Mangini Mayhem

I was recently helping a student prepare for a college entrance exam. We worked through a passage from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

The passage used rich description to establish setting, with cobblestone streets, oil-lit lamps, and details that painted the scene before the questions even began.

The questions asked about:
✔️ Setting
✔️ Character relationships
✔️ Context clues
✔️ Vocabulary
✔️ Literary technique

But the student had never heard of the story. They did not recognize the setting was describing a city. Much of the vocabulary was unfamiliar.

As a tutor, I can absolutely help students improve scores. But sometimes families want years of missed reading exposure fixed in just a few sessions before a test.

That is not realistic.

The gap is often bigger than test strategy. It is a gap in:
📖 Exposure to books
📖 Classic literature
📖 Vocabulary development
📖 Reading stamina
📖 Understanding historical settings and context

This is why reading matters so much. Classic literature should be read in school. Students need regular exposure to books long before test season arrives.

You cannot cram a lifetime of literacy into three tutoring sessions.

Want stronger test scores later? Build readers now.

Reading matters more than almost anything in education.

If a child cannot read fluently by middle school, every subject becomes harder.

Math becomes harder because they cannot decode word problems.
Science becomes harder because they struggle to understand vocabulary and directions.
History becomes harder because textbooks feel overwhelming.
Even electives and career programs require reading comprehension.

Reading is not just another subject.
It is the foundation every other subject stands on.

The numbers are concerning:

• National assessments continue to show many students below grade level in reading.
• Students who struggle to read by 3rd grade are far more likely to struggle academically later.
• Many teenagers are bright, capable, and hardworking but never received the reading support they needed early.

This is why early intervention matters.
This is why tutoring matters.
This is why parents reading at home matters.
This is why phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension all matter.

We cannot keep socially promoting students while ignoring literacy gaps.

A child who learns to read well gains confidence, independence, and opportunity.

Reading changes everything.

When I tutor secondary students in Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2, one of the most common issues I see is not intelligence. It is a lack of memorization and math fluency.

Too many students have made it to high school and still do not know their multiplication facts.

Many are using programs like IXL and ALEKS for practice, and those tools can help. But technology should support learning, not replace foundational skills.

For generations, one of the most effective math practices was simple:

✔️ Read the problem
✔️ Write the equation or formula
✔️ Solve it step by step on paper
✔️ Rewrite each step until the solution is reached

That repetition builds speed, accuracy, and confidence.

The gap I often see is this: students are expected to solve advanced problems without automatic recall of basic facts or formulas.

There is no way to perform well on exams like the SAT or ACT if a student is still counting multiplication facts on their fingers or does not know formulas like:

📌 Distance Formula
📌 Point-Slope Form
📌 Quadratic Formula
📌 Slope Formula

Strong math scores are built on strong math foundations.

Memorization is not outdated. Fluency matters.

Why are we forcing every child into the same academic mold when kids are clearly different?

Some students are wired for calculus.
Some are wired for welding.
Some can write essays all day.
Some can rebuild an engine by age 16.
Some need movement, structure, and hands-on learning to thrive.

Yet we keep acting like one pathway fits everyone.

The data says otherwise:

• Only 31% of U.S. 4th graders scored proficient in reading on the 2024 NAEP national assessment.
• Only 35% of high school seniors were proficient in reading.
• Only 22% of seniors were proficient in math.

That should be a wake-up call.

Maybe the problem is not that kids are failing.
Maybe the system is failing kids.

We need more options:

• Trade and technical education
• Apprenticeships
• Honors and accelerated tracks
• Dual enrollment
• Homeschool and hybrid models
• Private and charter choice
• Intensive tutoring for struggling readers
• Real career pathways

Equality does not mean forcing everyone into the same box.

Real fairness means giving each child the path that fits their gifts, goals, and future.

Not every child needs the same education.
Every child needs the right education.

What do you think? Should schools offer more customized pathways? 👇