di: Update on Zig

[Jim Cowardin]

Joe, I have a copy of that little yellow book that Zig wrote.  It is a
treasure. NOT FOR SALE!  Great letter.

Jim Cowardin

On Tue, Feb 19, 2019 at 11:57 Joe Kuhn <joemkuhn at gmail.com> wrote:

> A tribute to Zig:
>
> I failed to learn to read in my first half year of first grade. It wasn't
> until later that I learned you can't learn the skill by studying diphthongs
> (blends), vowels and consonants. My father taught me to read by sounding
> out the words. Except for some minimal difference confusions, this worked
> pretty well and got me to Marty Siegel's graduate level class on Conceptual
> Learning at the University of Illinois. I remember Zig's little yellow
> book. I bet there are still some copies out there.
>
> I followed the truth in that book to the U of O and took every class I
> could from Zig and his team. I graduated with a Masters thesis on teaching
> mute children to speak and worked with three children in the course of that
> study. One child went into first grade on time after we worked through his
> severe stuttering problem. One other child learned 12 sounds he had never
> spoken in about a year and I am sure I was only able to do this because of
> what Zig taught me about effective instruction. We also reduced this boy's
> tantrums, a worthy start in life.
>
> After realizing the world of curriculum design hadn't been keeping up with
> Zig and Doug, I switched careers to computer programming, taught myself the
> skills by looking at minimal differences and positive example ranges and
> successfully raised a family of my own. Both of my children learned to read
> from "100 Easy Lessons".
>
> For all of this, I am forever grateful to Zig and his wonderful team of
> dedicated coworkers. I see that several of his family are carrying Zig's
> work forward, a most worthy cause.
>
> Just last summer I helped my neighbor here in IL with her mute child of
> four. She's a doctor and was frantic about his inability to speak. I
> modeled some speech about things we could see and touch in the world. They
> purchased a talking toy with animal pictures on a dial that spoke with via
> a pull cord.  They continued working in their home on his speech. Just last
> week my wife gifted the boy with a mini lunch box of toy vehicles my son
> used to play with. He later came to my wife and had a conversation with her:
>
> I want to thank you.
>
> Thank me for what?
>
> I want to thank you for the trucks you gave me.
>
> His mom says, what kind of trucks?
>
> A police car, a tow truck, a garbage truck and a dump truck.
>
> And then his mother smiled the biggest smile in all the world.
>
> Thank you Zig. Thank you team.
>
> Joe Kuhn
> U of I, 1976
> U of O, 1979
>
>
> On Fri, Feb 15, 2019 at 5:58 PM Bryan Wickman <bwickman at nifdi.org> wrote:
>
>> Listmates,
>>
>> On behalf of the Engelmann Family, I regret to inform you that Siegfried
>> "Zig" Engelmann passed away peacefully in his home early this afternoon.
>> The family has appreciated your support for Zig these past several months.
>>
>> We will pass on information regarding a memorial once arrangements are
>> finalized.
>>
>> Sadly,
>>
>> Bryan
>>
>>
>> --
>> Bryan Wickman,
>> Outreach Coordinator
>> 541.485.1973
>> --
>> Bryan Wickman,
>> Outreach Coordinator
>> 541.485.1973
>> _______________________________________________
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