Are you someone who doesn’t like to read much even though you know how? When I was in high school and college, I was like that and I know there are many who feel this way.
My High School to College Experience
In high school, I remember having to read the required English novels. We had six weeks to read the book, discuss it in class and then take a test on it. I suffered through it. Little did I know how EASY that really was.
THEN, I went to college. Sure, I knew how to read but because I didn’t feel I was good at it, making time to read was another thing. Novels now had to be read in a week, maybe two, with little to no class discussion. Textbook chapters were 30-50 pages long with less than a few days to complete it. Essays needed to be written which meant I had to understand the material enough to verbalize my thoughts. Not easy when I day dreamed a lot when I read non-fiction and never quite understood the basic concepts of reading fiction.
Research was a regular thing and back then there was no internet. I had to go to the library and physically find sources and then vet them. I was spending a ton of time doing something I felt I had no ability for. It totally makes sense that I majored in Spanish where reading quickly didn’t matter, comprehension was always an issue and reading word-for-word was the norm.
My After-College Epiphany
A few years after finishing college, I applied for a job that read “Have Liberal Arts degree and want to travel? Will train!” I honestly had no idea what the job was but the help wanted ad intrigued me. I discovered during the interview process with Readak that I would be learning how to teach speed reading and study skills to kids in private schools in grades 5 through 12. I got the job, went through the training, taught for them for two and half years while learning some incredibly important and life-changing things:
1- I wasn’t as slow a reader as I thought.
2- Learning to be a better reader simply means using a few active, easy and mindful reading strategies.
3- Anything I wanted to learn or know, I could through reading.
Since then, I completed a Master’s degree in Adult Learning, brought up two children (there’s a lot to learn from books about how to raise kids!) and became nationally certified as a classical homeopath. Reading is now a satisfying experience and a powerful skill in my arsenal for success.
My Dream
I’d love for all high school and college students to have a better college reading experience than I did. I have a dream that in the next five years, all incoming college students will be asking each other “Did you take Rev It Up Reading yet?” because they know it’s the ticket to their college success. Please share this with high school and college students you know, and anyone who is considering a return to the classroom. You can help others while helping me realize my dream.
ENTER NOW