I have just finished reading THE PROBABILITY OF EVERYTHING by Sarah Everett. It’s a hard book to discuss without spoiling it for others. But as my friend, Sally, said, “Read it and then we’ll talk!” It may be one of the most powerfully written books I’ve ever read. It centers around a young girl’s relationship with her father. Having had a very close relationship with my dad, I felt a deep connection to this character. From dancing in the kitchen standing on my father’s feet, to gazing at stars together, to concerns about his failing health in later years, I felt like I knew exactly what Kemi felt. This connection is one reason I read–to feel part of the universe of humanity in ways that matter. Kemi loves science and specifically, probability.

In 1941, my father began his training with the FBI. He was fluent in German which was a strong asset at the beginning of World War II. The FBI trained him as a cryptanalyst, or codebreaker, and he was successful in using his knowledge of “codes and ciphers” to translate many intercepted communications into English. This was long before we had computers to assist investigators. The computer was his brain. From this period of his life, he developed a love for probability. While he had a rule that he would never place a bet for more than the cost of a meal, he did occasionally buy a lottery ticket for the fun of “what if the odds would favor me this time?” He spent hours around the kitchen table trying to teach me the basics of probability and strategies for simple code breaking. He may have been discouraged when I didn’t readily catch on or share his passion.

Fast forward to today. I realized that as a reading interventionist, I am like my dad. I think I’ve found the passion for code breaking through reading instruction. I’m teaching my students how to break the code by using patterns and probability with the 26 letters of the alphabet. Word play is a fun kind of exercise in probability. For example, playing Wordle more than 250 times, I had a 98% success rate. If your rate was 100%, I bow to you.

Young readers must become code breakers, too. I know this isn’t all they need, however; they also need a rich exposure to literature that touches their hearts, raises questions, and fosters curiosity. Just as code breaking served a higher purpose in my father’s work, I understand that decoding is not the end goal of reading. I fear that too many educators are forgetting this. In our current climate in elementary school, we are hyper-focused on phonics and related skills which will be meaningless if we don’t also help students WANT to read. Code breaking must serve the higher purpose of connecting us with ideas, wonder, and love for each other.

Read THE PROBABILITY OF EVERYTHING. Then, let’s talk.