We recently had the chance to connect with Dr. Lynne Thrope PhD and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Dr. Lynne, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
“Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever.” Those wise words of Walt Disney perfectly describe every day life at The Reading Room as it has been for the past 30 years! Hearing the silly laugh of a student whose future would not have included a life of literacy opportunities had it not been for the constant combination of expert reading instruction, access to appropriate books, and cuddles from a couple of constant and affectionate therapy dogs. Whether they emanate from a 6 or 16-year old, imaginations are valued at The Reading Room as students write about their take on a character’s motivation, their perspective about plot, and their dream of tidy resolutions. Every day I am left breathless at the musings of my struggling readers whose challenges are left at the door before our time together begins.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Recently, my siblings were summoned to our parents’ home to take whatever stuff we wanted from our childhood. As the three of us scanned endless piles of dusty, worn books, hand-written report cards, scads of not-so-promising works of art, I spotted the easel that would define my life. Teaching was the “it” job for me since age 5.
After spending 12 years in Boston, MA learning how to teach while teaching reluctantly bussed kids in the first integrated elementary school, I headed to Southern California where I finished my PhD at Claremont Graduate University in LA and where I simultaneously taught middle schoolers in Lakeside, a suburb east of San Diego. For my unique classroom management style and student success rate, I was honored as Teacher of the Year.
Indeed, I would have done that job forever had it not been for an educational visionary who convinced me to create a reading curriculum for the first integrated learning system. As the Director of Reading with Josten’s Learning Corporation, students in all 50 states (and eventually students in Europe, too) had access to my software program to assist in their literacy development. Ten years later, with an understanding of business behind me, I went back to my roots as a trained clinical reading therapist and opened The Reading Room, a private reading clinic serving struggling readers of all ages who would benefit from intense, highly specialized and personalized reading, writing, and spelling instruction. Thirty years later, The Reading Room is busier than ever!
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
As an undergraduate at Boston University, my teacher-training program was field-based; that meant that all of my instruction, including the psychology of education, sociology of eduction, politics of education, etc. took place in a public school classroom. Through a multitude of hands-on teaching experiences, one of my professors saw my excitement about working with kids whose opportunities for literacy learning were few; soon thereafter, I became her teaching assistant in graduate school. Had she not encouraged me to pursue a masters in reading education and later on, a doctoral degree, I probably would still be teaching today in Boston. So thank you, Dr. Diane Lapp!
When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
Growing up on Cape Cod had its ups and downs. We beach rats ran around freely everywhere all the time because Life seemed safe on the eastern-most seaboard of Massachusetts. What I feared most in those early years were trilling high winds, raucous waves, and the banging of shutters on taped windows during a scary, highly volatile nor’easter storm. Lights out. Candles lit. I pretended for a short while to be a character lost in a cave who was being followed by a seething, imaginary creature. But then, reality set in and all I could do was curl up in a corner, cry, and wait out the storm. What helped to endure this seasonal fright was the sound of my sister’s voice reading the grand works written by Edgar Allen Poe. “The Raven,” “The Tell Tale Heart” and “The Murders in the RueMorgue” forever stick in my mind. Had it not been for my sister’s fabulous acting job, I would probably have steered clear of any literature with an edge of dark themes. Thank you, Sister Sue!
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
“Always be your authentic self” was the powerful message conveyed by my dear grandmother as I ventured off to the West Coast to realize my dream of completing my doctorate, teaching middle school, and playing tennis outdoors all year round! She was the one person who always listened with intent to the stories of my struggles, ambitions, heartache, and triumphs. She hung on to my every word which encouraged me to share with her more. I guess you could call it free therapy! My grandmother knew a good thing when she saw it. She smelled a phony miles away. “Never EVER become that!” she would quip as we briskly walked the busy streets of Boston’s Quincy Market and financial district. “Be who you are, take your licks, learn from them, and get the heck back up!” I have stayed true to myself ever since. I think. My clients’ loyalty confirms my suspicion.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What will you regret not doing?
Hearing the words, “Ohhhh. Now I get it!” is the highlight of any day at The Reading Room. Music to my ears. Nothing is better knowing that a student has finally understood a difficult concept taught previously at school. Being able to work one-on-one with a struggling reader with the comfort of a canine companion, I can honestly say, is better than eating a hot fudge sundae. A day without giving the appropriate tools to a kid to read independently will be my biggest regret and one that will be terribly missed..
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.TheReadingRoom.net
