BASIC SKILLS
I've started teaching a student to read and write. We meet on two evenings a week. It's very tiring after a long day in the office - especially as I have to travel to and from his home - but the money is useful and it's quite rewarding. When adults are beginning to read and write you are not supposed to give them "Daddy is working in the garden"-style "Peter and Jane" books, so as not to alienate or patronise them. So I paid a visit to the local library for some suitable books. I was pleased to find a 'Basic Skills' section, although most of the material was too advanced for my student. I picked up half a dozen of the less wordy books and here's one (below). It's so spectacularly odd and peculiar I feel compelled to record it. The idea behind this series, apparently, is to 'explore some of the things that can happen when you can't read very well'. But what are the chances of this happening? Here's the book. A line signifies a new page:
When I was twenty-one I was working at the Manchester Clothing Company.
I came out of work because I had bad toothache.
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I went to the dentist on Stockport Road, near the Apollo Cinema.
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I rang the doorbell and a lady came to the door, wearing a black pinny.
I said, "Can I see the dentist?" She said, "Come in. Go in there."
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So I went in the room. It was full of people. I went white.
The dentist was in his coffin. He was laid out.
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The lady said. "You have gone white. I said, "I didn't know the dentist was dead."
She said ,"Didn't you read the notice on the door?"
I said, "I'm sorry I couldn't read it".
So I came out and went to another dentist on Hyde Road. He said, "Come in."
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He turned the wireless up a bit and said, "We will have a bit of music."
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The he pulledout four teeth. He nearly pulled my head off.
Then I knew why he had turned up the wireless.
That's it!!!!! The ending is too abrupt and the connection between turning the wireless up and tooth extraction isn't really explored or explained. Furthermore, the line breaks are all over the place and there were two full stops missing (I included them above). What a strange book.
I've started teaching a student to read and write. We meet on two evenings a week. It's very tiring after a long day in the office - especially as I have to travel to and from his home - but the money is useful and it's quite rewarding. When adults are beginning to read and write you are not supposed to give them "Daddy is working in the garden"-style "Peter and Jane" books, so as not to alienate or patronise them. So I paid a visit to the local library for some suitable books. I was pleased to find a 'Basic Skills' section, although most of the material was too advanced for my student. I picked up half a dozen of the less wordy books and here's one (below). It's so spectacularly odd and peculiar I feel compelled to record it. The idea behind this series, apparently, is to 'explore some of the things that can happen when you can't read very well'. But what are the chances of this happening? Here's the book. A line signifies a new page:
When I was twenty-one I was working at the Manchester Clothing Company.
I came out of work because I had bad toothache.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I went to the dentist on Stockport Road, near the Apollo Cinema.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I rang the doorbell and a lady came to the door, wearing a black pinny.
I said, "Can I see the dentist?" She said, "Come in. Go in there."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So I went in the room. It was full of people. I went white.
The dentist was in his coffin. He was laid out.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The lady said. "You have gone white. I said, "I didn't know the dentist was dead."
She said ,"Didn't you read the notice on the door?"
I said, "I'm sorry I couldn't read it".
So I came out and went to another dentist on Hyde Road. He said, "Come in."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He turned the wireless up a bit and said, "We will have a bit of music."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The he pulledout four teeth. He nearly pulled my head off.
Then I knew why he had turned up the wireless.
That's it!!!!! The ending is too abrupt and the connection between turning the wireless up and tooth extraction isn't really explored or explained. Furthermore, the line breaks are all over the place and there were two full stops missing (I included them above). What a strange book.
