Seven years later, she and Matt, and their two small children moved to Mississippi to be active in the civil rights movement. It was there that Jeannine became Co-founder and Program Director of the first Head Start project in the United States, the Child Development Group of Mississippi, an organization that served over 5,000 children.
Her experiences with children in Mississippi, her history in the classroom, her research in dyslexia, and her discoveries from teaching her own children to write, fueled her desire to develop practical tools to help children learn to read and write. In 1982, she established California Neuropsychology Services (CNS), a non-profit organization whose purpose was to research and develop teaching tools and host seminars across the country. CNS seminars informed teachers, speech pathologists and psychologists about the most current research on the brain and how it influences learning and behavior.
Dr. Herron and her staff at CNS investigated how computers and existing software could be used more effectively in all aspects of education. Recognizing the potential of computers as non-judgmental tools for mastering the basics in the sometimes frustrating task of learning to read, she set out to find the best in educational software for early readers. Finding no writing-based software that was both engaging and educationally sound, she spent twelve years developing Read, Write & Type!™ (the prototype was the Apple computer program, Talking Fingers™). A grant award from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in 1998 launched Talking Fingers, Inc., the CNS subsidiary. NICHD funds were used to in the development of new materials and the research for the new Read, Write & Type! Learning System™.
© Jeannine Herron,
San Rafael, CA. October 6, 2001
(Please use this music to promote peace
the copyright doesn’t apply unless you gain from its use).
The "civilized world" is a phrase people say
Our side's the right one, the "civilized" way.
But children are asking, "Has anyone seen
A civilized na-tion? What do you mean? (Chorus: By a….)
Civilized world, civilized world, What do you mean by a civilized world?
Civilized world, civilized wor ld, What children need is a civilized world.
Gun ships and missiles, and burning napalm
Land mines and anthrax, the nuclear bomb,
And terrorist killings, these all must be wrong
These can't be civilized, these don't belong. Chorus: (In a….)
Civilized world, civilized world, These don’t belong in a civilized world!
Civilized world, civilized world, What children need is a civilized world.
Where there is ha-tred, look for the roots
Notice it growing, don’t wait for the fruits.
When people are suffering, heed their sad call, and
Create a world that will benefit all. (Chorus)
Civilized world, civilized world, Benefit all in a civilized world.
Civilized world, civilized world, What children need is a civilized world.
Poets and architects, drums and guitars,
Exploring the universe, mapping the stars,
Teachers and questioners, all play their part!
These are the strength and these are the heart! (Chorus: Of a…)
Civilized world, civilized world, These are the heart of a civilized world.
Civilized world, civilized world, What children need is a civilized world.
Why fight over temples , or whose Book is true?
A thing’s just a thing, what is Holy is you.
Why kill one another? Or take someone’s lands?
Religions should lead us to join all our hands. (Chorus In a….)
Civilized world, civilized world, Join all our hands in a civilized world..
Civilized world, civilized world, What children need is a civilized world.
We all have an urge to accumulate stuff,
But-when others are hungry, enough is enough.
The earth can sustain us if we do our parts
And treat other people with generous hearts. (Chorus)
Civilized world, civilized world, Generous hearts in a civilized world.
Civilized world, civilized world, What children need is a civilized world.
Respect one another, take care of the earth
That's-what we should learn from the time of our birth.
All life is pre-cious, under the sun
In spite of our differences, we are all one! (Chorus: In a ….)
Civilized world, civilized world, We are all one in a civilized world.
Civilized world, civilized world, What children need is a civilized world.
Coda: Civilized world, civilized world; We are all one in a civilized world.
Civilized world, civilized world, Now is the time for a civilized world!