For those who are proficient in reading and writing, using those skills in their daily lives may seem like an easy feat. But for those who lack those capabilities, it is a handicap that impacts all aspects of their lives — in ways that most people could not imagine.

“When I was going to school [as a younger boy], I never really learned how to read,” said Earnest Simons, 49. “I always used to tell myself ‘if I write the way I think, I could be something.’ It was always a fear of mine and when I was going to school, I developed a get-away mechanism. … I knew every Friday there was going to be a spelling test, so I would do something to act up so I could get kicked out of class. I thought I was cool at the time, nobody ever found out that I didn’t know how to spell [or read], I stayed cool but I wasn’t doing anything but hurting myself and I don’t know whether the teachers should have picked up on it.”

In any event, they did not and as a result, “it has messed with my identity in so many ways,” Simons said. “Anything that had to do with spelling or if I knew I had to go to an interview and read something I would freeze up. It has stopped me in so many areas of my life.”

A friend told him about a pilot program for individuals over 13 called “Back to Basics,” that was being held at the California African-American Museum, hosted by the United Voices of Youth (UVOY). They were using a phonics-based approach to instill reading and writing skills. Going over the basics meant revisiting the vowels and consonants and the sounds they make, breaking them down into units and syllables, blending them together before sounding the words out as a whole. Phonics cards with pictures helped to further the connection.

Being an older gentleman and having the mindset that “if you didn’t get what you were supposed to get at the time that it was being taught to you that you can’t get it,” Simons said, almost deterred him but if he were to have a chance at a more fulfilled life he knew he would have to face his fear.

Since taking the class for four weeks, his spelling, phonics and comprehension has improved. “I feel less fearful now,” he said. “I will implement this in everything I do.”

The five-week course, which began Oct. 24 and ended Nov. 21, was also a godsend for Mack Smith, 19, who started as the program’s first and only student before it expanded to five. The small size, said directors, was necessary to give each student individualized attention.

“Before I didn’t really know how to read,” said Smith. “When my mom first took me to school, I wasn’t really concentrating on my books, I was concentrating on hanging with my friends. The more I grew up, I kept acting the same way. A friend of mine would come to me and say ‘can you read this for me?’ I tried and just couldn’t really get it out. I got tired of it. Every single day I would see words on TV that my little sister and brother could read. … and I couldn’t read it. My mom would be in the kitchen and say ‘Mack, what does that say?’ and I couldn’t really pronounce it. So I would make up a lie. It got hard for me growing up and not knowing how to read.”

It came to the point where he would not leave his house for days at a time. Smith said he became reclusive and shut out family and friends. He felt alone though he came from a sizable family. His family, he contends, would yell at him — beginning at a young age — and when at family functions they would address his siblings, not him, making him feel like an outsider. He began to withdraw, being the person who stands in the foreground, hoping not to be noticed. And while his peers were dating, he lost an interest in girls because “when we would go to the movies they would say ‘What do you want to watch?’ and I couldn’t really read [the listings]. I just gave up on life. Then my brother passed away and I told my mom that I wish instead of him it was me because my brother had a great life, my life was just miserable.”

He could no longer look at himself in the mirror. His depression became so bad that he attempted suicide four times, before his family staged an intervention. Grabbing books and listening to music, he attempted to sound the words out, growing in ways that made school and his social life more enjoyable.

But it was not until he joined the Back to Basics program, that he “changed into a whole different person,” he said. “I started learning more, I got more confidence in myself. Now when people say ‘Mack can you read this for me?’ I say ‘sure.’ I just feel totally different.”

His focus this time around is not concentrated on hanging out. He spends the majority of his time reading for hours, either at home or at his school’s library. Smith has now improved his grades and is getting As and Bs. He hopes to graduate soon.

Like many youth, Smith did not ask for help sooner for the same reason Simons did not: Fear. Today’s youth, Simons said, are doing what he should have done at their age, he said, “instead of ducking and dodging.”

In the program’s second week, students were given the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA) to see where they were at initially. The test was re-administered again at the last session to gauge their improvement. Those results have yet to be rendered, but “it is working because our students here have actually improved their reading,” said UVOY President and Founder Leah Sayles.

Aaron Hunter, 14, can contest to that. He attended roughly four sessions, where he worked on writing sentences, phonics, spelling and penmanship. Since then he has seen his English grades go from Cs to Bs.

“At first I didn’t think I needed it really but my mom put me here,” said Hunter. “Once I got into it, the second time around I realized I could really use this program and it can help me out in school. … When we were younger they would do it from kindergarten all the way to fourth grade then they stopped. … So I needed to freshen my mind up.”

The sudden halt in phonics that has become a trend in many school systems has led to generations falling by the wayside, said Sayles. “We are finding out No Child Left Behind pushed the kids through but they are not learning how to read whatsoever. And those who are not at the same level as those in the class, they get put into special education. That just means you didn’t catch up and that’s not really helping them.”

Diane Burton, an educator for more than 10 years who worked with the students in the Back to Basics class, knows firsthand how this has affected students.

“Phonics is still in the [school] system, but one of the things that I have observed is there are true phonics and there is what we call phony phonics, where they skim over it and sprinkle it into the curriculum,” said Burton. “They go so fast and skim over it that the kids are going ‘What?’ and then because it is not repeated enough, they lose it because [some teachers] think ‘oh they should have it by now.’ It gets skipped over assuming that they should know it or remember it. I believe every year it needs to be implemented.”

Due to the program’s success, it will be held again in January and will be extended to 20 weeks. UVOY is still deciding whether they will continue it at CAAM or find another location. Over the five week stint, parking and sheer size of the room became issues. Next year, they hope to adopt more students.

In addition, neighboring schools have been hearing through the grapevine the mass achievements that have been made in such a short time, giving UVOY the go-ahead to take the program to “Horace Mann [Middle School], Audubon Middle School, Manual Arts [High School] and Foshay [Middle School],” said Sayles.

As the program develops, she added, they will work to incorporated music.
“This is an electronic, technological age and we are pretty much connected to whatever gadget we have,” said Sayles. “A lot of us are dependent on them and not only that, music plays a big part in our entertainment. So my thoughts [are] if music and rhythm are pretty much where the focus is in terms of electronic gadgets, why couldn’t those elements be used in a way for us to teach — better effectively — English.”

Sayles said she envisions the program coming together like the 1970s show “School House Rock,” where sound and rhythm meets education.

When individuals — both young and old — are confident learners and can identify with what is being taught, “It makes them feel better about themselves and I think we view the world through glasses that represent our self-esteem,” said Burton. “So, when you raise the self-esteem, they in a sense have put on different glasses and they see a different view … and their world is different.”