Among the many things folks take for granted is the ability to see something and make sense of it. Call it the value proven theory, but for many seeing a thing does not make it comprehensible. For reading challenged people of all ages, not being able to sit down with a good book, or read a recipe, a magazine or set of instructions is a vital and frustrating issue to be dealt with daily.
Inspired by situations in her own life, long-time Ketchum resident Narda Pitkethly has created a primer for the reading challenged called "Great Ideas for Everyday Living." It's Book One in a series titled "Be the Change."
While showing a new way to look at and understand letters, the book also gives advice on, as the title suggests, everyday living. Having the ability to read helps people gain confidence.
Words are all coded, Pitkethly explained. Lines, shapes and letters are found directly beneath the word giving clues to pronunciations. For instance, the word "you" is written "y o u." Underlined letters are silent. This code is very similar to one used in Japan.
The other titles in the completed series are "The Parenting Book," "Why Relationships?" "911 Safety," "Save the World—Do Your Part," "Everything Has a Home—Organization and Cleaning Idea," "The Power of Your Mind," "Who is Your God?" and "Politics 101."
The books are thin; the first is just 41 pages. Chapters in the first volume include Habits, Food, Exercise and so on. Under Food, Pitkethly writes: "As you age your body is not wearing out, it is drying out. Drink more water and eat healthy food."
The simplistic approach is not for everyone, but it works for people who've never been able to read magazine articles or lengthy tomes on the same subject. Children can easily pick up the approach.
Her daughter, Sadie, 12, illustrated with the book whimsical drawings, while her son Raleigh, 10, helped with editing by altering difficult words that children might find confusing.
Pitkethly came up with the code after learning Japanese in 1985. She's also witnessed the reading frustrations of both her 10-year old nephew and an adult family member who claims never to have read a book.
"Using my code, Nardagani, people can teach themselves to read in a short time," Pitkethly said. "The Japanese use this code under words, and I thought, why don't we have this? The Nardagani system uses a sound map located just inside the front cover of the book. There is an explanation that tells you how the sound map works."
To see how quickly it can be learned, she is testing the code at Silver Creek Alternative School in Hailey, under the guidance of Barge Levy, the school's director, and Blaine County School Assistant Superintendent Mary Gervase.
"This is going to be a fantastic tool," Pitkethly said. "I believe it will be empowering. Once we prove how quickly it works, I see it really growing. What I'm hoping is that someone will step up and fund the distributing of the book."
She intends to market it to organizations like the Lee Pesky Learning Center in Boise and the Southern Idaho Learning Center in Twin Falls. She has sent a manuscript to First Lady Laura Bush for use in her literacy programs.
"Great Ideas for Everyday Living" is available as an E-book on her Web site, nardagani.com. The book's tagline sums up both Pitkethly's intention and her hope for others: "Reading stretches your mind and expands your world."
Narda Pitkethly explains her new reading primer meant for both children and adults. Express photo by Dana DuGan
