About Us

Questions and answers about Edublox:

What is Edublox?
What does Edublox do?
What are the learning principles that underlie the techniques and methods used at Edublox?
My child needs help. What steps should be followed?
My child does not have a learning difficulty, but I would like to have his reading and learning skills improved. Will the classes also be suitable for him?
I stay too far from a clinic to take my child to the classes. What can I do?

Edublox is a reading and learning clinic where learners attend classes to develop and improve their reading and learning skills. The establishment of a clinic is simultaneously

a new venture (the first clinic opened in February 2007),
the end-result of 30 years' experience in practice, and
the combined effort of 50 years of intensive research about reading and learning.

Over the past 30 years we have helped thousands of learners, not only in South Africa, but worldwide. Below are snippets of a few of the commentaries and praises we received during this time.

Some of our programs are exported but the newest, latest and best techniques and methods are used and presented exclusively at the Edublox clinics.

Commentaries:

"It is based on scientific learning and reading principles that have been researched over a period of years... It provides answers to many of the riddles that have been plaguing experts on the subject of learning and reading problems.… For the first time there is real hope in the battle against learning and reading problems." — Prof E J van Niekerk, UNISA

"I have referred many students so that they might follow the program... Without exception I was impressed by the positive results that were achieved." — Dr B H du Toit, psychologist, University of Pretoria

"It has proved to be the most effective method — not only is it easy to administer but it has appeal to the students. ...students are showing real, measurable progress." — Mr Robert Tucker, deputy headmaster, International School, Malawi

"Teachers noted that pupils who attended these sessions were far better in class than previously. Their attention span had increased, leading to better academic performance." — Mr Peter Nel, principal, South Africa

"To me, the most important further aspect that needs to be highlighted is the fact that it enhances the holistic development of the child. From very early in life they are turned into realistic thinkers with a broader vision of what the learning process is all about." — Mr R J Stevens, principal, South Africa

"It is an extremely effective program for enhancing the training of many skills required in the learning process, eg: visual sequencing, visual memory, auditory memory, auditory sequential memory, eye-span movement, logical thinking and concentration/attention span." — Mrs A Burger, teacher at a remedial school in Cape Town

"I had one child in the class that I had been doing remedial work with the previous three years with no sign of progress. He remained a real worry to me as to his parents. After only one year on the program he ended up at the end of last year in the top of his class. He has gained confidence in his abilities and I feel is on the road to success." — Mrs P J Spibey, remedial teacher, Australia

"I would like to compliment you on a wonderful product. The improvement in the children's reading and spelling ability after a year was great. I had no children with spatial problems. They could all sequence and their memories improved." — Mrs R Potgieter, Grade 2 teacher, Bryandale Primary School

"After 6 months there was remarkable improvement and after one year her progress was incredible… What I find most pleasing of all is that this child, who had no self-confidence and no courage, is now able to handle situations with such self-assurance, and even to take the lead in class." — Mrs F Noeth, teacher, South Africa

"Allen's grades have improved dramatically. He passed his first social studies test this school year, scoring 85%. His classroom teacher has noted improvement in his reading skills. Perhaps the most rewarding progress has been in the area of self-esteem." — Carole Derrick, primary grades teacher, USA

"I just would like people to know how wonderful it is to have something at last that works for the child!… Because their focus is so much better we have less homework and what we have goes quickly. Their spelling has greatly improved and learning new words has become a game, not the dreaded chore it once was." — Nita Brist, parent, Washington State, USA

"He enjoys reading so much that it isn't unusual to see him reading for pleasure now. The first time I heard him say he was 'going to bed a little early so he could read before going to sleep' was music to my ears!!… He is in a combined Geometry/Algebra course and lately his scores have been in the 90's or above on his daily work and tests." — Sheri Browning, parent, Kuwait

"Now my son is a Freshman in High School. We just received his first semester report card and I am so excited to say that he received an A in both English and Math. I can't thank you enough for developing a program that truly stands up to your promises and offers hope to those who struggle." — Teresa M., parent, California, USA

"In three months, he excelled from no hope being held of passing the grade to passing… At the end of January a visagraph was done to assess Dieter's reading ability. He was reading at a Grade 2 level. On 21 May, another assessment was done. He is now reading at a second term, Grade 9 level." — Mrs A Grünewald, parent, South Africa

"I just received his report card where he got a 75 in reading and a 72 in writing. This is phenomenal for a so-called dyslexic who used to average in the 40's! He recently told me that he no longer gets a stomach ache when he reads. He can now read for an unlimited time period whereas before he could only go for 5 minutes or so." — Laura Trudel, parent, Quebec, Canada

"The boy did his mid-term test so well he was rewarded the most improved child in his class. He scored 433 marks out of 500 where he used to score less than 350. He is so happy with his results and he is very confident that he will still perform well in the end of year exam. " — Phyllis Kariuki, parent, Kenya

"Within a month, she was able to remember how to spell a few words, and then just like a baby learning to talk, she began to experience a rapid snowball effect…. Six months ago, her spelling tested at a Kindergarten level, and is now at a 6th grade level. This is just still so amazing to all of us who have struggled with her."— Mrs Adams, parent, New Mexico, USA

"We have been doing it now for about a month and I can already see major improvements! Even his Sunday school teachers at our parish have noticed an improvement in his ability to write with little assistance. His self-confidence is up and he actually likes reading now! He used to hate it…" — Shannon Bruck, parent, USA

"He finished the school year on a real high. His reading age went up by 2 years in less than 6 months and he is now making far fewer mistakes and is also self correcting himself when it doesn't make sense. His spelling age improved as well and he also did really well in the end of year exams..." — Jenny Critchley, parent, UK

"At the end of Grade 1 Ulandi could not read at all…. Now, at the end of Grade 2, she can read anything! Her spelling is also good. Her relationship with her friends has also improved. She even participates in athletics now, which she previously avoided." — Mrs A Hartzer, parent, South Africa

What does Edublox do?

Reading is regarded as the most important skill that a child must acquire at school, because one must learn to read in order to be able to read to learn. Good reading skills — it goes without saying that spelling and writing are included — are therefore the foundation of and a prerequisite to learning success in school, as well as a condition for career success later in life.

Reading is a gift that endures for life. Reading difficulties, on the other hand, can have destructive emotional effects, and what awaits the child outside the school gates is often a dismal future. According to Stanovich, not only do poor readers retain their low position in the achievement hierarchy, but they actually become more discrepant from good readers over time; hence the "poor get poorer and rich get richer" allusion.

The mission of Edublox is therefore to improve children’s learning ability — and especially their reading ability — so that they can experience the pleasure of achievement.

What are the learning principles that underlie the techniques and methods used at Edublox?

Although there are several learning principles that are of importance, one fundamental principle is that human learning does not take place on a single level, but is a stratified process. This characteristic is worldwide accepted as a didactic principle. The way in which the school system throughout the whole world is organised is an acknowledgement of this. One cannot send a child to university first. He must start in the first class and then progress year after year to the higher levels of education. Unless he has mastered a sufficient amount of the knowledge to form a firm enough base on which to build the knowledge of the following year, he will not make progress in the next class.

Another simple and practical example is the fact that one has to learn to count before it becomes possible to learn to add and subtract. Suppose one tried to teach a child, who had not yet learnt to count, to add and subtract. This would be quite impossible, and no amount of effort would ever succeed in teaching the child to add and subtract. This shows that counting is a skill that must be mastered before it becomes possible to learn to do calculations.

This means that there is a sequence that is to be observed in teaching. Certain things have to be taught first, before it becomes possible to teach other things.

The main objective at Edublox is to develop and practise the skills that underlie reading, spelling, writing, and learning as such. Skills include, but are not limited to:

Attention and concentration;
Perception — visual, auditory and haptic;
The ability to discriminate, synthesise and analyse in terms of foreground-background, form, size, position in space and colour;
Processing speed;
Phonemic awareness;
Memory — short and long term, visual and auditory;
The ability to decode, integrate and classify information.

By storing these foundational skills in the subconscious mind they become automatic. At the same time learners are given opportunities to apply these foundational skills in practice. The outcome is improved reading and learning ability, which leads to improved academic performance, simultaneously building the learner's self-image and improving his self-image. We thus create a basis for lifelong learning.

My child needs help. What steps should be followed?

Successful intervention is dependent on finding the cause or causes of a problem. Most problems can only be solved if one knows their causes. A disease such as pellagra, also called the disease of the four D's — dermatitis, diarrhoea, dementia and death — took the lives of thousands in the Southern states of America during the early part of the twentieth century. Today, pellagra is virtually unknown because we know that it is caused by a vitamin B3 deficiency.

The first step is therefore to determine the cause or causes of the learner's difficulties, which is determined Students through a two-hour assessment. After the assessment the results are discussed with the parents and recommendations are made, based on the nature and degree of the problem.

Usually, one class per week, combined with home-work of a few minutes per day, is recommended. Classes are presented in the afternoons, Mondays to Thursdays, and on Saturdays; each class is 1½ hours long.

My child does not have a learning difficulty, but I would like to have his reading and learning skills improved. Will the classes also be suitable for him?

Naturally. Just like an athletic child will benefit from judicious training and exercise, the intellectually talented child will benefit from cognitive training, and can develop into a "great mental athlete".

I stay too far from a clinic to take my child to the classes. What can I do?

Home programs that will address the learners' specific needs are recommended after the assessment in cases where parents are unable to transport learners to the classes.

You may also wish to consider our intensive holiday courses.