In Ybor City, in the cigar factories, before the age of radio, the employees (who were well-paid, skilled workers) would hire readers to read novels to them while they worked. Making cigars is a skilled trade, but it isn't loud work, so it allowed the employees to listen and follow some of the great Spanish-language novels of the XIX century. The result was a lot of well-educated, if sometimes technically illiterate, workers. Note that the factory didn't pay the readers. The employees contributed to hire professional readers.
That sounds a lot like a well known Irish storyteller, he’d left for Heaven long ago but he lived out in the Aran Islands and not only was he a monoglot Gaelige speaker he couldn’t read. BUT he could recite Fionn McCool and Tain Na Bolge completely in Irish with the odd rhymes so beautifully he sounded like he was singing
My dear Dr. Kat, thank you for your candor related to your reading disability. As one who suffered undiagnosed learning issues in my childhood (and as an adult), I praise anyone who brings attention to these issues. IF only we had the knowledge and tools to help people like us fifty years ago. Cheers!
Even 10 years ago. My dyslexia presents itself in the same way as Dr Kat's but wasn't picked up by my school as I was a good reader. I wasn't diagnosed until my first year of uni when I was 21. If it had been picked up and catered for in my years at school then my experience in education may have been vastly different
I’m in the USA, and am dyslexic. I taught high school English, Reading, Speech, and Journalism for about 28 years. I’m now retired and have found Audible to be a lifesaver. I love reading, but as I get older I find I have more difficulty reading and decoding at times. The OrCan Read would be such a game changer for students who are learning to cope with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. Thank you for bringing this wonderful technology to my attention! I substitute teach at a local, very small school district (they have less than 400 students including preK through grade 12) and I will bring this adaptive device to their SPED leads attention.
in my area in the US you could not start kindergarten until you were 5, so if you were born after august you had to wait a year. My mom taught me how to read in the meantime resulting in me reading chapter books by the time i entered school while others were learning the alphabet. it's peculiar and nice to see signs of mothers truly being the first educators across the ages and how my situation might be reflective of other children in the past
The same thing happened to me, the year learning to read with my parents gave me a huge advantage; in them I had brilliant personal teachers 24/7 who made me fall in love with reading. When I started school I had a huge advantage, for which I shall forever be grateful to them both.
My parents didn’t know I could read until Mom saw me doing so, a few months before I started kindergarten. I attribute teaching myself to read to several things-my parents reading to us all the time, my 19-months-older sister playing school with me, and Sesame Street starting when I was 3 (my sister’s school made the unprecedented recommendation to watch it). When I did start kindergarten, they divided us into mini-reading groups after a month or so depending on our reading skills. I was the only one in the top level group. Mom said that the other moms were muttering a bit after the tiers were announced at the parent meeting, but she told them I already knew how to read before school started. (When I started babysitting at age 12, I made it a point to always read to my charges for 30 minutes before bedtime. I found out from parents that I was the only neighborhood babysitter to do so, which was a sad commentary, I thought. Apparently, the kids loved it!)
I was raised similarly, and usually had 3 - 4 books going at all times. I even loved reading the dictionary and encyclopedia. (28 separate volumes...am I right?🤣Lol) Were you folks superb spellers, too, by any chance? My love for reading won me many Spelling Bees.
I did the same with my daughter and she was well advanced in kindergarten because of it. I think all parents (with the capability) should do it regardless.
As a dyslexic, a writer, and the mother of a dyslexic son. I am so grateful for your honesty speaking about your diagnosis. I have always admired your teachings. Now I admire your courage on behalf of my self and my son.
Great commentary -- first, reminding us that "literate" was not the same concept as now. Then, reminding that a whole village could be made "literate" by the presence of one person who would read to all of them. I was excited when you quoted Dale Hoak, who taught at my University a very long time ago. Unfortunately he went on sabbatical to the UK and I missed one of his courses.
I, for one, would love to hear more about Thomas Moore's eldest daughter. Although not a historian, I have an interest in a great many things. I so enjoy your channel ... all of it!
As a member of the Baha’i faith men and women are equal in the law of God and man but ,if you have two children and you can only afford to educate one of them then you educate the daughter as she is the first educator of the next generation of the family as we now know how crucial the first years of a child are love your channel keep safe and have a lovely Xmas regards from Ireland .
Thank you so much! As a disabled/neurodiverse student, I have struggled with both reading and writing over the years. My visual/auditory processing problems meant that I had trouble distinguishing the various phonetic sounds and connecting them to symbols, meaning I was unable to read until the age of 10. additionally, I have fine motor and muscle control issues that makes handwriting extremely difficult and even painful at times (I transitioned to using an all type method of writing at 12). I'm fortunate to live in a time where the technological resources were available for me adapt as well as being surrounded by people who cared enough to try and help me succeed- I was able to earn my bachelors in history and am currently studying to become an archivist. I also know, however, I wouldn't have been able to even learn the basics if I had been born just a few decades earlier. additionally, I think you should check out Jonathan Mooney's "Normal Sucks", which is all about how the historical/social movements which created the concept of "normal were exclusionary and inherently flawed
Yes! Margret Moore please? As a side note I too am dislexic. It was worse when I was younger, now at 64 only when I'm tried. Anyway, I wish to congratulate you on your pushing through and overcoming to achieve so much. Thank you for your I speration!
I was thinking and wondering when the "sampler' became the form of teaching numbers and letters to little girls? Seeing Elizabeth's beautiful work brought this to mind. Was she taught in this way as well?
The OrCam is quite amazing tech. Congrats to the inventors. But sadly, a bit too pricey for many folks who could use it. Hopefully this will improve as it becomes more well known and popular.
This is my first ever comment on TH-cam after being a member for over 10 years but I just had to say thank you so much. The orcam looks amazing and when I saw the price my heart sank. Then I saw in your description about workplace grants and I have never heard of this despite having a severe illness so thank you so much for raising the awearness of this and of dyslexia. I absolutely love your videos!
Even ancient Spartan women could read and write so I should imagine many Medieval women and women also could. If you look at the Puritans during King James' reign, using The Elegant Witch as my example, the ability to read and write in both Latin and English, as well as numeracy, were prized skills in a wife. Also, I am informed and since books were costly, reading aloud to others became quite the 'done thing' of an evening. I also remember that Milton was blind in his later years, and it was his daughter who took his dictation.
@@sarahwatts7152 numeracy (as we call it now) would have been taught to boys going into any profession that required it - including sailors (navigation) i believe. Hence boys went to school (or were tutored) longer than girls.
Ahhhh so all the available evidence SHOWING THE OPPOSITE ……is just gonna be ignored by you….cuz….”you’d rather have a happier less grim idea of history”? 😵💫🙄😂🤣🤣🤣🤣😂🤔 Wtf. Opinions aren’t FACTS And feelings aren’t FACTS
@@6Haunted-Days Revisionist history! The world did in fact suffer a great loss of knowledge with the end if the Roman empire. Yes, the Roman's were cruel, but their technical advances were enormous.
@@avalondreaming1433 cruel is massive understatement, though this is still generally untrue, the world didn’t “fall into a dark age” as it was made out by people from centuries later, rather things just changed
In the 50s, I was taught "the oral tradition of learning" as a viable educational system, in addition to the system of, often, self education through reading and writing taught initially by a family member or other and the system of a combination of both via an educator in various settings, throughout history. My mother taught me to read at the age of four.
Thank you, Harvey! Another intellectually stimulating video that has left me wanting to raise my hand, ask questions, share my doctoral experiences,and take in every morsel that Dr. Kat is
Could you please consider doing a video about foreign ambassadors like Eustace Chapuys? What did they do? Who supported them? Were they deep into court intrigues? What got them sent away? Were they immune from the local laws? Did they bring their families with them? How were they chosen? Who did Henry VIII for instance send to other courts? Thanks ;-))
@@merylmel Interestingly enough, most of the truthful evidence about Anne Boleyn comes from him. Six fingers? Nope, he surely would have mentioned it. Sleeping with everyone? Nope, he would have known. And much more!
Dear Dr Kat, I sincerely thank you for the rare and delightful thrill you gave by introducing the story of Wolsey's education in the way you did. When his well-known picture came on the screen, I was truly surprised. Before this, I had assumed that he rose because he must have been a world-class people person, understanding human motivation and being able to diplomatically persuade, as well as wit, charm, good looks, industry. I never knew about his prodigious academic achievements. Thank you for another wonderful and absorbing episode!
thank you, Dr. Kat! I've been frustrated by descriptions of historical education that don't mention basic numeracy. It seems so essential to day-to-day tasks.
I get the impression that, during the mediaeval period, to be 'literate' required being able to read Latin. I'm sure I've come across someone being referred to as 'illiterate' when they were also described as reading or writing something - but not in Latin.
Thank you for introducing the ALL CAN READ. I so wish I would have had something like this with my education. I likely would have gone on to a doctorate if I had something like this. Because reading is a challenge, I look forward to your video each week. Love TH-cam and Audiobooks
I automatically hit the thumbs up when I first arrive because I know I won't be disappointed. Dr. Kat has opened my eyes about my misperceptions about education of the past. As always I love learning new things.
Dr. Kat! You are such a font of useful and so very interesting content, up to and including Harvey! I simply don’t miss one of your videos, and I’m rapidly catching up with your back catalog. I so welcome and appreciate having you in my life, even at one (TH-cam) remove. I love the live events as well, but the time difference (I’m in New Jersey USA) sometimes presents challenges. Nonetheless, I simply treasure you. No hyperbole there..
Dr. Kat, Thank you for bringing up dyslexia again. Both of my sons are dyslexic and has a tough experience in school. My eldest, now 34, dropped out of school at age 17 and then took his GED test before his classmates. He works in construction, has a wife and a 6 month old baby girl. I can't help but wonder "what if". He has a genius IQ and had big dreams of going to college. Then I automatically think he wouldn't have what he has and that's better than a degree. Everything happens for a reason. My younger son, now 31, was diagnosed at age 6. He graduated with his class. He is married to a great woman who's a BSN. He works as a truck driver and is happy. Pretty good for a guy who didn't know his left from his right, North from South, or East from West. Dyslexia can be a such a handicap. I can't believe that more hasn't been done to assist people who struggle to see numbers and letters. Thank you for sharing this resource. I'm going to look into this more. I loved your video. Yet again you have taught me more about this time in history. Happy Birthday to your son 🥳
I like Harvey, love the fact that you found tools that make life easier and find it remarkable that you were able to go through life with dyslexia with difficulty, I assume, but finding ways to make up for it. Genius!
When one looks at alphabets today that are given to 5 year olds to practice writing skills and then at the alphabets on horn books, it's amazing that any of them learned to write. Imagine trying to copy those letters with a slate pen! Also, someone mentioned Greek, and I would like to suggest they had it easy! Those letters have always been simply designed and perfect for anyone to copy.
Hi Dr. Kat. Wow. Just wow. Your scholarship alone in researching today's video was impressive enough, but to realize you do your work each week given the challenges imposed by dyslexia is beyond amazing. I cannot congratulate you enough. (How I wish that Orcam produced a similar aid for those of us "grey hairs" who suffer from computer, internet, and social media illiteracy...) Anyway, time for another coffee. I look forward to next week's "masterpiece".
I truly enjoy your videos every week. I have learned so much from you and your passion for history. However, to hear your story about your struggles with dyslexia gave me an even stronger connection to your content. I too struggle with what I have "self-diagnosed" as dyslexia. As a child, I remember being terrified of books and not because I didn't love to learn but merely because I could not read from them unless I already knew every single word contained therein. In fact, to this day (at a not so young 48) I still cannot read aloud a word I have not seen before -- phonics simply don't work for me. To hear you explain how reading works or doesn't work for you was like listening to my own mind and extremely validating. Thank you so much for sharing your story. It meant a great deal to me on a terribly personal level.
While doing some family history research I looked at the extended entry for my great-great-grandmother in the 1901 Census of Canada. She could read but not write. So evidence of being able to read but not write is available for the modern period, at least. In 1400, not so much.
Fascinating as always. I remember many moons ago reading somewhere that in the early modern period written records were held with some suspicion because it was believed the written word could be falsified, human memory was held to be more reliable. I think also there was a more fluid line between literacy and oral culture, in antiquity it was unusual to read silently, most people read aloud and perhaps this carried on into the early modern world. And in protestant countries literacy was common, John Clare wrote of someone reading a story from a chapbook, in Scandinavia you had to read to learn the catechism which was a prerequisite for marriage. in the late 19th century Finnish students gathered signatures among rural dwellers for a petition and everyone could read but only about half could sign their name.
It's odd that we so often think of reading and writing as being absolutely linked together when it's so common for small children to be able to read quite well before they can write at all. Great video!
I completely agree about people being able to read but not write. I've tried to learn many languages in my life, for example recently - I'm very good at reading russian and Scots Gaelic, BUT I can't currently write the alphabet in russian. I also struggle to form full sentences in both languages. I can still read and register the sounds that the alphabet makes in Russian, but I cannot for the life of me regurgitate that into my own writing. I can imagine that someone who can't write has their own "alphabet" of sounds that is difficult to translate into, for example, a Latin alphabet. Love your videos, thank you so much for influencing us so positively! Adore your work :-)
As an elementary school teacher seeing students this year who have spent 1.5 years online, I totally understand that gap in reading and writing! Great video :)
Thank you for this video. I am currently substitute teaching at an elementary school and tutoring kinder through 2nd grade students in learning to read. I love when I see progress with them. I was raised by an avid reader mother who later became a historical romance novel author. She passed that love of education and I went as far as to pursue my doctorate in business administration, and am now going to go through the Alternate Route to Teaching to become a licensed elementary school teacher. I am interested in this tool in helping others find the joy that I do in written texts.
Thank you so much for reminding us that, although the people of the past may not have been what we would consider literate, that didn't make them less intelligent. If a skill is unnecessary to daily life, the lack of it will have no impact. And as not everyone was able to get academic instruction, their lack of that skill cannot be attributed to lesser intelligence. As you pointed out, you are a living example that having a struggle with a given skill most certainly does not indicate small intellect. According to my parents, I was beginning to read by the time I was three years old and have read voraciously every day of my life, yet each week you teach me something new. Also, being a longtime namer of things, I was delighted to meet Harvey. Were we on the same continent, I'm sure my truck Billy-Bob would be delighted to make Harvey's acquaintance.
I knew Wolsey was " the butchers son" and disliked or even hated by the nobles, but I did not know the details of his education. This is a magnificient video full of interest. I learned to read, write, and do sums at age 4, from my mother, and I was advanced far beyond my classmates when I started school at age 6. I only know 2 languages, English and Spanish, but I am fully bi-lingual, reading, writing, and speaking both and with the full ability to switch at will and even dream in both. My mother used to say that intelligence has no bearing on how smart you are, it depends on how that intelligence is used. I really enjoyed the examples of social class differences and the opportunities that were available.
I am not dyslexic ,and although extremely myopic, I can see fine with glasses. But I was wowed by Harvey. I could see how helpful 'he' could be to certain people. I hope the price for 'him' is not prohibitive for people with scant means. I loved the fact that it actually sounds like a human being and not that awful android thing. Some vlogs sound like that and I turn them off. One reason why I love your stuff. A real human being in a real room talking a lot of unbiased sense about history. What's not to like? Suggestions would be more Stuart stuff. They seem to get overlooked and in actual fact their dynasty had just as much seismic influence on the nation as the Tudors, arguably more. On their shift we had the first 'joining' of Scotland and England, a Civil War, the trial and execution of a reigning monarch, the Gunpowder Plot, the continual vying of Catholic and Protestant and the overthrow of another monarch because he prayed to god in the wrong way. We got the No Catholics at throne level which still stands today. We saw the development of Parliament and went through a Republic of sorts. Which was actually pretty close to a dictatorship. We saw incredible developments in architecture landscaping, women on the stage! The stirrings of the Industrial Revolution. Modern Britain owes more to the turbulent Stuarts than it does the Tudors. If people are looking for Drama, I would put Charles 2nd's 6 weeks on the run after the Battle of Worcester against any Tudor Soap Opera. There is a Whole Civil War! Mistresses, barren wives, broken betrothals.... Plus Charlie 2 is better looking than fat old Henry!
Thank you very much for doing a video on this topic! I really appreciate understanding some of the niceties of difference between forms of literacy. I believe that in ancient Egypt, often the Kings couldn't read well, and it was the scribes that were the literate ones, recorded everything and managed the transactions. There are forms of hieroglyphics like hieratic that are sort of short forms of the ancient Egyptian language but it was mostly the province of the scribes there also. The hieroglyphics had other meanings besides representing sound. as well They were thought to have magical properties also. Whether they had magic is an open question but who has not experienced the magic of a fine book? Magical qualities can be conveyed orally from person to person in cultures that preserve their histories orally, and some books are intended to be primarily transmitted orally, like the Koran. Someone who has completely memorized the Koran and can recite it in the way it was originally to be conveyed (chanted, as a free form art, within cadences that are appropriate for the verses) even has a special title in Islam: Haifiz. One also learns to read Hebrew and to chant it in shul, same idea, and the idea that Hebrew letters have spiritual magic. The whole history of alphabets, printing and literacy so fascinating! And congratulations on your new family member, Harvey!
your videos are always such a comfort to me. your voice is so soothing and sincere. thank you for creating this content. I love being able to learn new things about parts of history I thought I knew so well.
Thank you very much for this. My maternal grandmother (born 1902) gifted me a little walnut box that had belonged to her stepfather. On its bottom, in pencil, was written his signature, 'John Ford.' It was the only thing he could write - taught to him by his wife. I treasure it and am going to leave it to my grandson. John Ford had had no formal education of any kind. When researching family history, I was shocked and deeply moved to discover that my paternal grandfather and his siblings were educated at a 'Ragged School.' The children left at 12 or 14 to go, usually, into either service or apprenticeships. Perhaps you could do a video on the 'Ragged' or 'Poor' Schools?
That Orcam is amazing. I went into performing arts as a career because I was dyslexic. I couldn’t fall back on any secretarial skills so I was very committed to theatrical pursuits such as dance and costuming.
You have reminded me of something I learned from the books and programs of science historian James Burke. He opened one 'Connections' program by speaking about a modern-day philosopher (whose name I have regrettably forgotten) who was approached by a student after one of his classes. The student opined that our ancestors must have been stupid to think that the sun goes around the earth, when everyone knows that the earth travels around the sun. The philosopher appeared to agree, but wondered how the sun's travels would have looked if our ancestors had known what we do now. His point, of course, was that it would have looked just the same as it does to us today. About twenty (or more) years ago, I was listening to the program Vox Pop on National Public Radio. The discussion that day included the topics of dinosaurs and fossils. One of the speakers brought up the point that our ancestors were not idiots; they just didn't have the same frames of reference that we do now. They must have found fossils while plowing, digging building foundations, or otherwise going about their daily lives. They simply wouldn't have known what they were seeing, so they made up stories to explain their finds. The example he gave was of a farmer (perhaps) finding a huge tusk. He and his neighbors would have had no knowledge of wooly mammoths, so they related it to something they already knew: a wild pig. And so the tale of the Erymanthian Boar entered their mythology.
My youngest son ( now 26 ) struggled with very severe dyslexia at school- he didn’t recognise his own name ‘Trystan’ on his lunch box at age 8. In all other respects he was bright, with a wonderful memory that he really polished up because he knew he couldn’t read or write. For example the class was meant to memorise 4 lines of a poem for homework, I read the whole ( rather long !) poem to him twice- the following day he was able to recite the whole poem and his teachers were really amazed.
As someone who was an educator, I am thrilled a device like, Harvey has been created. This is also a game changer for those who learn aurally. This thrills me to no end.
In the U.S. the oral exam is similar to yours, but it’s called the dissertation defense or doctoral defense ... and I’m so glad it’s behind me! I found it terrifying. The best part is the end, when the committee chair says “Congratulations, Doctor.”
Dear Dr. Kat, thank you so very much for sharing with your audience both your hardships and triumphs! Reading, though a joy in my childhood, has been difficult for me for most of my life due to my eyesight. My eyes flit from the line I'm reading to other parts of the page, making staying on track harder. I hope to one day be able to purchase a similar device to aid my personal scholarship.
This was a wonderful video. It's so lovely that the value of the oral tradition has been reiterated on this channel. I didn't know you were dyslexic and it makes me respect you earning your Doctorate so much more. I can't imagine the levels of difficulty that were added and overcome by you. You are an amazing woman for so many different reasons. Also, I love your no touchy, no touch Tick Tocks so much. Have a great day!
I'm a teacher of students with dyslexia, so I'm really excited by both the contents of the video and the device mentioned. I can't wait to show it to them.
I learned how to read on my own when I was three. My parents are both teachers and my mom has her masters in reading education. She thinks I did it by memorization which I suspect is true. Phonics has never made sense to me, lol! I loved hearing about your tool to help you with Dyslexia. I was diagnosed with a hearing disability when I was three and even though I’ve worn hearing aids ever since it’s been a challenge. Last year I got new hearing aids that have Bluetooth capability and it’s been a game changer. I have a little receiver I wear around my neck and I can connect it to my phone or use it as a microphone to amplify sound. I often use it while watching movies with my boys so that I can hear the TV without needing the sound turned up. It works great! I love how modern technology has helped make living with a disability easier and I’m so grateful for it. It’s interesting to think about literacy through history and how different it was. I LOVE your videos and I am so grateful for them and for you. I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday. Gabriel is at a very fun age and I remember what a joy it was when my boys were little like he is! ❤️
I enjoyed this look into literacy. I find it fascinating and also intriguing. I wonder about the education of the girls at the time as they did need to know a bit to run the households.
Please, by all means, do a program on Margaret More Roper. Memorization seems to be something of a lost art nowadays. I can remember having to memorize poems of about 20-24 lines back in 4th-6th grade. After that, I changed schools and rote memorization was not required until I took Latin and German. I don't recall any of the poems I had to memorize. However, I can still recall things my brother had to memorize, because his technique was to repeat the lines aloud over and over. My abilities to recall have suffered since I had access to the internet. Why memorize when I can just look it up? Ditto for my ability to do arithmetic without a calculator. I used to be able to do long division with answers running to 10 or 12 digits. Now I find myself resorting to using the calculator when I want to figure out someone's age from the year they were born! I googled ORCAM and it seems to be quite pricey. I'm hoping that, with time, the price will come down enabling many more dyslexic and vision-impaired people to afford one.
I cannot remember where I read it, perhaps someone will remember something about it, but in medieval times, lack of reading and arithmetic was not as low as previously thought. Serfs were bound by contracts and basic reading was around for some of them to keep the Lord honest. Although, I don't know I'd want to challenge a Lord with a troop of men with big swords as a serf. Also, they depended on the priests to an extent for contracts. The Orcom device will help so many. I hope the price decreases as bifocals become more a part of my life and I can't stand to wear them. Such a great tool for so many though. I'd be selling things if I had a dyslexic child and couldn't afford it to make sure they had one..
Wonderful and interesting video. I agree with your comment on the LP Hartley quote about the past being a different country. I have been looking at prehistory, the Skara Brae settlement ( in a very much lay man’s way) and considering that the people there seemed to have a culture that gave them time to create art, make homes that had aesthetic value Etc etc…I like to think they were exactly like us in that sometimes they must have had very long boring Tuesday afternoons when it was raining ( even tho they wouldn’t have called them Tuesdays). And thinking that makes me think it wasn’t a different country but just like ours…more like ours than not. Anyway, as always, a very interesting and brilliant video.
Another fantastic video, Dr. Kat! Thank you so much for speaking about the Orcam. My husband was diagnosed with dyslexia while still in school. He still has problems. I can't wait to tell him about the Orcam. Blessings to you!
This was a fascinating look at something that we all think we understand and really never think about. I did go and watch your video on your experience with dyslexia and it gave me insight into experiences that both of my brothers had (though we are quite a bit older than you are) but I also gained insight into some of my own struggles in school. So I got sidetracked from literacy but am fascinated enough by the topic to go back and watch again to examine my own perceptions of literacy. Thank you for making me think about both very interesting topics.
Hi Dr Kat, Thank you so much for sharing your story and about the Orcam. I was diagnosed with Dyslexia and Dyspraxia at the start of my BA History and struggled reading all the tiny written text in books. It's amazing how technology keeps developing to make our studying and lives easier. Will be checking out the Orcam to see if it helps me. Love your channel and tuning each week to watch your videos
Oh! Yes, please, more Margaret Moore. Another idea: I would love to learn more about the ladies of salon culture of the Age of Discovery--or some other instance in which woman intellectuals interacted or collaborated from any era or society, actually.
Oh please do a video on More and Margaret Roper! That family is such an inspiration to me as a feminist and nerd. And thank you for reading The Silk Roads!
I am grateful that King Edward VI founded a lot of schools in his name that were for boys as well as Girls. I went to King Edward VI Grammar School for Girls in Birmingham where we have 7 schools in the Foundation. King Edward decreed that girls should be allowed to learn in Grammar schools as well as boys. I was told off by the head teachers of both my boys schools in Reception because they both were able to write their name & read . Apparently I taught them the wrong way!!
I did a viva for my dissertation in my performing arts BA (at least I was supposed to but then COVID happened so I did it as a voice recording). It's interesting to hear where were that form of assessment came from
I will look into the ORCAM for my dyslexic aunt. Thank you for all the interesting information. Definitely looking forward to an episode on Margaret Roper. I remember decades ago as a teenager, reading a fiction book in which she was the lead character.
I'm dylexic and of an older generation. School was a nightmare even though my IQ was high. It made my grandmother decide I was just doing poorly because I was a wicked child. There was not much available in that time and I figured enough out to be able to read and now enjoy it, though my numerical literacy is still poor. (NUmber don't make words and have little context!)
I have two things to say about the Dark Ages. A few years back, in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, a friend and I looked at exquisite jewelry from the Eastern Roman Empire. The next room featured the wooden ribs of an old early Christian church from France. My friend, who was an historian of American art, came with me when I pulled her back to the jewelry and then into the remains of the little church. I asked her, "Do you see why the title, the Dark Ages, was invented?" She was amazed. Much more recently, a youtube posted a photo of a letter of King Henry VIII which showed one word spelled in two ways. It wasn't clear whether Henry or a scribe wrote the letter, but, if someone did something like that today, they might be ridiculed or asked it they had been drinking. Henry in many ways marked the early modern age, but the two spellings, as well as the contrast between the amazing jewelry and rough ribs of the church expand the definition of the dark ages.
So enjoyed this video and learning about education and entire idea of literacy and what it meant. And really was excited to learn about the OrCam - what a wonderful tool for folks in so many different circumstances! I had a lot of trouble reading when I was young and first learned to read - it was just overwhelming until a few grades into school. Then it got better. But, I've always been a slow reader. And I have a tendency to let my mind wander, reading a paragraph and not having a clue what I just read. I got back and read it again. I have found if that's really a problem, I do better if I read it aloud - something about hearing a voice and seeing the words at the same time helped me to comprehend it. This was especially true for me when I first read Jane Austen - I had the read the entire first chapter of Pride and Prejudice aloud to get her pattern of writing "into my head or my inner ear" so I could follow it. Enough about me - thank you again for your wonderful videos. I always learn so much from you!
I'm 53 and I grew up predominantly in what we call the DEEP South, the Bible belt here in the US. I was born and raised in Georgia (Ft. McPherson Army hospital since both my folks were in the Army) but of course back then if you got pregnant you got booted (no pun intended) from the service. I saw SO many old Southern wives that lost their husbands and had no idea even where their husband kept the check books and such. I would come across them in church and tell my Mom (who at the time was an atheist) and she would go and get them squared away. You'd be shocked how many of them didn't even know if their husbands had life insurance. I know the whole purpose of the men taking care of the finances was that they felt that was one stress the wives didn't have to worry about, but it became a HUGE liability after the husband died and they couldn't even balance a checkbook. My Mom started going to churches and PTA meetings to give talks to men and women about teaching a woman to do for herself just in case you outlive her. The men were NOT the ones who were the most resistant to the idea! They all knew, especially in the land of deep fried everything, they would probably die before their wives. Of course, we're talking about at least 3 generations of women whose husbands never saw them without their make-up. EVER! They'd get up super early just to make sure they "had their face on" before anyone else was up. Their priorities were a bit out of whack! lol
Sadly I grew up near the same area, and I knew quite a few folks 50+ years, that did not know how to read or write. Even my grandmother read at about my 7yr.old's pace now. Thinking about it now, she always had us read for her when we were around. I also remember her working so hard to memorize the words by sight so if she saw a street name written down she would know where the address was in town. She didn't have a driver's license because she was unable to read the test. It wasn't common among her generation, but most certainly more common than it should have been. All of the boys and younger girls went to school but all the older girls were kept home to take care of the kids and farm work. That was down and in much smaller towns. What makes this worse is I am only 41, not in my 70's or 80's.☹️
I remember well, being told by my teacher,via my mother, that "she can't even spell it correctly when she copies from the blackboard, but she can read". No one knew not even me that I was most likely dyslexic. Unless I copied letter for letter, which would take far too long, I couldn't hold the words in my head to spell them correctly. I think someone to scribe would have been a huge help. As you say, it depends on what you need to demonstrate and where the bar is set which will determine how society views literacy, and it very well mean a lot of different skills at different times to different people.
This might be the Dr. Kat talk I've enjoyed most, both because the topic interests me--the nature of intelligence, the idea that there are many different types--and perhaps because I'm reading Jill Paton-Walsh's sequels to the Dorothy Sayers books about Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane; and we know how important female education was to Sayers.
Another fascinating and unique analysis from Dr Kat. I always look forward to these videos and know that at the end of one I will have broadened not only my knowledge but my perspective on history as well.
Wish I had orcam in my university years as person who is dyslexic and who studied early childhood studies and then pgce in primary education , it would made life so much easier for me ,
A fellow dyslexic here. My IQ was tested twice and the results were very high. Yet I could never understand my difficulty in learning. I compensated well enough that no one suspected the difficulties I experienced. It wasn't until after retirement that I saw the symptoms I experienced: (1) difficulty memorizing lines, (2) slow reading and low comprehension, (3) difficulty learning new languages, (4) difficulty parroting an oral recitation of long numbers, addresses and phone numbers. When I read, I see a line of words all at the same time. I don't see a string of words in sequential order. I have to force my eyes to look at, and read aloud in my head, each word in its order, left to right.
Thank you Doctor Kat. There were some familiar theories, ideas and facts presented in new ways for me. I was surprised and impressed by the early ages of some of the famous achievers. I'm particularly interested in the memorisation details. It has always seemed to me that in earlier centuries (or even generations) memories were far more trained, honed and used than we can even contemplate. Aural habits must have been very keenly enforced which for someone like me would have been a problem. I have difficulty focusing on factual things being read aloud. And trying to follow along with a transcript is problematic because I'm a rapid reader, so my eyes keep 'going ahead' and then I don't take in either voice or script properly. I've only recently been able to listen to fictional audiobooks with any enjoyment. I'm going to pass on the details of the Orcan to my son, who we were always told was *not* dyslexic but has always had some of the challenges faced by those. I've even wondered if he has a 'rare version!'. I did relax a bit about his spelling when I realised that modern spelling rules were just that...modern. Can we blame unification of spelling on Dr Johnson? My son's in his thirties and some of his spelling was so original spellcheck would figuratively throw up its hands and say "stuffed if I know., You're on your own". There is one thing I've always wondered...just how common *were* "whipping boys"?
My father was severely dyslexic . Only made it to grade 3 . Words completely backwards. He had the most incredible memory Fantastic artist Incredibly smart Was a high rigger connector iron worker. Did very well in life but other skills made up for reading issues . Our brains 🧠 our beautiful
That orcam is amazing - very interesting vide and I always love another look at Elizabeth's present of the translated book - it amazes me each and every time 😊
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In Ybor City, in the cigar factories, before the age of radio, the employees (who were well-paid, skilled workers) would hire readers to read novels to them while they worked. Making cigars is a skilled trade, but it isn't loud work, so it allowed the employees to listen and follow some of the great Spanish-language novels of the XIX century. The result was a lot of well-educated, if sometimes technically illiterate, workers. Note that the factory didn't pay the readers. The employees contributed to hire professional readers.
Fascinating, thank you!
That's really interesting, thanks
Fascinating, thanks.
Yesss! Loved this bit of info! ❤️
That sounds a lot like a well known Irish storyteller, he’d left for Heaven long ago but he lived out in the Aran Islands and not only was he a monoglot Gaelige speaker he couldn’t read. BUT he could recite Fionn McCool and Tain Na Bolge completely in Irish with the odd rhymes so beautifully he sounded like he was singing
My dear Dr. Kat, thank you for your candor related to your reading disability. As one who suffered undiagnosed learning issues in my childhood (and as an adult), I praise anyone who brings attention to these issues. IF only we had the knowledge and tools to help people like us fifty years ago. Cheers!
Even 10 years ago. My dyslexia presents itself in the same way as Dr Kat's but wasn't picked up by my school as I was a good reader. I wasn't diagnosed until my first year of uni when I was 21. If it had been picked up and catered for in my years at school then my experience in education may have been vastly different
I was diagnosed with dyscalculia at the age of 38.
Great comment!
I’m in the USA, and am dyslexic. I taught high school English, Reading, Speech, and Journalism for about 28 years. I’m now retired and have found Audible to be a lifesaver. I love reading, but as I get older I find I have more difficulty reading and decoding at times. The OrCan Read would be such a game changer for students who are learning to cope with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. Thank you for bringing this wonderful technology to my attention! I substitute teach at a local, very small school district (they have less than 400 students including preK through grade 12) and I will bring this adaptive device to their SPED leads attention.
in my area in the US you could not start kindergarten until you were 5, so if you were born after august you had to wait a year. My mom taught me how to read in the meantime resulting in me reading chapter books by the time i entered school while others were learning the alphabet. it's peculiar and nice to see signs of mothers truly being the first educators across the ages and how my situation might be reflective of other children in the past
The same thing happened to me, the year learning to read with my parents gave me a huge advantage; in them I had brilliant personal teachers 24/7 who made me fall in love with reading. When I started school I had a huge advantage, for which I shall forever be grateful to them both.
My parents didn’t know I could read until Mom saw me doing so, a few months before I started kindergarten. I attribute teaching myself to read to several things-my parents reading to us all the time, my 19-months-older sister playing school with me, and Sesame Street starting when I was 3 (my sister’s school made the unprecedented recommendation to watch it). When I did start kindergarten, they divided us into mini-reading groups after a month or so depending on our reading skills. I was the only one in the top level group. Mom said that the other moms were muttering a bit after the tiers were announced at the parent meeting, but she told them I already knew how to read before school started. (When I started babysitting at age 12, I made it a point to always read to my charges for 30 minutes before bedtime. I found out from parents that I was the only neighborhood babysitter to do so, which was a sad commentary, I thought. Apparently, the kids loved it!)
I was raised similarly, and usually had 3 - 4 books going at all times. I even loved reading the dictionary and encyclopedia. (28 separate volumes...am I right?🤣Lol) Were you folks superb spellers, too, by any chance? My love for reading won me many Spelling Bees.
I did the same with my daughter and she was well advanced in kindergarten because of it. I think all parents (with the capability) should do it regardless.
Mothers--the original "Head Start" program! Thank you, Dr. Kat!
As a dyslexic, a writer, and the mother of a dyslexic son. I am so grateful for your honesty speaking about your diagnosis. I have always admired your teachings. Now I admire your courage on behalf of my self and my son.
Great commentary -- first, reminding us that "literate" was not the same concept as now. Then, reminding that a whole village could be made "literate" by the presence of one person who would read to all of them. I was excited when you quoted Dale Hoak, who taught at my University a very long time ago. Unfortunately he went on sabbatical to the UK and I missed one of his courses.
I, for one, would love to hear more about Thomas Moore's eldest daughter.
Although not a historian, I have an interest in a great many things. I so enjoy your channel ... all of it!
A scholar who carried her dad's head around in a bag? Yep. I'd appreciate a piece on her remarkable character.
As a member of the Baha’i faith men and women are equal in the law of God and man but ,if you have two children and you can only afford to educate one of them then you educate the daughter as she is the first educator of the next generation of the family as we now know how crucial the first years of a child are love your channel keep safe and have a lovely Xmas regards from Ireland .
Thanks for commenting. I’d never heard of this faith and looked it up!
Thank you so much! As a disabled/neurodiverse student, I have struggled with both reading and writing over the years. My visual/auditory processing problems meant that I had trouble distinguishing the various phonetic sounds and connecting them to symbols, meaning I was unable to read until the age of 10. additionally, I have fine motor and muscle control issues that makes handwriting extremely difficult and even painful at times (I transitioned to using an all type method of writing at 12). I'm fortunate to live in a time where the technological resources were available for me adapt as well as being surrounded by people who cared enough to try and help me succeed- I was able to earn my bachelors in history and am currently studying to become an archivist. I also know, however, I wouldn't have been able to even learn the basics if I had been born just a few decades earlier.
additionally, I think you should check out Jonathan Mooney's "Normal Sucks", which is all about how the historical/social movements which created the concept of "normal were exclusionary and inherently flawed
Yes! Margret Moore please?
As a side note I too am dislexic. It was worse when I was younger, now at 64 only when I'm tried. Anyway, I wish to congratulate you on your pushing through and overcoming to achieve so much.
Thank you for your I speration!
I was thinking and wondering when the "sampler' became the form of teaching numbers and letters to little girls? Seeing Elizabeth's beautiful work brought this to mind. Was she taught in this way as well?
The OrCam is quite amazing tech. Congrats to the inventors. But sadly, a bit too pricey for many folks who could use it. Hopefully this will improve as it becomes more well known and popular.
This is my first ever comment on TH-cam after being a member for over 10 years but I just had to say thank you so much. The orcam looks amazing and when I saw the price my heart sank. Then I saw in your description about workplace grants and I have never heard of this despite having a severe illness so thank you so much for raising the awearness of this and of dyslexia. I absolutely love your videos!
Even ancient Spartan women could read and write so I should imagine many Medieval women and women also could. If you look at the Puritans during King James' reign, using The Elegant Witch as my example, the ability to read and write in both Latin and English, as well as numeracy, were prized skills in a wife. Also, I am informed and since books were costly, reading aloud to others became quite the 'done thing' of an evening. I also remember that Milton was blind in his later years, and it was his daughter who took his dictation.
I also imagine most people would have been able to do basic math - imagine being a carpenter without math! Obviously it's doable, but much harder.
@@sarahwatts7152 numeracy (as we call it now) would have been taught to boys going into any profession that required it - including sailors (navigation) i believe. Hence boys went to school (or were tutored) longer than girls.
Ahhhh so all the available evidence SHOWING THE OPPOSITE ……is just gonna be ignored by you….cuz….”you’d rather have a happier less grim idea of history”? 😵💫🙄😂🤣🤣🤣🤣😂🤔
Wtf.
Opinions aren’t FACTS
And feelings aren’t FACTS
@@6Haunted-Days Revisionist history! The world did in fact suffer a great loss of knowledge with the end if the Roman empire. Yes, the Roman's were cruel, but their technical advances were enormous.
@@avalondreaming1433 cruel is massive understatement, though this is still generally untrue, the world didn’t “fall into a dark age” as it was made out by people from centuries later, rather things just changed
In the 50s, I was taught "the oral tradition of learning" as a viable educational system, in addition to the system of, often, self education through reading and writing taught initially by a family member or other and the system of a combination of both via an educator in various settings, throughout history. My mother taught me to read at the age of four.
Thank you, Harvey! Another intellectually stimulating video that has left me wanting to raise my hand, ask questions, share my doctoral experiences,and take in every morsel that Dr. Kat is
Sharing. Wow!!!
Could you please consider doing a video about foreign ambassadors like Eustace Chapuys? What did they do? Who supported them? Were they deep into court intrigues? What got them sent away? Were they immune from the local laws? Did they bring their families with them? How were they chosen? Who did Henry VIII for instance send to other courts? Thanks ;-))
Yes! Chapuys is particularly interesting. I've tried to find a book of or about his correspondence but failed.
@@merylmel Interestingly enough, most of the truthful evidence about Anne Boleyn comes from him. Six fingers? Nope, he surely would have mentioned it. Sleeping with everyone? Nope, he would have known. And much more!
Dear Dr Kat, I sincerely thank you for the rare and delightful thrill you gave by introducing the story of Wolsey's education in the way you did. When his well-known picture came on the screen, I was truly surprised. Before this, I had assumed that he rose because he must have been a world-class people person, understanding human motivation and being able to diplomatically persuade, as well as wit, charm, good looks, industry. I never knew about his prodigious academic achievements. Thank you for another wonderful and absorbing episode!
thank you, Dr. Kat! I've been frustrated by descriptions of historical education that don't mention basic numeracy. It seems so essential to day-to-day tasks.
I get the impression that, during the mediaeval period, to be 'literate' required being able to read Latin. I'm sure I've come across someone being referred to as 'illiterate' when they were also described as reading or writing something - but not in Latin.
Thank you for introducing the ALL CAN READ. I so wish I would have had something like this with my education. I likely would have gone on to a doctorate if I had something like this. Because reading is a challenge, I look forward to your video each week. Love TH-cam and Audiobooks
I automatically hit the thumbs up when I first arrive because I know I won't be disappointed. Dr. Kat has opened my eyes about my misperceptions about education of the past. As always I love learning new things.
Not dyslexic, but empathetic. Great episode, Orcam Read left me wide-eyed and with a lump in my throat! How grand!
Dr. Kat! You are such a font of useful and so very interesting content, up to and including Harvey! I simply don’t miss one of your videos, and I’m rapidly catching up with your back catalog. I so welcome and appreciate having you in my life, even at one (TH-cam) remove. I love the live events as well, but the time difference (I’m in New Jersey USA) sometimes presents challenges. Nonetheless, I simply treasure you. No hyperbole there..
Dr. Kat, Thank you for bringing up dyslexia again. Both of my sons are dyslexic and has a tough experience in school.
My eldest, now 34, dropped out of school at age 17 and then took his GED test before his classmates. He works in construction, has a wife and a 6 month old baby girl. I can't help but wonder "what if". He has a genius IQ and had big dreams of going to college. Then I automatically think he wouldn't have what he has and that's better than a degree. Everything happens for a reason.
My younger son, now 31, was diagnosed at age 6. He graduated with his class. He is married to a great woman who's a BSN. He works as a truck driver and is happy. Pretty good for a guy who didn't know his left from his right, North from South, or East from West.
Dyslexia can be a such a handicap. I can't believe that more hasn't been done to assist people who struggle to see numbers and letters. Thank you for sharing this resource. I'm going to look into this more.
I loved your video. Yet again you have taught me more about this time in history.
Happy Birthday to your son 🥳
I like Harvey, love the fact that you found tools that make life easier and find it remarkable that you were able to go through life with dyslexia with difficulty, I assume, but finding ways to make up for it. Genius!
When one looks at alphabets today that are given to 5 year olds to practice writing skills and then at the alphabets on horn books, it's amazing that any of them learned to write. Imagine trying to copy those letters with a slate pen! Also, someone mentioned Greek, and I would like to suggest they had it easy! Those letters have always been simply designed and perfect for anyone to copy.
Hi Dr. Kat. Wow. Just wow. Your scholarship alone in researching today's video was impressive enough, but to realize you do your work each week given the challenges imposed by dyslexia is beyond amazing. I cannot congratulate you enough. (How I wish that Orcam produced a similar aid for those of us "grey hairs" who suffer from computer, internet, and social media illiteracy...) Anyway, time for another coffee. I look forward to next week's "masterpiece".
I truly enjoy your videos every week. I have learned so much from you and your passion for history. However, to hear your story about your struggles with dyslexia gave me an even stronger connection to your content. I too struggle with what I have "self-diagnosed" as dyslexia. As a child, I remember being terrified of books and not because I didn't love to learn but merely because I could not read from them unless I already knew every single word contained therein. In fact, to this day (at a not so young 48) I still cannot read aloud a word I have not seen before -- phonics simply don't work for me. To hear you explain how reading works or doesn't work for you was like listening to my own mind and extremely validating. Thank you so much for sharing your story. It meant a great deal to me on a terribly personal level.
While doing some family history research I looked at the extended entry for my great-great-grandmother in the 1901 Census of Canada. She could read but not write. So evidence of being able to read but not write is available for the modern period, at least. In 1400, not so much.
Fascinating as always. I remember many moons ago reading somewhere that in the early modern period written records were held with some suspicion because it was believed the written word could be falsified, human memory was held to be more reliable. I think also there was a more fluid line between literacy and oral culture, in antiquity it was unusual to read silently, most people read aloud and perhaps this carried on into the early modern world. And in protestant countries literacy was common, John Clare wrote of someone reading a story from a chapbook, in Scandinavia you had to read to learn the catechism which was a prerequisite for marriage. in the late 19th century Finnish students gathered signatures among rural dwellers for a petition and everyone could read but only about half could sign their name.
It's odd that we so often think of reading and writing as being absolutely linked together when it's so common for small children to be able to read quite well before they can write at all. Great video!
I completely agree about people being able to read but not write.
I've tried to learn many languages in my life, for example recently - I'm very good at reading russian and Scots Gaelic, BUT I can't currently write the alphabet in russian. I also struggle to form full sentences in both languages. I can still read and register the sounds that the alphabet makes in Russian, but I cannot for the life of me regurgitate that into my own writing. I can imagine that someone who can't write has their own "alphabet" of sounds that is difficult to translate into, for example, a Latin alphabet.
Love your videos, thank you so much for influencing us so positively! Adore your work :-)
As an elementary school teacher seeing students this year who have spent 1.5 years online, I totally understand that gap in reading and writing! Great video :)
YAY!! First commenter! great job Dr. Kat! I love Friday mornings because of you :-) Thank you!
Hiya! Thank you so much! I hope you have a great Friday and a lovely weekend! 🌟
Thank you for this video. I am currently substitute teaching at an elementary school and tutoring kinder through 2nd grade students in learning to read. I love when I see progress with them. I was raised by an avid reader mother who later became a historical romance novel author. She passed that love of education and I went as far as to pursue my doctorate in business administration, and am now going to go through the Alternate Route to Teaching to become a licensed elementary school teacher. I am interested in this tool in helping others find the joy that I do in written texts.
Thank you so much for reminding us that, although the people of the past may not have been what we would consider literate, that didn't make them less intelligent. If a skill is unnecessary to daily life, the lack of it will have no impact. And as not everyone was able to get academic instruction, their lack of that skill cannot be attributed to lesser intelligence. As you pointed out, you are a living example that having a struggle with a given skill most certainly does not indicate small intellect. According to my parents, I was beginning to read by the time I was three years old and have read voraciously every day of my life, yet each week you teach me something new. Also, being a longtime namer of things, I was delighted to meet Harvey. Were we on the same continent, I'm sure my truck Billy-Bob would be delighted to make Harvey's acquaintance.
I knew Wolsey was " the butchers son" and disliked or even hated by the nobles, but I did not know the details of his education. This is a magnificient video full of interest. I learned to read, write, and do sums at age 4, from my mother, and I was advanced far beyond my classmates when I started school at age 6.
I only know 2 languages, English and Spanish, but I am fully bi-lingual, reading, writing, and speaking both and with the full ability to switch at will and even dream in both.
My mother used to say that intelligence has no bearing on how smart you are, it depends on how that intelligence is used.
I really enjoyed the examples of social class differences and the opportunities that were available.
I am not dyslexic ,and although extremely myopic, I can see fine with glasses. But I was wowed by Harvey. I could see how helpful 'he' could be to certain people. I hope the price for 'him' is not prohibitive for people with scant means. I loved the fact that it actually sounds like a human being and not that awful android thing. Some vlogs sound like that and I turn them off. One reason why I love your stuff. A real human being in a real room talking a lot of unbiased sense about history. What's not to like?
Suggestions would be more Stuart stuff. They seem to get overlooked and in actual fact their dynasty had just as much seismic influence on the nation as the Tudors, arguably more. On their shift we had the first 'joining' of Scotland and England, a Civil War, the trial and execution of a reigning monarch, the Gunpowder Plot, the continual vying of Catholic and Protestant and the overthrow of another monarch because he prayed to god in the wrong way. We got the No Catholics at throne level which still stands today. We saw the development of Parliament and went through a Republic of sorts. Which was actually pretty close to a dictatorship. We saw incredible developments in architecture landscaping, women on the stage! The stirrings of the Industrial Revolution. Modern Britain owes more to the turbulent Stuarts than it does the Tudors. If people are looking for Drama, I would put Charles 2nd's 6 weeks on the run after the Battle of Worcester against any Tudor Soap Opera. There is a Whole Civil War! Mistresses, barren wives, broken betrothals.... Plus Charlie 2 is better looking than fat old Henry!
What an interesting video. I hadn't thought about what makes a person literate and what excludes them, particularly with regards to past times.
Thank you very much for doing a video on this topic! I really appreciate understanding some of the niceties of difference between forms of literacy. I believe that in ancient Egypt, often the Kings couldn't read well, and it was the scribes that were the literate ones, recorded everything and managed the transactions. There are forms of hieroglyphics like hieratic that are sort of short forms of the ancient Egyptian language but it was mostly the province of the scribes there also. The hieroglyphics had other meanings besides representing sound. as well They were thought to have magical properties also. Whether they had magic is an open question but who has not experienced the magic of a fine book? Magical qualities can be conveyed orally from person to person in cultures that preserve their histories orally, and some books are intended to be primarily transmitted orally, like the Koran. Someone who has completely memorized the Koran and can recite it in the way it was originally to be conveyed (chanted, as a free form art, within cadences that are appropriate for the verses) even has a special title in Islam: Haifiz. One also learns to read Hebrew and to chant it in shul, same idea, and the idea that Hebrew letters have spiritual magic. The whole history of alphabets, printing and literacy so fascinating! And congratulations on your new family member, Harvey!
your videos are always such a comfort to me. your voice is so soothing and sincere. thank you for creating this content. I love being able to learn new things about parts of history I thought I knew so well.
Fascinating topic. BTW, that coral color is very pretty on you!
Thank you very much for this. My maternal grandmother (born 1902) gifted me a little walnut box that had belonged to her stepfather. On its bottom, in pencil, was written his signature, 'John Ford.' It was the only thing he could write - taught to him by his wife. I treasure it and am going to leave it to my grandson.
John Ford had had no formal education of any kind. When researching family history, I was shocked and deeply moved to discover that my paternal grandfather and his siblings were educated at a 'Ragged School.' The children left at 12 or 14 to go, usually, into either service or apprenticeships. Perhaps you could do a video on the 'Ragged' or 'Poor' Schools?
That Orcam is amazing. I went into performing arts as a career because I was dyslexic. I couldn’t fall back on any secretarial skills so I was very committed to theatrical pursuits such as dance and costuming.
In danish we have an old song, where it's said, that the narrator has learned letters and bible by his mothers side. I've always loved that image.
You have reminded me of something I learned from the books and programs of science historian James Burke. He opened one 'Connections' program by speaking about a modern-day philosopher (whose name I have regrettably forgotten) who was approached by a student after one of his classes. The student opined that our ancestors must have been stupid to think that the sun goes around the earth, when everyone knows that the earth travels around the sun. The philosopher appeared to agree, but wondered how the sun's travels would have looked if our ancestors had known what we do now. His point, of course, was that it would have looked just the same as it does to us today.
About twenty (or more) years ago, I was listening to the program Vox Pop on National Public Radio. The discussion that day included the topics of dinosaurs and fossils. One of the speakers brought up the point that our ancestors were not idiots; they just didn't have the same frames of reference that we do now. They must have found fossils while plowing, digging building foundations, or otherwise going about their daily lives. They simply wouldn't have known what they were seeing, so they made up stories to explain their finds. The example he gave was of a farmer (perhaps) finding a huge tusk. He and his neighbors would have had no knowledge of wooly mammoths, so they related it to something they already knew: a wild pig. And so the tale of the Erymanthian Boar entered their mythology.
My youngest son ( now 26 ) struggled with very severe dyslexia at school- he didn’t recognise his own name ‘Trystan’ on his lunch box at age 8.
In all other respects he was bright, with a wonderful memory that he really polished up because he knew he couldn’t read or write. For example the class was meant to memorise 4 lines of a poem for homework, I read the whole ( rather long !) poem to him twice- the following day he was able to recite the whole poem and his teachers were really amazed.
As someone who was an educator, I am thrilled a device like, Harvey has been created. This is also a game changer for those who learn aurally. This thrills me to no end.
In the U.S. the oral exam is similar to yours, but it’s called the dissertation defense or doctoral defense ... and I’m so glad it’s behind me! I found it terrifying. The best part is the end, when the committee chair says “Congratulations, Doctor.”
Dear Dr. Kat, thank you so very much for sharing with your audience both your hardships and triumphs!
Reading, though a joy in my childhood, has been difficult for me for most of my life due to my eyesight. My eyes flit from the line I'm reading to other parts of the page, making staying on track harder. I hope to one day be able to purchase a similar device to aid my personal scholarship.
26:40 she had such beautiful handwriting, esp for an 11 year old! and if she did embroider that cover herself - WOW
This was a wonderful video. It's so lovely that the value of the oral tradition has been reiterated on this channel. I didn't know you were dyslexic and it makes me respect you earning your Doctorate so much more. I can't imagine the levels of difficulty that were added and overcome by you. You are an amazing woman for so many different reasons. Also, I love your no touchy, no touch Tick Tocks so much. Have a great day!
my partner and I were listening to this whilst making dinner and we had a really interesting chat about it all through our meal. Thank you so much
I'm a teacher of students with dyslexia, so I'm really excited by both the contents of the video and the device mentioned. I can't wait to show it to them.
I was surprised to learn that, unlike modern teaching systems, writing was not always part of a reading curriculum.
I learned how to read on my own when I was three. My parents are both teachers and my mom has her masters in reading education. She thinks I did it by memorization which I suspect is true. Phonics has never made sense to me, lol!
I loved hearing about your tool to help you with Dyslexia. I was diagnosed with a hearing disability when I was three and even though I’ve worn hearing aids ever since it’s been a challenge. Last year I got new hearing aids that have Bluetooth capability and it’s been a game changer. I have a little receiver I wear around my neck and I can connect it to my phone or use it as a microphone to amplify sound. I often use it while watching movies with my boys so that I can hear the TV without needing the sound turned up. It works great! I love how modern technology has helped make living with a disability easier and I’m so grateful for it. It’s interesting to think about literacy through history and how different it was. I LOVE your videos and I am so grateful for them and for you. I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday. Gabriel is at a very fun age and I remember what a joy it was when my boys were little like he is! ❤️
I enjoyed this look into literacy. I find it fascinating and also intriguing. I wonder about the education of the girls at the time as they did need to know a bit to run the households.
Please, by all means, do a program on Margaret More Roper. Memorization seems to be something of a lost art nowadays. I can remember having to memorize poems of about 20-24 lines back in 4th-6th grade. After that, I changed schools and rote memorization was not required until I took Latin and German. I don't recall any of the poems I had to memorize. However, I can still recall things my brother had to memorize, because his technique was to repeat the lines aloud over and over. My abilities to recall have suffered since I had access to the internet. Why memorize when I can just look it up? Ditto for my ability to do arithmetic without a calculator. I used to be able to do long division with answers running to 10 or 12 digits. Now I find myself resorting to using the calculator when I want to figure out someone's age from the year they were born! I googled ORCAM and it seems to be quite pricey. I'm hoping that, with time, the price will come down enabling many more dyslexic and vision-impaired people to afford one.
I cannot remember where I read it, perhaps someone will remember something about it, but in medieval times, lack of reading and arithmetic was not as low as previously thought. Serfs were bound by contracts and basic reading was around for some of them to keep the Lord honest. Although, I don't know I'd want to challenge a Lord with a troop of men with big swords as a serf. Also, they depended on the priests to an extent for contracts. The Orcom device will help so many. I hope the price decreases as bifocals become more a part of my life and I can't stand to wear them. Such a great tool for so many though. I'd be selling things if I had a dyslexic child and couldn't afford it to make sure they had one..
Fascinating info and what an incredible little tool 'Harvey' is! Amazing!
Wonderful and interesting video. I agree with your comment on the LP Hartley quote about the past being a different country. I have been looking at prehistory, the Skara Brae settlement ( in a very much lay man’s way) and considering that the people there seemed to have a culture that gave them time to create art, make homes that had aesthetic value Etc etc…I like to think they were exactly like us in that sometimes they must have had very long boring Tuesday afternoons when it was raining ( even tho they wouldn’t have called them Tuesdays). And thinking that makes me think it wasn’t a different country but just like ours…more like ours than not.
Anyway, as always, a very interesting and brilliant video.
Kat, that is a lovely top, the colour really suits you, you are glowing!
Another fantastic video, Dr. Kat! Thank you so much for speaking about the Orcam. My husband was diagnosed with dyslexia while still in school. He still has problems. I can't wait to tell him about the Orcam. Blessings to you!
Wonderful points regarding education. And thank you for introducing us to Harvey, love the name. Thank you again for your informative videos.
This was a fascinating look at something that we all think we understand and really never think about. I did go and watch your video on your experience with dyslexia and it gave me insight into experiences that both of my brothers had (though we are quite a bit older than you are) but I also gained insight into some of my own struggles in school. So I got sidetracked from literacy but am fascinated enough by the topic to go back and watch again to examine my own perceptions of literacy. Thank you for making me think about both very interesting topics.
Hi Dr Kat, Thank you so much for sharing your story and about the Orcam. I was diagnosed with Dyslexia and Dyspraxia at the start of my BA History and struggled reading all the tiny written text in books. It's amazing how technology keeps developing to make our studying and lives easier. Will be checking out the Orcam to see if it helps me. Love your channel and tuning each week to watch your videos
Enjoyed this one very much. Thank you Dr Kat.
This is so fascinating! You took me on a journey I didn't even know I needed, thanks Dr Kat!!
Thank you for introducing orcam! I WISH i had this in school as a child. I'm so excited for this to be available!!
Oh! Yes, please, more Margaret Moore. Another idea: I would love to learn more about the ladies of salon culture of the Age of Discovery--or some other instance in which woman intellectuals interacted or collaborated from any era or society, actually.
Oh please do a video on More and Margaret Roper! That family is such an inspiration to me as a feminist and nerd.
And thank you for reading The Silk Roads!
I am grateful that King Edward VI founded a lot of schools in his name that were for boys as well as Girls. I went to King Edward VI Grammar School for Girls in Birmingham where we have 7 schools in the Foundation. King Edward decreed that girls should be allowed to learn in Grammar schools as well as boys.
I was told off by the head teachers of both my boys schools in Reception because they both were able to write their name & read . Apparently I taught them the wrong way!!
I did a viva for my dissertation in my performing arts BA (at least I was supposed to but then COVID happened so I did it as a voice recording). It's interesting to hear where were that form of assessment came from
I will look into the ORCAM for my dyslexic aunt. Thank you for all the interesting information. Definitely looking forward to an episode on Margaret Roper. I remember decades ago as a teenager, reading a fiction book in which she was the lead character.
Bravo, Dr. Kat! Great lecture!
I'm dylexic and of an older generation. School was a nightmare even though my IQ was high. It made my grandmother decide I was just doing poorly because I was a wicked child. There was not much available in that time and I figured enough out to be able to read and now enjoy it, though my numerical literacy is still poor. (NUmber don't make words and have little context!)
We are also big fans of naming things in our household- love that you named it Harvey!
I have two things to say about the Dark Ages. A few years back, in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, a friend and I looked at exquisite jewelry from the Eastern Roman Empire. The next room featured the wooden ribs of an old early Christian church from France. My friend, who was an historian of American art, came with me when I pulled her back to the jewelry and then into the remains of the little church. I asked her, "Do you see why the title, the Dark Ages, was invented?" She was amazed.
Much more recently, a youtube posted a photo of a letter of King Henry VIII which showed one word spelled in two ways. It wasn't clear whether Henry or a scribe wrote the letter, but, if someone did something like that today, they might be ridiculed or asked it they had been drinking.
Henry in many ways marked the early modern age, but the two spellings, as well as the contrast between the amazing jewelry and rough ribs of the church expand the definition of the dark ages.
Thank you for sharing your reader with us. I gave grandson who will be so excited to have this. I also want to say I love your videos tremendously!
That Orcam is fantastic.
People shouldn't be held back by reading difficulties. Hope it's affordable and widely available
It's £2,500 an amazing piece of kit, but ouch!
So enjoyed this video and learning about education and entire idea of literacy and what it meant. And really was excited to learn about the OrCam - what a wonderful tool for folks in so many different circumstances! I had a lot of trouble reading when I was young and first learned to read - it was just overwhelming until a few grades into school. Then it got better. But, I've always been a slow reader. And I have a tendency to let my mind wander, reading a paragraph and not having a clue what I just read. I got back and read it again. I have found if that's really a problem, I do better if I read it aloud - something about hearing a voice and seeing the words at the same time helped me to comprehend it. This was especially true for me when I first read Jane Austen - I had the read the entire first chapter of Pride and Prejudice aloud to get her pattern of writing "into my head or my inner ear" so I could follow it. Enough about me - thank you again for your wonderful videos. I always learn so much from you!
I'm 53 and I grew up predominantly in what we call the DEEP South, the Bible belt here in the US. I was born and raised in Georgia (Ft. McPherson Army hospital since both my folks were in the Army) but of course back then if you got pregnant you got booted (no pun intended) from the service. I saw SO many old Southern wives that lost their husbands and had no idea even where their husband kept the check books and such. I would come across them in church and tell my Mom (who at the time was an atheist) and she would go and get them squared away. You'd be shocked how many of them didn't even know if their husbands had life insurance. I know the whole purpose of the men taking care of the finances was that they felt that was one stress the wives didn't have to worry about, but it became a HUGE liability after the husband died and they couldn't even balance a checkbook. My Mom started going to churches and PTA meetings to give talks to men and women about teaching a woman to do for herself just in case you outlive her. The men were NOT the ones who were the most resistant to the idea! They all knew, especially in the land of deep fried everything, they would probably die before their wives. Of course, we're talking about at least 3 generations of women whose husbands never saw them without their make-up. EVER! They'd get up super early just to make sure they "had their face on" before anyone else was up. Their priorities were a bit out of whack! lol
Sadly I grew up near the same area, and I knew quite a few folks 50+ years, that did not know how to read or write. Even my grandmother read at about my 7yr.old's pace now. Thinking about it now, she always had us read for her when we were around. I also remember her working so hard to memorize the words by sight so if she saw a street name written down she would know where the address was in town. She didn't have a driver's license because she was unable to read the test. It wasn't common among her generation, but most certainly more common than it should have been.
All of the boys and younger girls went to school but all the older girls were kept home to take care of the kids and farm work. That was down and in much smaller towns.
What makes this worse is I am only 41, not in my 70's or 80's.☹️
I remember well, being told by my teacher,via my mother, that "she can't even spell it correctly when she copies from the blackboard, but she can read". No one knew not even me that I was most likely dyslexic. Unless I copied letter for letter, which would take far too long, I couldn't hold the words in my head to spell them correctly. I think someone to scribe would have been a huge help. As you say, it depends on what you need to demonstrate and where the bar is set which will determine how society views literacy, and it very well mean a lot of different skills at different times to different people.
This might be the Dr. Kat talk I've enjoyed most, both because the topic interests me--the nature of intelligence, the idea that there are many different types--and perhaps because I'm reading Jill Paton-Walsh's sequels to the Dorothy Sayers books about Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane; and we know how important female education was to Sayers.
Another fascinating and unique analysis from Dr Kat. I always look forward to these videos and know that at the end of one I will have broadened not only my knowledge but my perspective on history as well.
🥰 Thanks Dr Kat for such wonderful historical information with explanations
I find all your videos fascinating. This one was extremely enlightening. Look forward to watching more and learning more. Thank you.
Wish I had orcam in my university years as person who is dyslexic and who studied early childhood studies and then pgce in primary education , it would made life so much easier for me ,
A fellow dyslexic here. My IQ was tested twice and the results were very high. Yet I could never understand my difficulty in learning. I compensated well enough that no one suspected the difficulties I experienced. It wasn't until after retirement that I saw the symptoms I experienced: (1) difficulty memorizing lines, (2) slow reading and low comprehension, (3) difficulty learning new languages, (4) difficulty parroting an oral recitation of long numbers, addresses and phone numbers.
When I read, I see a line of words all at the same time. I don't see a string of words in sequential order. I have to force my eyes to look at, and read aloud in my head, each word in its order, left to right.
Thank you Doctor Kat. There were some familiar theories, ideas and facts presented in new ways for me. I was surprised and impressed by the early ages of some of the famous achievers. I'm particularly interested in the memorisation details. It has always seemed to me that in earlier centuries (or even generations) memories were far more trained, honed and used than we can even contemplate.
Aural habits must have been very keenly enforced which for someone like me would have been a problem. I have difficulty focusing on factual things being read aloud. And trying to follow along with a transcript is problematic because I'm a rapid reader, so my eyes keep 'going ahead' and then I don't take in either voice or script properly. I've only recently been able to listen to fictional audiobooks with any enjoyment.
I'm going to pass on the details of the Orcan to my son, who we were always told was *not* dyslexic but has always had some of the challenges faced by those. I've even wondered if he has a 'rare version!'.
I did relax a bit about his spelling when I realised that modern spelling rules were just that...modern.
Can we blame unification of spelling on Dr Johnson? My son's in his thirties and some of his spelling was so original spellcheck would figuratively throw up its hands and say "stuffed if I know., You're on your own".
There is one thing I've always wondered...just how common *were* "whipping boys"?
Thanks for all your interesting videos, Dr Kat. I’m so glad I found your channel!
An ad read I actually sat through! lol How fascinating!
My father was severely dyslexic . Only made it to grade 3 . Words completely backwards.
He had the most incredible memory
Fantastic artist
Incredibly smart
Was a high rigger connector iron worker. Did very well in life but other skills made up for reading issues . Our brains 🧠 our beautiful
That orcam is amazing - very interesting vide and I always love another look at Elizabeth's present of the translated book - it amazes me each and every time 😊
One of my favourite videos yet, thank you ❤
Wow! That is awesome! You never know what they are going to come up with! Super!
Such clarity! I listen with rapt attention.
In Italy they still pass their university exams via speeches, viva voce. Super interesting!!