At United Way Hungary, we work to improve the prospects of children struggling with reading. "Functional illiteracy" is a problem affecting one in five children in Hungary, taking a disastrous toll on the most vulnerable underprivileged children. Only by preventing them from dropping out of school can we give them a chance to find their purpose in life and their place in society. Acquiring the skill of reading comprehension is the key.
Comprehensive reading is the fundamential criteria of communication, further education and future orientation in society. Age 9 is a turning point in children's lives, as this is the age by when interpretive and analyst reading should be acquired. Otherwise children will not see the essence or the context of their readings, they will mug to learn and they will fail to succeed in life.
An innovative, child-centered educational methodology has been developed. It enables teachers to recognize reading difficulties in time and act, where needed. The new learning environment that is filled with toys, games and movement activities changes students' motivation. Learning becomes more interesting to them while they are playing, which helps them to become comprehensive readers.
Children, who learn to read in time, most probably will earn a high school diploma what will have a positive, long lasting effect on their lives and will give them better chance on employability as well.
