Last January, I bought the Toddlers Can Read* course to help my son learn to read before kindergarten. My initial goal was simple: I wanted him to be able to read basic text, like the first book in the Toddlers Can Read course titled Tap, which contains a lot of three-letter words. My hope was for him to gain introductory reading skills, where he could go through a book and read words like "pat" and "rat." I wanted him to know letter sounds and read simple words.

I quit teaching in the middle of my first year. I enrolled in Teach for America after graduating college and was teaching in an inner-city school. I was not adequately prepared for the experience. As a result, I developed serious health issues that landed me in the hospital.