The Teacher Who Couldn't Read [Paperback]

Carole C. Carson (Author), John Corcoran (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001

Here is the incredible true story of a smart kid who slipped through the system and became part of it. John Corcoran graduated from high school and college and went on to become a high school teacher--but he never learned how to read. Corcoran shares his amazing experiences of using deception to survive in a world of literates, and he clearly defines what schools, teachers, churches, and parents can do to conquer the little-known but widely spread disease of our educational system: illiteracy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It is truly the best life-story presentation of a learning disabled person that I have read." -- Joan McNichols, Director for the National Dyslexia Research Foundation

"John Corcoran's story is fascinating and stimulates us with solutions" -- Dr. David Jeremiah, President of Christian Heritage College, pastor, author, radio broadcaster

"This inspirational story is must reading for those who believe literacy is the key to America's future." -- Jim Duffy, former president of ABC TV network, co-founder of Project Literacy U.S.

About the Author

National literacy advocate John Corcoran helped to bring illiteracy out of the shadows with his autobiography, The Teacher Who Couldn’t Read: The True Story of a High School Instructor Who Triumphed over His Illiteracy. His shocking and emotionally moving story—from being a child who was failed by the system, to an angry adolescent, a desperate college student, and finally an emerging adult reader—touched audiences of such national television shows as the Oprah Winfrey Show, 20/20, the Phil Donahue Show, and Larry King Live. His story was also featured in national magazines such as Esquire, Biography, Reader’s Digest, and People. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Brehon Publishing Company (September 1, 2001)
• ISBN-10: 0971322007
• ISBN-13: 978-0971322004
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,467,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing story of true curage, January 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Teacher Who Couldn't Read (Audio Cassette)

This book should be mandatory reading for all teachers and those going into the profession. After reading this book you will have a insight into the secret world of the illiterate. Before the book I imagined the illiterate as people that brought this on themselves by not caring or giving up on the educational system now I see it as it truely is a disability. This book would be great for parents to get an understanding of what children can go through in school and how hard it can be to be a child. This is an amazing story of a man who led a life of lies to protect his intermost secret. I can not say how much I enjoyed this book and how I want everyone to read it. Enjoy!

18 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars He blamed everyone else and takes no responsibility himself., January 27, 2006

By 

deb217 (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Teacher Who Couldn't Read (Paperback)

This is the story of John Corcoran who learned to read later in life. He blamed the school system and his teachers who failed him in many ways. However, does this justify the fact that he cheated his way through school and even broke into a professor's office in college? THEN he became a teacher who used his students to do his job as a teacher. I can sympathize with him when was a kid. It must have been painful. But let's be real, as an adult, he was afraid someone would discover he couldn't read and he would have lost his job as a TEACHER. He could have taken some responsibility for his education by getting into the car and employing a tutor in a neighboring town. He even used his wife in the "cover up".

What really got me about this man who made it very clear that his teachers were the reason for his illiteracy was that he became a teacher himself. Just how many students did he affect in his teaching career? If I had been a student of his, I would have felt cheated by him. He is more guilty than those who failed him. He got his job through cheating, lying, deception, and even breaking the law.

I think I would have had more sympathy for him if he had been a businessman who learned to read later in life -- but he was employed as a teacher. How many students did he help with their studies? This is not a person who should be admired, in my opinion. I would have admired him if he would have gotten a tutor or attended adult ed. classes during his college years.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get this book!, October 12, 2008

By 

Nora Chahbazi (Flushing,MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Teacher Who Couldn't Read: One Man's Triumph Over Illiteracy (Paperback)

This book begs of us to ask ourselves some important questions: Which people in your life are struggling with reading and writing? How would you know? How would you help? Millions of Americans of every age, race, gender, and class are functionally illiterate; how is this affecting you personally? How is society suffering? Why aren't these millions of people being taught to read and write during their years of schooling? (I'll disclose a tidbit here: it is NOT because they are unable to learn to read or are `disabled'). All these questions are addressed in this must read book. It contains a raw, riveting, honest account of one brilliant man's immense suffering as a functional illiterate for 48 years as he clawed his way through school and college, taught high school, and developed his own successful business. It describes how he came to learn to read, and the amazing path his passionate quest has led him down as he has devoted his life to helping the millions who are suffering as he did. As the owner of a reading center, I see the hurt and anguish students of every age experience because they are not able to read. I also see the joy, increased self esteem, and hope they experience as they quickly learn to read and realize they aren't `broken'. Read this book; you'll be glad you did!