Retired Teacher Reveals He Was Illiterate Until Age 48

OCEANSIDE, California. John Corcoran graduated from college and taught high school for 17 years without being able to read, write or spell. Corcoran's life of secrecy started at a young age. He said his teachers moved him up from grade to grade. Often placed in what he calls the "dumb row," the images of his tribulations in the classroom are still vividly clear. "I can remember when I was 8 years old saying my prayers at night saying, 'please, God, tomorrow when it's my turn to read please let me read.' You just pretend that you are invisible and when the teacher says, 'Johnnie read,' you just wait the teacher out because you know the teacher has to go away at some point," said Corcoran.

Corcoran eventually started acting up to hide his illiteracy. From fifth through seventh grade he was expelled, suspended and spent most of his days at the principal's office. The former teacher said he came from a loving family that always supported him. "My parents came to school and it no longer was a problem for me reading because this boy Johnnie the -- native alien I call him -- he didn't have a reading problem as far as the teachers were concerned. He had an emotional problem. He had a psychological problem. He had a behavioural problem," said Corcoran. Corcoran later attended Palo Verde High School in Blythe, California. He cheated his way through high school, receiving his diploma in June 1956. "When I was a child I was just sort of just moved along when I got to high school I wanted to participate in athletics. At that time in high school I went underground. I decided to behave myself and do what it took. I started cheating by turning in other peoples' paper, dated the valedictorian, and ran around with college prep kids," said Corcoran. "I couldn't read words but I could read the system and I could read people," adds Corcoran.

He stole tests and persuaded friends to complete his assignments. Corcoran earned an athletic scholarship to Texas Western College. He said his cheating intensified, claiming he cheated in every class. "I passed a bluebook out the window to a friend I painstakingly copied four essay questions off the board in U.S. government class that was required, and hoped my friend would get it back to me with the right answers," Corcoran said. In 1961, Corcoran graduated with a bachelor's degree in education, while still illiterate he contends. He then went on to become a teacher during a teacher shortage. "When I graduated from the university, the school district in El Paso, where I went to school, gave almost all the college education graduates a job," said Corcoran. For 17 years Corcoran taught high school for the Oceanside School District.

Relying on teacher's assistants for help and oral lesson plans, he said he did a great job at teaching his students. "What I did was I created an oral and visual environment. There wasn't the written word in there. I always had two or three teacher's assistants in each class to do board work or read the bulletin," said Corcoran. In retrospect, Corcoran said, his deceit took him a long time to accept. "As a teacher it really made me sick to think that I was a teacher who couldn't read. It is embarrassing for me, and it's embarrassing for this nation and it's embarrassing for schools that we're failing to teach our children how to read, write and spell!" While still teaching, Corcoran dabbled in real estate. He was granted a leave of absence, eventually becoming a successful real estate developer. It wasn't until he was 48 years old that he gave reading and writing another chance. He drove to an inconspicuous office with a sign he couldn't read. He studied and worked with a tutor at the Literacy Centre of Carlsbad. Assigned to a 65-year-old volunteer tutor, Eleanor Condit, he was able to read at a sixth-grade level within a year. "I'm just an optimistic hopeful person that believes in the impossible and miracles," said Corcoran.

Carlsbad City Library literacy coordinator Carrie Scott said people of all walks of life go through the reading program, including teachers. Corcoran is now an education advocate. "I believe that illiteracy in America is a form of child neglect and child abuse and the child is blamed and they carry the shame, if we just teach our people how to read we'd give them a fair chance," Corcoran said. He has written two books, "The Teacher Who Couldn't Read" and "Bridge to Literacy." He is also the founder of the John Corcoran Foundation. The foundation is state-approved as a supplemental service provider for literacy in Colorado and California – providing tutoring programs for over 600 students in small group settings, and individually in homes through an online program.

Find out more about John Corcoran at his Web site: johncorcoranfoundation.com

Scrap ABC3 plans say experts

Play School, Bananas In Pyjamas and overseas childrens programs are exploited by the ABC for merchandise revenue, say industry leaders. Australian children, says Patricia Edgar and Barbara Biggins, deserve a better model than the ABC3 proposal being pushed by the national broadcaster. Writing in today's Sydney Morning Herald, the two women who served on the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal's children's program committee want to see multi-platform media delivered via broadband, that allows children to "access, manipulate, create and share multimedia content." They argue the $82m ABC3 model is an outmoded approach to the needs of children.

"The amount of money suggested over four years - $82 million - won't go far if spent on new quality programs, so the new channel will show many repeats of programs children already see." Edgar and Biggins argue strongly for the Rudd Government to reconsider the ABC3 proposal and incorporate the array of media that comprise the lives of Aussie kids. A model of government subsidy and merchandise to finance a children's TV channel is seen as antiquated and inappropriate. "There will still need to be a subsidised, contestable fund for Australian dramas and programs produced by professionals as part of the mix. Broadcasters that have never accepted responsibility for children's programming could relinquish their programming role, but only if they are levied to support a well-financed development and production fund."

So far the federal government has not thrown its support behind ABC3, and will not comment until the Federal Budget. Both Edgar and Biggins have a long history in children's television. Edgar was the founding director of the Australian Children's Television Foundation. Biggins is a former president of the Australian Council on Children and the Media. Their stance today will certainly ruffle some feathers in the industry. But that's exactly what the piece seems intent on doing. "No education revolution can succeed unless it encompasses all the media that dominate children's lives," they say.

Corey's other party

Corey's story: fair game or camera fodder?

They say a week is a long time in politics - but it can be even longer in the world of celebrity status. One minute a hero, the next minute the fall guy. I'm referring of course to the recent 'star' turn of 16-year-old Melbourne boy, Corey Delaney. Was there ever really a news story here or was this just part of what's known in the media as the 'silly season', when everyone's on holiday and there's little 'real' news to report on? Actually yes, there was a very serious news story here, particularly in the light of a number of parties over the years that have escalated out of control, often resulting in violence, sometimes even in death.

But when the journalists turned up on Monday to cover the legitimate story, it's highly unlikely they expected to find this teenager - egged on by his mates - ready to talk to them. His blond hair, bare chest and, oh, those sunglasses made him appealing to the cameras and also easy fodder for the media. Commercial current affairs went into overdrive scrambling for the 'exclusive' and it appeared by Monday night that Channel 9's A Current Affair had secured it with a one-on-one interview between Leila McKinnon and Corey. But rather than a probing interview to find out what this 16-year-old was really thinking, it became an aggressive and petulant display. "Take off your sunglasses and apologise," she demanded. He said he would apologise but he wasn't taking off his sunglasses and this then became the substance of the interview. Is this really what current affairs news has turned into? It would be laughable if it wasn't so sad. McKinnon's dismissive sign-off at the end "I suggest you go home and take a long, hard look at yourself", prompted nothing more than a smart-arse kid retort which has made him legendary among youth worldwide: "I have... everyone has... they love it."

Love him or hate him, this kid seemed extremely media savvy. His interview with McKinnon was posted on YouTube, his MySpace site had thousands of hits and news organisations and bloggers around the globe were obsessed with the story. But the media outlets which were condemning him were merely perpetuating his new found 'star' status. If they hadn't given him the airtime they did, it would have been all over and done with. The story now is not about what had or hadn't happened on the weekend but about Corey Delaney himself. Sadly, our current obsession with 'celebrity' and hence the media's coverage of it, allowed this to happen. By Wednesday it appeared he was demanding money or freebies in return for media interviews. At least one radio station apparently complied - but again the focus was on those sunglasses - and as a presenter tried to snatch them off his face, in true celebrity style, Corey got up and walked out of the studio. What a professional.

Party promoters and top publicists were saying he was worth more than bad girls Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears put together and could demand thousands for appearances all over the world. What for? Clubs he couldn't legally enter himself at just 16. And while we're on the matter let's not forget what happened to those three party girls last year. How soon they can fall from the media high life - but once you court the media in this way it's almost impossible to turn it off. Did Corey know what he was doing with the media when he fronted them on Monday? No. Did he think his face and name would suddenly be known worldwide? Of course not. No matter how media savvy he thinks he is - he's a 16-year-old kid. Was the media acting irresponsibly by interviewing a minor? This is an interesting question. He wasn't hounded, pestered or harassed - he didn't try to hide away and take refuge behind a closed door - he openly talked to them and then asked for money from them. Fair game. Or is he?

Look on the internet today and it's well beyond this teenager's control - and if he ever thought he was in control he was sadly mistaken. While his few minutes of fame on Monday night may have given him that feeling, now he's being parodied on websites and made to look an idiot among his peers. Fake websites have been set up, appearances on US radio stations have been faked and his image (or one similar to it) has been used in online advertising. I've even heard the expression 'Coreygate' - and he has no say over it. The power of the media cannot be underestimated. Where they see a drawcard for an audience they will use it every time. I'm not defending Corey Delaney's actions this week. But there are many people who should consider carefully how this teenager has been used and exploited, and all because he was left home alone and his parents trusted him.

Ann Lund is a lecturer in Journalism at Queensland University of Technology.

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