Glenn Doman Turns 90

I never had any heros until I was an adult.


My first hero was Michael Pearl. I was a new parent - Hunter was seven months old - I read his book, To Train Up a Child, which changed virtually everything I believed about parenting, and later on, many things I believed about the Bible. He is one of the most admirable, wisest men I have ever known.

My second hero was Glenn Doman. I think this blog is pretty self-explanatory as to the reason why. He has opened a whole new world for me that has changed my life in so many ways. Ever since August of 2007 when I obsessively read through How to Teach Your Baby to Be Physically Superb (which I accidentally checked out of the library) I have been dying to meet the man behind The Institutes, the books, and the miraculous work with children and parents that he has accomplished in his lifetime.

Well, last month was his 90th birthday. It is so strange because, watching the video of the celebration, I felt this deep sense of loss that I couldn't attend. I feel like I know him, ever so deeply, even though he doesn't have the faintest notion who I am.

After all, I have had ever so many long, detailed, fascinating conversations with him where I have learned so much. I have listened to him talk on videos, radio stations, and of course, in many, many books. And I have savored, quoted, and wrote about virtually every word and concept. Writing this I feel a little bit like an obsessed teenage drooling over a pop star but, there are some things and people in the world worth following, worth taking note of, worth paying attention to. And for me, Glenn Doman is definitely one of them.

It makes me sad to think that Glenn is 90 years old now. People always have those big goals, those "before I die I want to..." Mine was to one day visit Philadelphia and see the Institutes, meet their staff and students, and, most of all, meet Glenn Doman. Have Hunter meet Glenn Doman.

Maybe my dream will come true. Maybe not. I suppose, either way, it's not the end of the world. And whether or not I ever do get to meet him, Glenn Doman lived a noble, amazing life, and has touched more lives then he can even imagine.


Happy Birthday, Glenn. Your life has meant more than you will ever know.

"Thou wilt prolong the king's life: and his years as many generations."

Psalm 61:6