Jay Blades

I was in a queue once in a shop which sold all manner of things, A little boy ran up to his mother with a book in his hand and asked if he could have it. Her answer was "Why do you want that? You've got a book at home."

I like Jay Blades and enjoyed the programme. I hope that him being so open about his lack of reading skills will inspire others to try.

I've just watched the programme on Iplayer and the big take away for me is that Jay learned to read with a phonics based programme.

My last job was working with struggling readers at secondary school, a job I kind of 'fell' into with no prior experience. It was only by reading and thinking about the process of learning to read that I discovered phonics and the more I explored it the more it and got training with some of the best phonics programmes around, it made so much sense. . Putting what I'd learned into practice made so much difference to the children I worked with.

Jay did amazingly well. Children learning to read with phonics instruction spend time every day, learning the sounds letters represent and how to recognise them instantly and blend them together to work out what the word 'says'. And it takes them about 2 years to become really proficient.

Adults learning to read don't get that sort of intensive practice, which makes it much harder for them. To achieve the level that Jay did in so short a time was a real achievement.

I'm know that many of the ex teachers on here will disagree with me, but phonics has not been the fundamental basis for reading instruction for decades and the statistics on adult illiteracy and the literacy failure of so many people in prisons bears it out.

Reading research has suggested that only about 3% of children can't learn to read. That 20 - 25% of the population have literacy difficulties says more about the failure of past reading teaching than it does about the inability of those people to learn.

He is 1 of 26 children, in various countries.

The Repair Shop is my favourite programme showing so many talented people,and JAY, well he is marvellous and after seeing the programme about him, I truly admire him,he is a role model for many. Good luck in the future Jay.

Amazing, i didnt know who he was and i watch The Repair shop, wow !!

I had to Google him after i saw it on here.

I thought it was a very interesting, moving and inspiring programme.

One of my siblings really struggled with reading and writing at primary school in the '50s. He was put at the back of the class with the other 'difficult' children. Teachers didn't want to be bothered with them. The family taught him to read and write and over time he improved in other subjects too. He had a good career but never liked reading and is still hesitant even now. No testing or assessment for Dyslexia (or any other learning disability) was ever suggested.

My husband, a driving instructor, taught several non-readers to drive and pass their tests. Some of them recognised words as images and memorised them. Others could read individual letters of the alphabet but not several of them together as a word. That's how they were able to read number plates on Test. Their coping strategies were amazing! DH also developed some clever ways to help them.

When I worked in a secondary school several students left in Years 11 and 12 still unable to read properly to varying degrees. Teaching staff were sympathetic (most of the time) but simply didn't have the time to help them, and SEN was underfunded and overstretched. All too often this led to non-attendance or school refusal. Some didn't get jobs they applied for because their handwriting was so poor, or they couldn't fill out forms they were given at interviews.

So well done to Jay Blades for speaking publicly about his disability. Maybe other non-readers (for whatever reason) will be encouraged to seek help for a problem that has blighted their lives for so long.

Many years ago as a volunteer I taught a few people literacy and numeracy. I had one young Mum in particular who wanted to be a hairdresser. Three years later I was so pleased when she was accepted by a local college. Jay Blades was astounding, prepared to disclose his struggle and now success.

I love his spirit too. He’s a national treasure. A dear friend of my parents, who I called an uncle, could barely read and write yet he built several such businesses from scratch and was held in high regard as an archaeologist and antiquarian. He fostered my interest in history( my degree is in history) and I loved him dearly.

I totally agree Cornergran. I too was an adult literacy tutor working in relaxed, supportive and friendly environment. Many students reached their goals learning to read for varied reasons and at their own pace. Then targets, qualifications and standard achievements were introduced. It became too pressured for many, as this is exactly what had put them off in their younger days, so for a second time they were let down.

Oh Purpledaffodil how awful for your husband! I hope he put her in her place or reported her for her nasty attitude.

I agree with an earlier post from greenlady . I think it’s unfair to blame schools completely. There are many reasons other than dyslexia why children do not learn to read. Attendance being a huge factor as well as parental attitudes. I can remember meeting my own child from reception class. He was so excited as he had been given his first reading book to bring home. He told me that his teacher had said to read the book with Mum or Dad. It was a book with pictures and just one word underneath. I heard one Mum say to her child that she wasn’t going to read with him as it was the teacher’s job. What an awful thing to say and you could see the disappointment on the child’s face. I loved spending time reading to and with my children. It really was one of my greatest pleasures. Both are still avid readers.

I just wish they would stop referring to him as a furniture restorer
I first became aware of him when he became famous for painting an Erccol dining chair. He painted one leg a different colour.

I have a severely dislexic grandson who has a degree in micro-biology. Aged 9 Alex was three years behind with all his subjects. Fortunately his parents were able to get the help he needed for him. Seeing Jay with the blue plastic reminded me of Alex who had glasses with blue lenses. The pairs that child broke don’t bear thinking about, as he wouldn’t wear them in the playground as it made him “different”. They went in his pocket often with disastrous results. Bless him, he is 26 now, holding down a job in London. I’m very proud of Alex.

At the time he had a girlfriend who wrote for him and read for him, so it was still his work that gained a degree. His autobiography is well worth a read. I'm a retired Adult Lit teacher too x

DH has aphasia caused by stroke. He lost all his literacy skills as a result. Text to speech and speech to text technology is great. But no help when a check out operator snarled “Can’t you read?” when he missed the Closing sign at her checkout.
Well done to Jay Blades. Whatever his motivation, it may well encourage others to come forward.

CarlyD7

I was amazed at the statistic that 50% of the prison population struggle with reading and writing (so legitimate job opportunities are limited and low paid). Made me wonder how fewer prisons we would need if the issue of illiteracy was addressed seriously in schools?

I think it goes deeper than that.....in order for children to learn to read they need to attend school regularly and be supported at home....bedtime stories, reading matter in the house, parental attitudes and so on.
I too volunteered in adult lit in a hospital for people with mental illness. Mostly they were young adults who had missed a lot of school due to behaviour issues and also had very limited concentration span. This was back in the 80's. I think that medication has come a long wat since then and such people are much better served.

Germanshepherdsmum

The only thing I didn’t understand was that when he went to university he was said to have a reading age of 11. I was very surprised because he didn’t seem able to read at all.

reading age is about comprehension of the written word and vocabulary size as well as actually reading. If you can get the sense of a paragraph but can't read every word aloud, then you might well have a slightly higher reading age than it appears.

I was amazed at the statistic that 50% of the prison population struggle with reading and writing (so legitimate job opportunities are limited and low paid). Made me wonder how fewer prisons we would need if the issue of illiteracy was addressed seriously in schools?

Admired him very much for allowing the programme to be made and no doubt it has encouraged others to seek help. In my last job, I used to be an adult literacy tutor and was constantly saddened by the large number of students we had - from older teens to a lady in her 60's. The students we had didn't have dyslexia, they had just missed a lot of schooling in their early life - either through their own ill health or a parents', or had fallen into a gang of truants (and once they'd missed the basics, it was very difficult to catch up). They became less likely to go to school and/or become disruptive, partly to try to cover up the fact that they couldn't read. In adulthood they were confined to low paid, basic jobs or stayed unemployed, and some of them were very bright. In all my years doing the job, all my students came from low income families and very few from homes where there was even a single book.

Well done Jay, you will soon be able to read to your 15 year old daughter!

Loved the programme, what Jay has achieved is remarkable, he comes across as such a lovely person, but a dreadful indictment of our education system that he and so many others “slipped” thru net with regards their schooling and were labelled as lazy, disruptive or just plain stupid.

I haven't seen the programme yet but respect to him for airing his difficulties publicly, and hopefully this will enable others to feel more confident in seeking help for similar problems.
My son struggled with reading and writing at primary school, was labelled as lazy and difficult and one teacher said "he stressed her out". In fact, he became terrified to go to school when she was his teacher. We bent over backwards to sit with him and help him with reading and writing but to all extents and purposes he went into secondary school unable to read and write. The secondary school were entirely different with him, we had a meeting with his year tutor when he started secondary school and expressed how worried we were about our son, and immediately the school put measures into place to assess and help him, and I am very proud to say he eventually went on to attain 2 Degrees and is highly regarded by his employer.
Interestingly, my husband had some difficulties with paperwork at work in later years, said he had always struggled with such, and always asks me to fill in forms for him, was assessed by a dyslexic expert (who advises Judges apparently) and was himself assessed as dyslexic and we were told the condition can be hereditary and passed down through the male line. Not sure how that happens with female dyslexia?

How did he pass his driving test where you have to read a number plate?
That aside, good for him to 'come out' about it.

I’m with AuntieFlo
I think Jay Blade is an extraordinary self publicist! He has no talent as such, but cleverly joins those who create the furniture or mends the mementos. My New Year Resolution of “be kind” has, I’m afraid, taken a back seat when I wonder if Jay’s newly found ability to read is just more of the act to keep his profile in the light? If it’s not, Well Done Jay… what’s next to keep you going? What an agent you must have!