John Corcoran - Teacher Who Couldn't Read

An Open Book
High school teacher who couldn't read shares his story as an advocate of education
San Diego Union Tribune: January 26, 2008 by Stephanie K. Parry

OCEANSIDE - John Corcoran taught in the Oceanside Unified School District for 17 years and didn't know how to read.

(By the time) I was 48 years old, I had already graduated from college, taught school for 17 years in California, and I couldn't read or write or spell my native language of English," Corcoran said. This spring, Corcoran, 70, will publish his second book, "Bridge to Literacy: No Child or Adult Left Behind."

"This book really is a call for action. It's a call for gathering all the tribes on both sides of the bridge," Corcoran said. "We, as a society, cannot leave all of this to the teachers."

Corcoran's first book, "The Teacher Who Couldn't Read," told his story of struggling through elementary and high school and then college, and his subsequent experiences as an illiterate educator.

He said he wanted the world to know he didn't beat the system by faking his way through life.

"The system beats people who can't read every single day," Corcoran said.

He explained how he cheated his way through school by stealing copies of tests to memorize and having friends complete his assignments.

"I knew how to read the system, and I knew how to read people," Corcoran said.

He hid his secret from everyone except his wife, Kathleen.

"My wife was the person who did my reading and writing for me. She was my translator in a sense," Corcoran said.

Then he heard about a program at Carlsbad City Library that taught adults to read. He said he decided to try it in 1986, even though he doubted his ability to learn.

"As an adult who doesn't know how to read, we usually think something is wrong with our brain and we can't learn," Corcoran said. "So we give up on the system early, and we give up on ourselves and we carry this with us, this insecurity and fear of the written word."

He recalled lying in bed every night and thinking he wouldn't go back to his tutoring sessions because he didn't think they would do any good.

"I was going because I almost felt sorry for this 65-year-old woman (Eleanor Condit) who thought she could teach me how to read," Corcoran said.

Some days the pair would hold their classes in a room at the fire station next door to the library. The firefighter who opened the door for them was one of Corcoran's former students, so Corcoran asked his tutor to pretend he was teaching her how to read so his secret wouldn't be revealed.

Corcoran said he participated in the program for 13 months and was able to improve his reading comprehension.

"When I went from the second-grade level to the sixth-grade level, I thought I'd died and went to heaven. It whetted my appetite (to learn more)," Corcoran said.

"What we do is help people participate in their life by helping them improve their literacy skills," said Carrie Scott, literacy coordinator at the Carlsbad City Library.
. . . . .
His experiences led Cocoran to become an advocate for education, and he served under former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton on the board for the National Institute for Literacy. He also served on the San Diego Council on Literacy and the executive board of the Literacy Network of Greater Los Angeles.

He has spread his message on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Larry King Live" and "20/20."

"I just went to the library to learn how to read," Cocoran said.

"I didn't think I would learn how to read ... and here I am writing a second book." READ ON

Literacy facts:
~ More than 20 percent of adults read at or below a fifth-grade level.
~ Forty-three percent of people with the lowest literacy skills live in poverty.
~ Workers who lack a high school diploma earn an average of $452 a month. Source: National Institute for Literacy

Learn more:
For more information on learning to read, contact the San Diego Council on Literacy at (888) 850-READ (7323) or visit literacysandiego.org.

Local adult reading programs
Palomar College (760) 744-1150
Oceanside Public Library (760) 435-5680
MiraCosta College (760) 795-8710
Escondido Public Library (760) 747-2233
Carlsbad City Library (760) 434-2998