Children of the Code

. . . from Children of the Code

the history, science and mystery of learning to read

A Social Education Project and Public Television Documentary
~ David Boulton, co-producer and creator of the Children of the Code, is a learning ecologist, activist and technologist

The 'code', the technology of written language, is the most influential invention in the history of history. It is the "OS" (operating system) of civilization. Becoming code users literally changed how our minds think, self-reflect, remember, abstract, categorize, and codify.

Today's social institutions; our science, law, politics, organizations and technologies are all outgrowths of what the code made and makes possible in our minds. We are all, in a very real sense, children of the code. For some of us the code is an invisible, taken-for-granted, mind-enabling platform, for others it is an ever-present mind-shaming barrier that all but determines what is possible in life.

The single most powerful and influential invention in the history of western civilization is right before and between your eyes. You are using it right now. In the fraction of a second between the time your eyes scan these letters and these words stream into your thoughts, your brain, unconscious to you, is processing the code of our written language.

Similar to how a CD player converts streams of code "written" on a disc into music we can hear, reading involves a "player" in our minds that converts streams of code written on paper or screen, into words we can recognize with our minds. Reading is the process of assembling and projecting streams of thought or spoken words according to the instructions and information contained in a code. It is an artificial, unconscious, cognitive, technological, code-processing skill.

5 Major Themes:
~ The history of the code and its effects on the world around and within us
~ The cognitive, emotional, academic, and social challenges involved in learning to read
~ How the structure of the code effects learning to read it
~ How the brain learns to read
~ How teachers and parents can help children learn to read better

" Some people there are who, being grown; forget the horrible task of learning to read. It is perhaps the greatest single effort that the human undertakes, and he must do it as a child. ” John Steinbeck