, ideas, information. Learn the correct way to write a letter to someone and address an envelope. Just get writing with pen and paper.
• Read lots of books - fiction and non-fiction books and literature. The more you read, the more you will expand your mind and your ability to think and evaluate information. Of course, ensure that you look up any word or symbol you run into that you do not fully understand. Your literacy level will soon rocket!

C. Recommended research

I recommend that you research to your complete satisfaction any of the topics I have mentioned in this article. The information concerning the Prussian Model, the DSM-5, the history of psychology and psychiatry, the phonics reading method versus the global method etc. is readily available on the world wide web and in books. Research old textbooks versus modern textbooks. See the difference for yourself.

Have fun researching the educational backgrounds of famous engineers, scientists, mathematicians or philosophers prior to the 1900s. Observe how so many of them had one thing in common: they were literate, i.e. read a great deal, were familiar with literature and science of their era, could write well and were generally well learned or educated. They had not gone through some system of ‘schooling examinations’ and ‘behavioural schooling’ which would otherwise crush their thinking, suppress their creativity and turn them into wooden puppets, unable to think for themselves. In fact, many were schooled at home by their parents, or with tutors, as was the practice for centuries. And you can go back down the centuries to find the same pattern: great minds who were very literate (in the true sense), and able to think for themselves, and look for themselves.

I have distilled the information and presented it here based on 25 years of observations and personal experience. You may research and come to different conclusions. The important thing is to look, learn, clarify anything which is not clear, and make up your own mind.

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My final recommendation would be to learn about the Technology of Study®  and try out its learning methodology. I came across the Technology of Study several decades ago and have put into practice every facet of its methodology to excellent results (such as during my degree studies and when homeschooling my children). I cannot recommend it enough.

Successful learning can be defined in much the same way we define proficiency. Someone who learns a subject successfully should be able to use that subject to accomplish something. They should be able to accomplish it quickly, without error and with good judgment. These are the ingredients of success in life - in any field of endeavour. That’s where the Technology of Study is a real winner.

The Technology of Study

The Technology of Study or ‘Study Tech’ is the culmination of many years of research, by American writer and philosopher L. Ron Hubbard, into education and the negative effects of misunderstood words or symbols on a person’s ability to learn, to retain data and to both communicate and receive communication. It is a philosophical approach to education and learning which puts learning and education back firmly into the field of philosophy from where it should have never left. Study Tech was fully codified in the 1960s.

Its methodology is of such simplicity that anyone can learn it and use it to become an able learner in any subject, thus seriously increasing one's chances of success in life.

The premise is simple: students fail to learn because no one ever taught them how to learn - that is, how to identify the barriers to learning and how to overcome those barriers.

But Hubbard did isolate them, calling them ‘the three barriers to study’ and providing a complete methodology for students and teachers to recognise those barriers and successfully handle them thus ensuring effective and fun learning. With that knowledge, students, teachers or parents are in a position to effectively handle and remove learning and educational problems for themselves or for others. With Study Tech, all learning is open to a person, and is, thereby, a powerful agent for boosting a student’s self-confidence and resilience.

In a nutshell, Study Tech provides a methodology which includes the following (see reference section below for links to more information, books etc.):

• The three barriers to study (download an introductory booklet here).
• Developing a willingness to learn in students.
• The effects of misunderstood words and symbols on learning.
• The phenomena of the misunderstood word.
• The ten ways a word or symbol can be misunderstood.
• The best way to clarify a word in the dictionary.
• Dictionaries, how to use them, and recognising good and bad ones.
• Importance of grammar and the small common words of the English language.
• How to locate an elusive misunderstood word or symbol.
• Student checkouts and coaching.
• Balancing the mass and significance of a subject (see the three barriers to study booklet).
• Balancing the “doing” of a subject.
• The use of demonstration - various effective methods.
• Instruction on a gradient: step by step approach to learning a subject.
• The importance of evaluation of information, and how to go about it.
• The purpose and use of a subject.
• The intention of a student, a vital ingredient for successful study.
• The classroom or course room - recommended set-up.
• Key principles in education and learning.
• How to ensure success in study.
• Keeping it simple.

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References:

[1] (2020) Collins, P.D. Invoking the Beyond: : The Kantian Rift, Mythologized Menaces, and the Quest for the New Man, ‎ iUniverse, Bloomington:Indiana

[2] (2012) Hubbard, L.R., Humanitarian: Education, Literacy & Civilization, Bridge Publications, Inc., Commerce:California

[3] https://fee.org/articles/john-dewey-and-the-decline-of-american-education/ [accessed 05/02/22]

[4] Parker, Stephen (2021) https://www.parkerphonics.com/post/a-brief-history-of-reading-instruction [accessed 11/06/22)

[5] (2021) John Hopkins University Press, DSM: A history of psychiatry’s bible, https://www.press.jhu.edu/newsroom/dsm-history-psychiatrys-bible [accessed 18/10/2022)

Psychiatric DSM-5 and psychiatric drugging and abuse:

For more information on the DSM-5 and how disorders are voted into existence, https://www.cchr.org/quick-facts/introduction.html

For more information on child drugging and drug side-effects, and statistics, https://www.fightforkids.org/psychdrug-side-effects

For more information on non-drug alternatives for mental health, https://www.cchr.org/alternatives/right-to-be-informed.html

To report psychiatric abuse, https://www.cchr.org/take-action/report-psychiatric-abuse.html

The Technology of Study

For more information on Study Tech, reviews, studies etc., visit Applied Scholastics International, http://www.appliedscholastics.org/

For more information on L. Ron Hubbard and his research culminating in Study Tech, read the book Humanitarian: Education, Literacy & Civilization available direct from the publishers with international free shipping, https://www.newerapublications.com/store/item/ron-series-humanitarian-education.html

For the purchase of Study Tech books for ages 5 to 15+, visit my book page which will take you to The Book Depository (an Amazon subsidiary which ships internationally free of charge), https://www.delphineryan.co.uk/study-tech-student-textbooks

Study Tech books for children are available in up to 18 languages depending on the title. Email me if you would like to obtain a copy in a particular language and I will help you with this. I can also help with bulk orders for schools.

Should you have any question on this article, or would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact me at delphineryan@protonmail.com.