Bridget Roth's Story

Learning to read by removing pressure to learn to read!

I was there in the beginning, 1968. It sounds funny, but I was chosen to go there. I had been going to Couch but I really struggled with reading. I didn’t find out until much later that I was dyslexic. It was a perfect fit. Except that I’d been going to regular school. I didn’t realize I could leave the room. I was really fortunate I was in the art room. Betty was my teacher! So I’d stay in there all day long until lunchtime and then I'd come back! The focus on reading was gone. The pressure was lifted. When I realized that I could leave the room and there were all these other classrooms with things going on, Wow! I absolutely loved math. I could spend all day in the math room. And then it happened: I found books! The first book I read that I thoroughly enjoyed was Charlotte‘s Web! And from then on there was no stopping me from reading! I would sit in the halls for hours reading. The William Temple House across the street had an amazing collection of secondhand books! And I became the biggest fan of Nancy Drew! MLC let me grow in ways that I never knew were possible. I became a strong, independent, free-thinking person. Thankfully, when I was a teenager, I was able to work full-time because of going to school at MLC; that was a benefit to me because it kept a roof over my head. I’m not sure how many people knew but my mother went on vacation and never came home. The community that MLC provided for me and continues to provide for me has been a true blessing. Because of MLC, I’ve always known that I could do anything I put my mind to. I found true friendship and compassion from the family and community that come from MLC. Love you all. Sincerely, Bridget Marie (Snell) Graves Roth!

BRIDGET (SNELL) ROTH submitted a short version of her story in 2018, published in the 50th Anniversary magazine, then in 2025 sent in this remarkable, longer and more personal version. Bridget's story offers a sharp lesson about self-directed learning.

Bridget in the opening moments of the 1970 student film A Moving Picture.