« ° 48 - Wednesday, June 5, 1985 - North Shore News improve reading skills READING IS A SKILL basic to success in modern life. It is like a sixth sense, without which, we are partially blind, deaf, and dumb. By TIMOTHY RENSHA For the young, reading has never been more vital to per- sonal achievement. Children who have reading problems soon fall behind in school. Young confidences are shaken and the general pat- tern of underachievement and stifled potential that is set in motion as a result will become irreversible if such problems are left to an already overburdened public education system. To address the psychological and social bar- riers erected by and around those with poor reading skills,. Educational Con- sultants International (EC]) will be offering a special reading, writing, and study skills program at Edgemont Village’s Highlands United Church from July 8 to August 2. The program will feature a maximum of four to a group instruction from grades one to 12, Believing that there is no single best method for teaching students to read, the ECI philosophy is grounded in flexibility. Its target is the 15 per cent of students who do not properly absorb the skill of reading through the standard methods of public school curriculum. EDI instructor, Nancy Stewart, says reasons for reading problems are wide- ranging and complex, from emotional factors such as mental blocks and battered confidences to physical fac- tors such as childbirthing traumas, visual defects, poor hearing and memory: ‘‘We also get a lot of kids from French immersion classes and private schools and usually more boys than girls. The complexity of these various factors and the severity of their consequences ona child’s success in school! and sucvess in life, if they are ignored, makes it all the more vital to accurately diagnose them early, says Stewart. She adds that early diagnosis “lets us know what a child knows and doesn’t know so that we can set up a program based on their particular needs.” “Ours is a small clinic,’’ she says, ‘but we emphasize professional fully qu tified instruction and small class size over all else.” “Reading problems have a way of snowballing into a whole range of learning dif- ficulties,’’ says Stewart, ‘‘we want to catch these problems and provide the student with successful learning ex- periences that will inspire confidence and success in other learning arcas.”’ Established in the spring of 1984, the ECI has now added a Math Skills program to their reading clinics. A free reading skills seminar will be presented by the ECI June 11 at the Lynn Valley Public Library, 1280 East 27th Street, from 7 to 9 p.m. Featured speaker will be Dr. Robert Chester, UBC's Associate Professor of Language Education. For ECI program or seminar information call Nancy Stewart at 986-3029. Jazz Oxfords Men's jazz oxfords with canvas uppers, flexible unit soles. Available in beige, grey or black. Made in Canada in sizes 7 to 11. Regular Kinney Price: $24.99 Stadia Joggers Men's and ladies’ nylon joggers with sumalon suede toe and heel reinforcement. Men's available in grey in sizes 7 to 11. Ladies’ available in white with pink triminsizes6to9. Reguiar Kinney Price: $19.99 Sale ends June 15th Lougheed Mall 935-7242 Richmond Centre 278-8925 The Coquitlam Centre 464-6818 Surrey Place 584-5512 Pacitic Centre 683-1023 Brentwood Mail 298-5622 Oakridge Shopping Centre 264-1331 Guildford Town Centre §81-4323 Champlain Mal! 434-4822 Park Royal S.C. Norih Mali 926-4812