IMPORTANT CHANGE
We are excited to announce a NEW PERK in our digital reading program project. Our backers can now donate purchased subscriptions to the Amarok Society.
Go to https://amaroksociety.org for more information on this important organization.
The Amarok Society's work is simple - teach a mother forced to live in a slum with no access to education how to read. To pay it forward, she then teaches 5 children what she has learned.
These mothers learn to read and write Bangla and English. They also learn arithmetic. The Amarok Society has digital tablets and a small network of schools to do this important work. But these mothers and the organization need good reading programs. They need your support.
You can make a contribution and donate a 1 year subscription to our digital reading program. Just select the featured perk!
This is our way of giving back and making a difference.
We can't make an impact on education and change children's lives
without mothers, and without you!
Short Summary of Our Digital Reading Program Project
Who is Michael Maloney?
40 years ago, I integrated three powerful educational methods into a system that consistently teaches people to read, write, spell and do math. In the last 40 years, we have taught 100,000 students to read fluently. It’s a drop in the bucket, because I can only train so many teachers, tutors and therapists each year and each of them can only teach so many children and adults.
We have been sweeping the ocean with a broom and getting further and further behind in dealing with a very serious problem.
10 years ago, I started a search for a digital solution that would be reliable and scalable because 10 million students across North America need help to read well.
We now have a research-proven solution in a reliable and scalable system. This research includes the findings of Project Follow Through, the largest, longest running, most expensive, comparative research study in the history of education. 16 methods were compared head-to-head with a half million students at-risk of school failure for more than a decade at a cost of $1.2 billion dollars. Those are 1970’s dollars. You likely have never heard of Project Follow Through. Few have.
2 methods worked. 14 others were abject failures. We adopted the successful models.
Now we are creating a digital app derived from the models that we used to teach 100,000 students so far.
When our digital program is finished, anyone who can read could teach someone else to read. It is reliable and it is scalable so we can assist millions of struggling students. But we need your help to build our prototype into a full-fledged product.
What We Need & What You Get
We need $100,000 to build the digital framework and produce the digital reading program.
- The funds will be used to pay a videographer, a programmer, and a graphic designer.
- By September 2020 a complete reading program will be available with 60 lessons.
- This will also seed the following 180 lessons in the reading program.
The Key Perk:
This digital reading program will change a child's life. The program can be used in the home of a contributor, at a school with at-risk kids, or in an education centre that focuses on special needs students. Contributors have the chance to donate their subscriptions.
The Unique Perks we have to offer contributors include:
- Teach Your Children Well Book - Award-winning, bestselling book from Michael Maloney, digital copy
- Signed Printed Copy of the Teach Your Children Well Book
- 1 Year Subscription - 12-month access to first 60 reading lessons
- 2 Year Subscription - 12-month access to first 120 reading lessons
- Combo Pack - 1 Year Subscription, Teach Your Children Well Book, Book Bag
- 5 Year Subscription - 60-month access to all 240 lessons, covering reading from K to 8.
The Impact
Despite numerous attempts at fixing education, nothing has changed. No Child Left Behind actually left children behind. A Nation of Readers left 25% of the nation illiterate.
We have used the research (Project Follow Through and the Sacajewa Study) to find methods that work with at-risk kids. We have taught 100,000 students with our pencil and paper version of this reading program over 40 years. Our students have gained 2 years of reading skills per year, on average. This salvages the kids the system leaves behind and the nation of non-readers.
- You can change a child's life with this reading program directly or by gifting it.
- Eliminate a child's frustration and confusion.
Risks & Challenges
Michael Maloney, primary developer of this reading program, is 78 years old. His experience and expertise can be captured in an updated video and digital format for today's problems. The first significant risk is funding. We have the program, a starting prototype as seen in the video, and we have a plan. But we lack the money.
- We have overcome these hurdles in illiteracy before 100,000 times. That's 100,000 lives changed.
- We have a team who could complete the project. We are ready to start as soon as this campaign reaches its goal.
Other Ways You Can Help
If you can't contribute, you can help by sharing our project with the innovators and teachers who want to make a difference. If you care about students and education, if you care about reducing the frustration and confusion of kids struggling:
- Use the Indiegogo share tools!
- Post this campaign on social media!
- Send emails to your family and friends to let them know!
- Share every one of our emails to as many people as you can!
Be the change, and share the change!