Ostracism or exclusion may not leave external scars, but it can cause pain that often is deeper and lasts longer than a physical injury, according to a Purdue University expert. When a person is ostracized, the brain’s dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, which registers physical pain, also feels this social injury, according to Kipling D. Williams, a professor of psychological sciences. The process of ostracism includes three stages: the initial acts of being ignored or excluded, coping and resignation.

We know that having difficulties learning to read is a major reason for ostracism — institutionalized ostracism — at a very young age.

An innovative system based on the latest brain research for helping anyone read better, is being used in science classes in the Carman-Ainsworth Middle and High Schools. The 25 C-A teachers who have been trained in EBLI (Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction) are the beginning of a movement catching on throughout Michigan — at least 10 districts are now using the program. With significant gains in MEAP and ACT scores after surprisingly short periods of time, EBLI is expected to spread rapidly.

Steve Tunnicliff, assistant superintendent of schools for instruction, was most impressed by reports from C-A staff members who saw tremendous results after taking their own children to a reading center using EBLI.

Previous research has shown that disfluency – the subjective experience of difficulty associated with cognitive operations – leads to deeper processing. A new study found further that information in hard-to-read fonts was better remembered than easier to read information, in a controlled laboratory setting. This finding was extended to high school classrooms in a second study, where the results suggest that superficial changes to learning materials could yield significant improvements in educational outcomes.

The high school classrooms were described as “regular,” “honors,” and “AP,” which of course raises the question of the applicability of the findings to readers who experience difficulty in learning to read.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker visited with elementary students as part of his statewide reading initiative. With 20% of the state’s children not reading adequately by 4th grade, Walker trying to figure out the best strategies to get all kids proficient in reading.

How about using a evidence-based method that works — EBLI?

The Bugga Boys are a set of characters John Corcoran has invented to help him tell his story. They stand for different aspects and phases of his development as someone who struggled with reading.

This slide show was produced by students in a class at Syracuse University who read John Corcoran’s books and worked with him to create a slide show on his “inner children.”

According to an upcoming study by University at Buffalo, SUNY psychologist Shira Gabriel, “when we read, we psychologically become part of the community described in the narrative—be they wizards or vampires. That mechanism satisfies the deeply human, evolutionarily crucial, need for belonging.”