Johnny couldn’t read. So he cheated through school. And became a teacher.
posted at 11:00 am on February 12, 2008 by Bryan
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I’m leaning toward calling shenanigans on this story.
John Corcoran graduated from college and taught high school for 17 years without being able to read, write or spell.
Corcoran’s life of secrecy started at a young age. He said his teachers moved him up from grade to grade. Often placed in what he calls the “dumb row,” the images of his tribulations in the classroom are still vividly clear.
“I can remember when I was 8 years old saying my prayers at night saying please god tomorrow when it’s my turn to read please let me read. You just pretend that you are invisible and when the teacher says, ‘Johnnie read,’ you just wait the teacher out because you know the teacher has to go away at some point,” said Corcoran.
So he became a class troublemaker, etc to hide his illiteracy. I’m not saying that it’s impossible to get through our government schools without learning anything. Of course that’s possible. And it’s also possible to be a teacher without knowing anything. I’m just trying to figure out how he did this:
He stole tests and pursuaded friends to complete his assignments. Corcoran earned an athletic scholarship to Texas Western College. He said his cheating intensified, claiming he cheated in every class.
“I passed a bluebook out the window to a friend I painstakingly copied four essay questions off the board in U.S. government class that was required, and hoped my friend would get it back to me with the right answers,” Corcoran said.
I don’t get it. He copied the questions off the board but didn’t know what they said? He essentially drew them rather than wrote them? And in all the years of having to do things like that, he never actually learned to read, and no one caught on?
Mmhm. I’m a little bit skeptical.
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I’m calling BS.
Troika37 on February 12, 2008 at 11:02 AM
The man’s a genius.
An illiterate, shifty genius, but a genius nonetheless.
I kind of want to blame him, but if his story is true, I’d much rather condemn the public school system for not recognizing the problem. I mean, if you’re passing through kids who can’t read you are doing them a massive disservice.
BKennedy on February 12, 2008 at 11:04 AM
No SATs?
amerpundit on February 12, 2008 at 11:04 AM
This explains my 10th grade geometry teacher perfectly…
Techie on February 12, 2008 at 11:05 AM
What a crock. In 17 years of school he never had to read a passage in class? An essay? Creative writing? Comp101?…yeah right.
Limerick on February 12, 2008 at 11:06 AM
I don’t know what your talking about I can’t read or type…
BS
HotAirExpert on February 12, 2008 at 11:06 AM
I noticed he was from California as well. No wonder their schools suck!
Torch on February 12, 2008 at 11:07 AM
I don’t think it’s BS…he has his own FOUNDATION
JetBoy on February 12, 2008 at 11:07 AM
Absolutely BS. Although our college students today probably stand a better chance learning something useful from this guy than they do with the several “brilliant free thinking” lefty professors out there.
Grafted on February 12, 2008 at 11:08 AM
Does he have a good speaking voice? Does he inspire? Maybe he can run for President.
Theworldisnotenough on February 12, 2008 at 11:08 AM
The teachers never noticed him passing the notes out the window? He never had to take a Standardized Achievement Test? He never had to read a textbook to students or grade a paper? He never had to take the written portion of the drivers test?
BS.
amerpundit on February 12, 2008 at 11:08 AM
Back in the day SATs were all multiple choice. He simply chose “C” for every answer and ended up with 1300. (550 math, 750 verbal)
12thman on February 12, 2008 at 11:09 AM
He was passed ahead because there are many public schoolteachers who exist only to get a paycheck with immunity from dismissal via a powerful teacher’s union. They don’t want to put the effort in to recognize a problem, so they just pretend there isn’t one and just pass the kid to the next grade.
There is no reason US schools should not have a 90%+ proficiency rate in Math and English upon graduation. But we don’t. In some places the proficiency barely hits above 60%. If you remember from school, 60% is an F.
BKennedy on February 12, 2008 at 11:10 AM
I call BS
the article says he drove to an inconspicuous place….did he have a license? how did he pass the written test?
moseby on February 12, 2008 at 11:11 AM
i kin vowch for that storie. mistor corkerin teeched me in hi skool. i evin hepped him win teecher of the year. he waz ten-yeared; whitch is a good thing. He hepped with owtcome biased edukatshun.
bloggless on February 12, 2008 at 11:11 AM
Readers Digest did a story about ten years ago on a guy very similar to this. I don’t think he cheated though. If I recall he got girlfriends to read stuff to him and dicateds essays etc. Once he was a teacher, the guy just had his students read everything for him. That is until he got put in charge of teaching troubled readers. Then his deficiency came to light and he got help.
infidel2 on February 12, 2008 at 11:12 AM
Who’s fault is it?
abinitioadinfinitum on February 12, 2008 at 11:12 AM
Completely bogus. The guy had to have some level of reading capability to get through high school and college. Maybe he struggled with grammatical concepts, but absolute illiteracy? No way.
jediwebdude on February 12, 2008 at 11:12 AM
Sounds like he should be on the Hildebeasts’ staff. It seems she could do with some cheating now to get ahead of Barracko.
countywolf on February 12, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Who says he got his license on the up-and-up?
Illegals can manage it. They don’t speak English. This guy just can’t read it.
BKennedy on February 12, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Allahpundits.
Limerick on February 12, 2008 at 11:13 AM
scarey
trailortrash on February 12, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Maybe he had Elaine Benes outside that window !
Firmworm on February 12, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Even more reason to suspect BS if you ask me- get a little publicity while drawing attention to your pet issue. It wouldn’t be the first time an event was staged to “raise awareness” of a pet cause.
Hollowpoint on February 12, 2008 at 11:14 AM
He never had to take an SAT or ACT? Was the window never closed in his classrooms? He never had to grade a paper while teaching high school?
amerpundit on February 12, 2008 at 11:15 AM
Congratulations, Allah.
amerpundit on February 12, 2008 at 11:16 AM
His first book was published in 2001, pehaps he’s the same guy RD profiled. Either way, with the date of his book, it is pretty old news, but it makes a good headline and he’s probably out promoting a new book or something.
infidel2 on February 12, 2008 at 11:17 AM
How could someone go through 12 years of school and then college without catching on to reading and writing, or even being found out?
Not buying it, no one is that stupid.
Geronimo on February 12, 2008 at 11:17 AM
And yet, he still has more accomplishments than Barack Obama.
Texas Rainmaker on February 12, 2008 at 11:18 AM
How many ‘pop’ quizzes have you taken? A couple hundred? A couple thousand? Come on! This story smells worse then the bait well on my boat.
Limerick on February 12, 2008 at 11:20 AM
I have trouble understanding how the college part happened but I personally witnessed two high school athletes graduate without being able to read.
12thman on February 12, 2008 at 11:20 AM
But remember…Lawrence Taylor got through high school, and college, and the NFL, as a functional illiterate. It’s really not that far-fetched.
JetBoy on February 12, 2008 at 11:24 AM
The dude is retired. He graduated in 1956, he would have taken the SAT somewhere around then.
He could have just, as someone pointed out, put “C” for every answer and gotten lucky. In 1956 I’m sure the SAT was a lot different than it is now.
In the story they explain he had a multitude of teaching assistants to do boardwork, while he focused on oral and visual presentations. His lack of reading was probably compensated by his study in other areas.
He couldn’t read. That doesn’t make him an idiot. He probably learned using primarily audio and video methods.
Hell, he probably taught his children better than a lot of other teachers precisely because he was frustrated over never learning a skill that should have been taught, all things considered.
BKennedy on February 12, 2008 at 11:24 AM
Crap. What NEA scumbag is behind this?
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on February 12, 2008 at 11:24 AM
Test him. Put in in a room that can be filled up with water where all of the water controls are inside it but unmarked. Then give him detailed instructions (waterproof of course) on how to shut off the water, as it is designed as a complicated process, and get out of the room. He has two choices – read and escape or die. Either he’s proven to be a fake or the world is rid of one more illiterate dumbass. Sounds like a win-win to me.
Brass Pair on February 12, 2008 at 11:24 AM
You and Theworldisnotenough are redefining the B in BDS. What in the world does this have to do with Obama?
12thman on February 12, 2008 at 11:24 AM
How did he know to walk into that building if he couldn’t read their sign?
Esthier on February 12, 2008 at 11:27 AM
You’re half right. We do graduate the dumbest kids in the country. We’re also forced to educate every child from a third world country that manages to sneak across the border.
repvoter on February 12, 2008 at 11:29 AM
He learned to read years before he admitted he used to be illiterate.
Esthier on February 12, 2008 at 11:29 AM
Because Obama is a bright, articulate, empty socialist suit.
At the same age, this man was an illiterate, ingenious, articulate educator (remember: Inability to read =/= inability to speak).
Barack did less with the ability to read than this man did without it. Barack’s failed policies will doom more kids like John Corcoran. John got lucky. Under Barack’s socialist state, other illeterate kids won’t be so lucky.
BKennedy on February 12, 2008 at 11:30 AM
So what was he during those years he was teaching? Oh, that’s right, he was a proud member of a labor union.
I don’t buy the story at all. There would have been at least one parent who was upset that their child was being taught “visually” whatever that really means.
highhopes on February 12, 2008 at 11:30 AM
Maybe you guys aren’t getting it. The man could not read. This does not mean he cannot communicate in other methods (e.g. speech.) He probably has great spatial skills and knows landmarks well. All he would need is a friend who could read to tell him what was in the area, or a description of the building, or even a photo of the building. He doesn’t need to be able to read the sign to identify the building. Find me an illiterate who doesn’t know the Washington Monument when they see it.
BKennedy on February 12, 2008 at 11:34 AM
Just an attempt at humor — see the Hannity thread.
srhoades on February 12, 2008 at 11:35 AM
Olny srmat poelpe can.
cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
if you can raed tihs psas it on !!!
Firmworm on February 12, 2008 at 11:35 AM
Can I nominate Sean Penn to play him in the movie?
bloggless on February 12, 2008 at 11:36 AM
Hey hey, easy! My aunt is a teacher over there…
OneGyT on February 12, 2008 at 11:39 AM
i believe that’s the plot for Saw V.
locke on February 12, 2008 at 11:44 AM
Did James Frey make this up?
JeffB. on February 12, 2008 at 11:48 AM
This makes a lot more sense. I completely buy the part about him acting like a jerk and cheating his ass off. As a varsity athelete and education major, I would demand proof if he claimed he WASN’T an idiot.
But complete illiteracy? That’s total BS; it takes like ten minutes to learn remedial phonics. Even in “outcome based education”, he would have seen a Primer lying around at some point – or at least walked by while an episode of Seseme Street was running.
…Says yet another self-congratulating sociopath.
Knowledge is essentially irrelevant to a career in so-called “education.” This guy was born with all the skills he needed to make it in the federal school system.
logis on February 12, 2008 at 11:51 AM
I blame Global Warming.
Montana on February 12, 2008 at 11:52 AM
Yeah, I didn’t buy that either. I think he found a good hook and he’s sticking to his story.
Jim Treacher on February 12, 2008 at 11:54 AM
Didn’t his parents say “There’s something off with our kid?”
tlynch001 on February 12, 2008 at 11:56 AM
uhm…. ok. Like I said, BDS 2.0.
12thman on February 12, 2008 at 11:59 AM
Yeah, I guess the teachers there are working under siege conditions.
Sorry, didn’t mean to offend. My wife is a teacher and I usually have to apologize to her when I get on one of my soapboxes about the Missouri school system. It’s not much better then California in my opinion. There are wonderful teachers everywhere, but it’s usually the bad ones that I think of (like most people do).
Torch on February 12, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Bulls*** or not, I’m reminded of this song:
Don Henley-Johnny Can’t Read
mram on February 12, 2008 at 12:13 PM
I can’t imagine graduating from college without being able to take an exam. At least not in my discipline.
Mabe the education schools aren’t quite as rigorous.
jaime on February 12, 2008 at 12:25 PM
Barry O wants to be leader of the free world.
He wants to poke the Pakistan Beehive while sitting down to talk to the Iranian Scorpion.
The only three words in his vocabulary are Hope, Change, and Government.
He wants to completely control your life, from your healthcare to your education to your grave.
BDS? More like BRS: Barack Reality Syndrome.
BKennedy on February 12, 2008 at 12:25 PM
You’d think at some point it would just become easier to learn how to read and write.
Think of all that hard work he had to do in order to stay illiterate. How stubborn do you have to be?
James on February 12, 2008 at 12:27 PM
And he needs reading glasses for what…exactly? BS
Dread Pirate Roberts VI on February 12, 2008 at 12:31 PM
How would he even GET glasses?
“Please read the eye chart down to the third line.”
“Uh…squared off shape, squiggly line, squiggly line with a hat…”
James on February 12, 2008 at 12:37 PM
Even though I am skeptical too, I once met a nurse who was illiterate. She was a nurses’ aid who, by the grace of idiots who pass laws without thinking, became a vocational nurse. She got others to chart for her, and recognized the medications by the colors of the labels. How was she preparing the medication? Imitating what others did. I met her at her deposition before being fired. — Not so long ago, there was a physician at an emergency room in Dallas that was not a physician at all. These things happen…
Ropera on February 12, 2008 at 12:42 PM
Is that a cross in the picture? He’s a former illiterate so I doubt it’s a bookcase.
geckomon on February 12, 2008 at 1:15 PM
Call me highly skeptical.
If nothing else, how do you pass a real estate exam and work with contracts if you can’t read?
Buy Danish on February 12, 2008 at 1:19 PM
That caught me off guard. I snotted.
LimeyGeek on February 12, 2008 at 1:21 PM
Most purchasers don’t read the contracts either.
James on February 12, 2008 at 1:23 PM
If you can’t see how jumping from a story about a man who cheated his way through college to become a teacher in 1956 to Barrack Obama is a bit deranged you’re further gone than I thought.
A vote for Obama is a vote for Illiterate Teachers!
12thman on February 12, 2008 at 1:31 PM
The answers to many of the questions asked here are at the link. (q. how did he grade tests? a. he used standardized tests with answer keys, etc.) I can’t verify the accuracy myself, but the answers are at the link if anybody wants to check it out & dig deeper.
BTW, I’ve known a few illiterate or barely literate individuals who have been successful by using similar coping skills to overcome limitations (rely on girlfriend/spouse, verbal rather than written communication, etc.) The “teacher” aspect does inspire skepticism, but I’d have to say it’s possible.
I have to offer the punchline of my favorite joke about a college athlete who fails a math test, only to have the coach advocate for him to get another chance. When the professor asks the athlete “what’s 2 + 2?” the athlete answers “4?” The coach cries out, “Give him another chance!”
cs89 on February 12, 2008 at 1:51 PM
Licensing exams?
funky chicken on February 12, 2008 at 1:53 PM
More like he was passed ahead by public schoolteachers who had 40 kids per class and didn’t have the resources to help him. All the $$ we spend now is fairly recent, and I could have fairly easily got through HS without reading or writing much.
College, well…I went to Cal and had to write a lot, both in class and out of class.
Bob's Kid on February 12, 2008 at 1:55 PM
I too call BS.
Even if you ignore the idea that he had to have pop quizes, SAT/ACT tests, the ASFAB and at some point probably sat on the second floor of his school so passing notes out the window would only work for his buddy Spiderman. It says he had a athletic ride, that is fine, but it wont excuse all the requirements. Even for those schools that do ‘excuse’ some for athletes, it isnt like he became the next NFL Superstar, nor did he have an injury that would have stopped him. So, no that doesn’t fly for me.
As for the license thing, illegals can get their license because nanny states like WI offer alternate language tests for people that dont speak english. So, if your spanish, you can take the test in spanish. But, you still have to READ.
B3 on February 12, 2008 at 2:22 PM
He must have been one of the fantastic California teachers Larry O’Donnell was raving about.
Corcoran’s story is described in Chicken Soup for the Soul in 1993.
clghitis on February 12, 2008 at 2:25 PM
He probably has some psychological problem where he needs to cover some mental “thing” by this mask of not being able to read or write.
PresidenToor on February 12, 2008 at 2:42 PM
Considering Obama is in the pocket of the NEA and all the other unions, I’d say you’ve finally caught on.
Welcome to the club 12thman :-D
BKennedy on February 12, 2008 at 2:48 PM
Jacques Lemaire, Stanley Cup winning player and coach was a functional illiterate well into his coaching career. Seriously.
Jackie Chan, movie star was also a functional illiterate.
So it can be done, this whole getting by without being able to read.
Krydor on February 12, 2008 at 2:56 PM
2 words… teacher’s union…
max1 on February 12, 2008 at 3:12 PM
I read a newspaper article a few years ago about Tennessee’s decision to stop giving driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. According to the article, one of the reasons they stopped was that state DMV offices were reporting that many non-English-speaking aliens were attempting (some successfully) to bribe DMV employees to give them passing grades on the written test (when the aliens had not actually taken the test).
There’s more than one way to skin a cat, as my granny used to say.
AZCoyote on February 12, 2008 at 3:22 PM
So what we have here is literally both ends of the spectrum that defines the make of the typical modern teacher of the 21st Century. On the one end, you have nubile sex-starved honeys like Debbie LaFave who like to flaunt their hot looks to their classes while they crave the touch of innocent youth. On the other end, you have clowns like this guy who managed to fake his way to a college degree and is essentially teaching the masses in high school skills that he never bothered to learn on his own, and he manages to pull that off for like 17 years! And somewhere in the middle, you have some poor underpaid schmuck who can hardly meet his mortgage payment, yet will spend hours on end preparing his next day class schedule because he feels that despite all the shortcomings, being a teacher is what he feels he was called to do.
And people still ask “Why can’t Johnny read?” Because he is either being faked out by the clown, or being chased around the desk by the honey, and he hasn’t had the luck to wind up in the class that the underpaid schmuck is teaching in! Ya think?!!!
pilamaye on February 12, 2008 at 3:41 PM
My wife and I are both teachers and I call BS on this story. My grandparents were both funcionally illiterate–both from Europe–so I know well how people can live and get by without reading. But to be a school teacher? Then one day after he retired from teaching at age 48 he “decided” to learn how to read? Gimme a break–surely teaching children of any age would have been motivation enough to learn to read. I also don’t believe that he had “one or two educational assistants” at his disposal–those were unheard of 40 years ago. Riiiight. So he couldn’t read memos or directives from his principal while he taught? And he wrote a book upon learning the English language? How freakin’ convenient!
And why come out now, after all those lonely, frustrating years of not being able to read?
robblefarian on February 12, 2008 at 3:52 PM
functionally! WOOPS! I’m angry!
robblefarian on February 12, 2008 at 3:53 PM
Hahaha! Johnny can’t spell “persuaded”!
Dan Collins on February 12, 2008 at 3:54 PM
It’s CG I tells ya!
- The Cat
MirCat on February 12, 2008 at 4:49 PM
Well, that just goes to show you how religion stultifies the young mind. Instead of asking a non-existent god, he should have buckled down and studied. It is no surprise he became a teacher, most of the ones I know are complete morons.
The above quoted line lends credibility to the story.
TheSitRep on February 12, 2008 at 5:13 PM
The SAT deducts points for incorrect answers. What you are suggesting is ridiculous, albeit impossible.
@BKennedy,
You complain a lot about the schools, lazy teachers and teachers’ unions. Maybe I missed it, but what do you have to say about parents?
The fact of the matter is that many parents, most in some areas, do not prepare their kids for school. They want babysitters and complain when kids are given too much homework.
Here’s the deal, if you send your kid to school and he can’t wipe himself, recognize his or her own name, or recite the alphabet, you are the problem.
As far as John Corcoran goes, I can believe he slipped through the cracks. Much of his narrative details the “prison of illiteracy.” It sounds a little far-fetched and may be a bit exaggerated. But he has the trusted ear of many cities, states and corporations. Check out his client list.
Again, I blame the parents. If you don’t know your child can’t read, you don’t know your child.
And really all of these Republicans blaming the school districts strikes me as odd. I thought the Dems advocated for state-schooling. If you can’t pay for your kids’ education, maybe you should not be having kids. Home-schooling is also an option. Complaining about public schools however is like complaining about the USPS.
***
Good Republicans should teach their own damn kids to read…before they set foot on an elementary school campus.
The Race Card on February 12, 2008 at 5:33 PM
Again, what’s up with a bunch of Republicans being shocked, much less lamenting the decline of public education?
We know it sucks. It’s only going to get worse. Illegal immigration will infect the nation well beyond our border states. Public education and health care are the first to suffer.
Public education breeds mediocrity unless you are a very attentive and motivated parent.
The Race Card on February 12, 2008 at 5:40 PM
This
doesn’t match the text from the link
It’s minor, different punctuation and capitalization, but why?
Baraka on February 12, 2008 at 6:55 PM
I hold parents responsible for teaching their children when it is clear that all their children recieve from the schools is hippie-dippy “diversity” crapola. I support homeschooling, private school (which must have at least SOME standards), and school vouchers. Parents have a duty to make sure their children are educated properly, but it’s tough for them to fight against the propaganda their children are given 7 hours a day 5 days a week in the few hours they get home from work. Why the heck is Johnny learning “Heather Has Two Mommies” in first grade when he can’t do addition and subtraction, and he can’t understand words with the vowel “u” in them because they haven’t progressed that far in the alphabet yet?
I’m sure that every single child can identify “different kinds of families (read: believe homosexual relationships are morally equivalent to heterosexual ones),” knows where to access condoms and birth control pills, and believes diversity only applies to skin color, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Proficiency in Math, English, Science, and History, though? Look elsewhere. Some schools are only teaching the politics of the teacher’s union, not the skills and knowledge children need to actually succeed.
As I said, when children are not achieving 90%+ proficiency in math and English in the (freaking) United States of America, there is something afoul in the school system itself.
BKennedy on February 13, 2008 at 2:16 AM
Your concerns are valid. Teachers’ unions are some of the most politically adept political organizations. Also they are notoriously liberal and well-funded. And more ominously, their politics have warped America’s educational focus.
On the other hand, there are many devoted, inspirational teachers who demand excellence…and don’t bring their politics into the classroom. I value their presence enough to draw sharp distinctions between them and the rest whenever possible.
I believe that liberal propaganda should give parents even more reason to be totally hands-on in their kids’ education. More conservative and values-focused parents should speak up and confront teachers, administrators and school boards.
It is the school’s job to teach. It’s our job to hold them accountable.
The Race Card on February 13, 2008 at 4:27 PM
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