First Aid is not only treating wounds or performing CPR.
First Aid is the prevention of accidents and injuries. For example,
Reading First Aid (RFA) works the same way as physical First Aid.
In the form of remedial instruction, RFA can be applied to children who have not learned to read at grade level by the end of Third Grade—or it can be used to prevent reading failure before it happens.
Public school teachers do a heroic job under trying circumstances. The reality is, however, that not all schools excel in all things.
Most current elementary teachers were trained in an ineffective method of reading instruction. Some school administrators are beginning to acknowledge the fact that systematic phonics instruction is more effective than the “whole word” method, but change takes time.
Meanwhile, about 50% of US children who begin kindergarten at the age of five will fail to become competent readers by the time they graduate from high school.
IF they graduate.
Of every ten children who begin kindergarten, three will drop out of school. Of those who stay in and graduate, only about 30% will be able to read at an adult level.
Remediation is never as effective as prevention.
Reading First Aid is a process that parents can begin as soon as a child is born. The material on this site will show them how.