Evelyn Wood (teacher)
Encyclopedia
Evelyn Nielsen Wood was an American educator and businessperson, widely known for coining the phrase speed reading
and for creating a system to increase a reader's speed (over the average reading rate of 250 to 300 words a minute)
by a factor of two to five times, while increasing retention. The system was taught in seminars as Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Dynamics, a business Wood co-founded with her husband, Doug Wood, which ultimately had over 150 outlets in the United States.
Wood first began to study reading while a teacher and girls' counselor at Jordan High School
in Salt Lake City. Evelyn and Doug Wood created a speed reading business in 1959, Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Reading Dynamics.
In 1967, the Wood's sold the business, Doug Wood continuing to serve as President until he retired in 1974. American Learning Corporation, a subsidiary of Encyclopedia Britannica, bought Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics in May 1986, and it was later sold in September 1993 to Pryor Resources, a business seminar training company in Kansas City, Kansas. The business is currently owned by PARK University Enterprises, Inc.
After two stroke
s, Wood died 26 August 1995 in Tucson
, Arizona
at age 86 . Her papers are archived at the Utah State Historical Society.
Her book Reading Skills was published in 1959 and she and her husband subsequently started the Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics business. Classes were heavily advertised on television in the 1960s and '70s; Steve Allen
was one of the highest-profile celebrity endorsers. Until the late 1990s her classes were taught on college campuses in the United States.
Among those whose reading habits Wood studied was US President John F. Kennedy
, an avid reader. Subsequently White House
staff members in the Kennedy, Ford, and Carter administrations took the course.
One of Wood's speed reading students appeared on I've Got a Secret
, claiming she could read the 689 page novel Gone With the Wind
in less than one hour.
Speed reading
Speed reading is a collection of reading methods which attempt to increase rates of reading without greatly reducing comprehension or retention. Methods include chunking and eliminating subvocalization...
and for creating a system to increase a reader's speed (over the average reading rate of 250 to 300 words a minute)
by a factor of two to five times, while increasing retention. The system was taught in seminars as Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Dynamics, a business Wood co-founded with her husband, Doug Wood, which ultimately had over 150 outlets in the United States.
Background
Wood, the daughter of Elias and Rose (Stirland) Nielsen, was born in Logan Utah in 1909 and grew up in Ogden, Utah. She received a B.A. in English from the University of Utah in 1929 — later pursuing a master's degree in speech.. On June 12 1929, she married Myron Douglas (Doug) Wood (1903-1987), son of William Wood, Jr. and Ellen Sutton (Goddard) Wood – and university student body president at U. Utah. Doug Wood grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah and earned a B.A. in business from the University of Utah in 1929. The couple had one daughter, Carol Davis Wood Evans of Tucson, AZ.Wood first began to study reading while a teacher and girls' counselor at Jordan High School
Jordan High School
Jordan High School could be one of several high schools, including:* Barbara Jordan High School, Houston, Texas* Charles E. Jordan High School, Durham, North Carolina* East Jordan High School, East Jordan, Michigan...
in Salt Lake City. Evelyn and Doug Wood created a speed reading business in 1959, Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Reading Dynamics.
In 1967, the Wood's sold the business, Doug Wood continuing to serve as President until he retired in 1974. American Learning Corporation, a subsidiary of Encyclopedia Britannica, bought Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics in May 1986, and it was later sold in September 1993 to Pryor Resources, a business seminar training company in Kansas City, Kansas. The business is currently owned by PARK University Enterprises, Inc.
After two stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
s, Wood died 26 August 1995 in Tucson
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
at age 86 . Her papers are archived at the Utah State Historical Society.
Speed reading
In her studies, Wood's discovered readers capable of reading 1,500 to 6,000 words a minute, often sharing the traits of reading down the page rather than left to right, reading groups of words or complete thoughts rather than single words, avoiding involuntary rereading of material and applying their efficiency to varied material. After discovering that faster readers were also more effective readers, she began developing her programs, ultimately developing a methodology of using a finger or pointer to trace lines of text while eliminating sub-vocalizing (reading under one's breath or aloud in one's head).Her book Reading Skills was published in 1959 and she and her husband subsequently started the Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics business. Classes were heavily advertised on television in the 1960s and '70s; Steve Allen
Steve Allen
Steve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen , American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3...
was one of the highest-profile celebrity endorsers. Until the late 1990s her classes were taught on college campuses in the United States.
Among those whose reading habits Wood studied was US President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, an avid reader. Subsequently White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
staff members in the Kennedy, Ford, and Carter administrations took the course.
One of Wood's speed reading students appeared on I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret is a panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show What's My Line?...
, claiming she could read the 689 page novel Gone With the Wind
Gone with the Wind
The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
in less than one hour.