Through the Magic Door seeks to address low reading rates by growing a reading culture from an early age. It analyzes root causes like poor family communication and low valuation of reading. Its solution assists families through the Grow a Reading Culture methodology, coaching, and resources. It aims to establish clear links between reading and life outcomes to motivate voluntary behavior changes in parents of young families.

1. Through the Magic Door™
Discussion Document
© Through the Magic Door 1

2. Situation
Symptom General Root Solution Enablers
Cause Causes
• GARC methodology
The culture and • Poor familial
• GARC Self-
communication Assist families to
10% of the habit of reading • Low valuation of Assessment
is too narrowly Grow A Reading • Individual
population does reading
• Unfamiliarity with Culture (GARC) Coaching
80% of the concentrated • Database
(serious readers are a books from the earliest
reading • School issues age(s). • Parent oriented
minority in every reviews
income quintile) • Access to books
• Booklists
Seeking to elicit voluntary changes in the behavior of parents with young families by
1) establishing a clear linkage between reading capability and desirable life
outcomes, 2) coaching on five clear actions for growing a reading culture, and 3)
providing the services (personal coaching, individual consultations on book
selection, etc.) necessary to support that reading culture and achieve a measurable
improvement in reading.
© Through the Magic Door 2

3. School Personal
Not expected
Not pleasurable
Not useful
Work, Social, TV, Sports
Social issues
Unfamiliar with No time to
Don’t value
variety of books (A) read
Infrequent Reading (B)
Ineffective Inconsistent Don’t understand
training Not valued (B)
instruction instruction causative relationship
No examples Unfamiliar (A) Eyesight
Unqualified Not interested
Administration Reading
environment Don’t enjoy
Unfamiliar with
Too little Don’t know how to
variety of books (A)
instruction support reading Low reading
Time Little social
constraints Restrictions on enrichment Too few
Doctrinal Poor vocabulary ESL
reading
purity Low home talking children read
Unfamiliarity with
variety of books (A)
Can’t recognize
Ideology issues
to their
Budget
No good
No greatest
books
No books in bookstores
Don’t know what like Can’t choose classroom
advantage
Too many No room
Don’t know how to Not valued Restrictive school
interruptions
coach/instruct (B) library policies/hours
No books in
No expectations
home Hours
Unfamiliar with
Social reading No public
isolation Can’t afford library
Don’t value
Reading (B)) Location
No examples
Home Access
© Through the Magic Door 3

4. Root Causes
All of the above issues might be packaged into the
following root causes in order of impact.
– Poor familial communication habits
– Low valuation of reading
– Unfamiliarity with books
– Access
– Unsupportive school reading environment
The first three root causes are all based in the
home and with the parents.
© Through the Magic Door 4

5. Indicators of Why Family Action is Critical
• Children from poor homes with lots of books perform
better in school than children from wealthy homes with
few books.
• Children from families with high levels of verbal
communication enter kindergarten with two and three
times the vocabulary of those from incommunicative
families. Vocabulary acquisition is a highly correlated to
later academic performance.
• Head Start participants are temporary beneficiaries: by
middle school their results are back to the level of their
non-Head Start peers. Argues that external assistance
is not sufficient and that assistance at four and five years
of age is only palliative not therapeutic.
© Through the Magic Door 5

6. Common Palliatives
• Provide Free Books
• Head Start-type programs
• Messages on importance of reading
• Advocacy around specific pedagogical tactics
• X-steps to reading suggestions
• Efforts at relevancy
• Competitions (AR et al)
• Entertainment (author visits and events)
Most of these palliatives either do not address the five root
causes, or, where they do, are not demonstrably effective.
© Through the Magic Door 6

7. Most Palliatives Don’t Address Root Issues
(much less issue of effectiveness)
Free Books Head Start Messaging Pedagogy X-Steps Relevancy Competitions Entertainment
Poor familial communication habits
Low valuation of reading x x x
Unfamiliar with books
Unsupportive school reading environment x x x
Access x
© Through the Magic Door 7

8. Reading Risk Points
Can read but Distraction of
activities, scho Distraction of
not in the career and
habit of ol
work, hobbies, early family
reading. life.
social life.
TTMD Focus
5 10 15 20 25
Age in Years
Developing Reader Young Adult Reader
Independent Reader
© Through the Magic Door 8

9. Reading Hamburger
Reading
Decoding and Numeracy*
Empathy, Sustained Focus, Curiosity, Imagination, Pattern
Recognition, Forecasting, Social and Moral Judgment, Critical
Thinking, Self-Control, Estimation, Prioritization
Vocabulary and Knowledge*
Health, Wealth, Status, Options, Income, Stability, Education
Life Outcomes
* Skills materially supplemented in school
© Through the Magic Door 9

10. Growing a Reading Culture
Indulge Serendipity
Quiet Places Don’t Rush
Variety is the
Spice of Life
Reading Routines
Make it Personal
Meals with Discussions
Avoid Toxic Spills
• Books as punishment
• Don’t let the best be the
enemy of the good Read to Them
• Competitive reading Talk A Lot
• Books as bibliotherapy
Be Seen Reading Books Everywhere
Give Them the Power of Choice
Make Books As Important In Your Life As You Wish Them To Be In Your Child’s Life
© Through the Magic Door 10

11. Author (35%) Book (5%) Reader (50%)
Motivation • Condition
Muse • Legibility
Commerce • Presentation
Audience • Access/Availability Reading Motivation
Prestige/Influence Artifact Functional Voluntary or Involuntary
Functional vs. Aesthetic
Role Receptive or Skeptical
Ambassador Accuracy
Didact Reading Capability
Entertainer Technical competency
Conjuror Context
Experience
Maturity
Creativity and Imagination Personal Inclinations and
Sympathy
circumstances
Integrity
Technical Proficiency Facts, Opinions, Imagination
Vocabulary Book
Genre Experience Personal Context
Writing Style Ethnicity
Story Structure Political/Ideological
Subject Economic Status
Country Culture
Personal Context Caste/Class
Ethnicity Reputation
Religion
Political/Ideological Life Experience
Economic Status
Country Culture
Religion Clarity Problem Solving
Life Experience Destructionist
Normative Empirical
Caste/Class Isolationist
Accomodationist
Problem Solving Critics (10%) Integrationist
Destructionist Ideologues, Domain Specialists, Parents, Educators,
Isolationist Authors, Literary Critics, General Readers
Accomodationist © Through the Magic Door 11
Integrationist

12. What Actions Can be Taken?
Government NGOs Schools Advocates Publishers Authors Sellers
Poor familial
communication
habits
Low valuation of
reading
Unfamiliarity with
books
Unsupportive
school reading
environment
Access
© Through the Magic Door 12

13. How Can TTMD Contribute?
Free Commercial Community
Poor familial • GARC Self Assessment
communication habits • GARC Methodology
Low valuation of • GARC Self Assessment
reading • GARC Methodology
• Why Read doc
Unfamiliarity with • Personal Consultations on GARC • Reviews and
books • Personal Consultations on Book Selection Tagging
• Parent Oriented Reviews • Book List
• Book Lists suggestions
• Database • Forum
discussions
• Meta-Ranking of Top 10,000 Children’s
Books of all Time
Unsupportive school • Classroom Library
reading environment Enhancement Program
Access • Personal Consultations on GARC • Classroom Library
• Wish Lists Enhancement Program
• Custom Subscriptions
• Gift Certificates
© Through the Magic Door 13

14. TTMD GARC
Personal Personal Personal
Consultations on Consultations on Consultations on Parent
Importance of Verbal Importance of Techniques for Book Custom Oriented Gift
Communication Reading Selection Database Subscriptions Booklists Reviews Certificates
Poor familial communication habits x x x x x
Low valuation of reading x x x x x x
Unfamiliar with books x x x x x x x x
Unsupportive school reading environment
Access x x x x x
© Through the Magic Door 14

15. Logical TTMD Initiatives
• Classroom Library Enhancement Program
• Give-away clearing house (individual families?, subscription
approach?)
• Neo-natal GARC Initiative
– Nursery Starter Library
– Baby Shower gifts effort
– Via OB/GYN-Pediatrician nexus
• Affiliate program
– ROAR etc. collaboration
• Mothering, AARP, etc. re GARC
– Articles and advocacy
• Virtual bookfairs at schools as entrée for GARC
– School affiliate program
• PTA GARC
– School affiliate program
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16. Extra Materials
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17. Enthusiastic Readers are a Minority at
all Income Levels
• There is no hard data
People Average Number Percent
Income of Readers
Readers /Quintile
but using correlated Top 60m $231,300 10.5m 3.5%
variables, this is our Quintile 17.5%
guestimate of the Second 60m $85,200 7.5m 2.5%
Quintile 12.5%
number of readers by
income quintile Third
Quintile
60m $58,500 5.25m 1.75%
8.75%
Fourth 60m $37,400 3.75m 1.25%
Quintile 6.3%
Bottom 60m $15,900 3m 1.0%
Quintile 5.0%
© Through the Magic Door 17

18. Parental Navigation
In trying to build a reading culture, parents are helping
steer their children through numerous external obstacles
that threaten a reading culture.
Cultural
Family Community Friends School Environment
Creation Freedom Hierarchy Testable Commercial
Focus/Issues:
Security Autonomy Power Results Success
Desired Life Outcomes
Varient Distracting
Values Gangs Media
Focus on
Compliance
Time Fragmented Normal Corrosive
Parents Constraints Inconsistency Assortative Examples
Children Behavior Media, Politics,
etc.
Bullying
Parents w/o
Similar Values Money and
Peer Celebrity
Pressure Facts not
Knowledge/
Wisdom
Reading as a staff, tool, and refuge
© Through the Magic Door 18

19. The Complexity of a Teacher’s Obligations is Daunting
• 35,000 new children’s Student
Behaviors
books each year Changing
Expectations What I Hoped
Teaching Would Be
• Conflicting reviews
• Vested interests New Programs
Home Circumstances
Curriculum
Changes
Student Parent School & Tests IEPs Resource
Needs Expectations District Constraints
Requirements
© Through the Magic Door 19

20. Contact Information
Should you have any questions about this presentation, please contact
us.
Charles Bayless
Through the Magic Door®
1579 Monroe Drive
Suite F150
Atlanta, Georgia 30324
E-mail: charles.bayless@ttmd.com
Office: (404) 898-9096
© Through the Magic Door 20