The author calls into question whether learning to read and write is an exclusively logical and systematic process in which the child moves step-by-step from part to whole, as it is frequently presented in "scientific" reading research. She examines research on different types of intuitive behavior and suggests parallels in the development of literacy. She ends with suggesting ways that teachers can help facilitate intuitive awareness in literacy for their students. Such changes, she argues, will assist students' reading and challenge the top-down control of teaching.