By Alison Werner, Senior Writer

John Corcoran graduated from college, became a high school teacher, and a successful real estate developer all before he learned to read at age 48.

    “People say I accomplished a lot without knowing how to read, but I couldn’t do something that a 7 year old could do. My accomplishments were rained on by the fact that I couldn’t read, write, and spell,” Corcoran says. Instead of celebrating his success, he often wondered what he could have accomplished if he had learned to read as a child.

    Corcoran was in the third grade when he  realized could not read. He wanted nothing more than to learn how to read, but the adults around him did not recognize his problem. Teachers thought he had a behavior problem and told his parents that he would catch up in time; but he never did.

    Corcoran admits he made it through high school and college by cheating. Later, as a teacher, he found ways to avoid reading and revealing his secret. He relied on his students to read from the textbooks and gave them oral exams.  

    Corcoran was in his late 40s when he sought help. He cannot point to a specific event or moment that spurred him to seek help to learn to read. Rather, it was a “spontaneous [decision], but based on the literate world starting to talk about these problems.”  

    
    It was the late 1980s. Former First Lady Barbara Bush was highlighting literacy as a national issue. For the first time, Corcoran heard people talking about the fact that millions of Americans like him did not know how to read. “When you keep a secret, you end up in isolation and think you’re alone with [it],” he says. The realization that he was not alone encouraged him to get help.   

    When Corcoran walked into the Literacy Center of Carlsbad in California, he says, “It was a leap of faith, hope, desperation.” He did not believe he would learn to read. Even after 30- and then 60-days of working with a tutor, he still did not believe. “I often went because my tutor was going to meet me,” he says, “Not because I believed it would happen.” But soon, breakthroughs came. Not all at once; but here and there. Corcoran gives a lot of credit to his tutor, Eleanor Condit, and to the Literacy Center for teaching him to read. They had faith in him, even when he did not.  

    Until he walked into the Literacy Center of Carlsbad, Corcoran had kept the fact that he could not read and write a secret from almost everyone. He says he told his wife when they were engaged. However, “She really didn’t understand the depths” of the problem or what it meant, he says.

    When Corcoran was first asked to share his story, his initial reaction: No way! He was determined not to tell anyone he was learning to read at almost 50. He worried that he would embarrass not only his family and friends, but the university from which he had graduated and the school and district in which he had taught. In time, he realized he wanted to share his story and his miracle. So, he chose to speak boldly.

    Corcoran’s first speech was to the San Diego Council on Literacy. From there, he accepted invitations to tell his story to other groups. Corcoran realized that he could use his story to open doors and to bring awareness to the issue of literacy.

    Corcoran decided to write about his life and his experiences as an adult learning to read. His first book, The Teacher Who Couldn’t Read, is a memoir about his life and becoming literate. In his second book, The Bridge to Literacy, he wrote about the crisis of illiteracy in the United States and his vision for how we should educate our children. Corcoran has appeared on 20/20, Larry King Live, and The Oprah Winfrey Show to talk about his story and literacy.

    In 1997, he founded The John Corcoran Foundation. At first, the foundation focused on bringing awareness to the problem of illiteracy. Soon, the foundation got involved in teacher training and tutoring as well.

    Today, Corcoran’s mission is to prevent illiteracy. He believes, “It is as important to teach an adult to read as to teach a child to read.” Currently, his foundation provides supplemental education services to students in California and Colorado.

    Corcoran believes the one-on-one interaction between a teacher or tutor makes all the difference in teaching a child or adult to read. Still, he sees a role for technology in the future of literacy education. Corcoran admits that as an adult learning to read he was resistant to technology. “I kind of came to [technology] kicking and screaming. [But] that’s where we need to go. We’re not going to meet our goal until we use technology”

    Learning to read changed Corcoran’s life. “When I learned to read, I realized I [had] underestimated the power and importance of it.” He adds, “Literate people underestimate the power of their gift.”

    John Corcoran has been a lot of things in his life: a teacher, a real estate developer, an author, and a literacy advocate. But it is clear that being someone who can read is the most important thing to him. “It is way beyond my wildest dreams,” he says.