… I believed that because of its weaknesses, the report was dangerous in its potential for misuse. ~ Joanne Yatvin, from Education Week (2003). Educator, former president of the National Council of Teachers of English, and member of the National Reading Panel (1997-2000). In 2021, I advocated for a New National Reading Panel (NRP). It […]
Three Overlooked Reasons Why Children Struggle with Reading
Three overlooked reasons for children’s struggles to read and low test scores include: Unreasonable Expectations, Disabilities and Inclusion, and Fast-Tracking Teachers. Unreasonable Expectations Kindergarten has changed over the years. Instead of a half day, it’s a full day. Pressure to read has increased. Some children might show up reading, but it doesn’t mean that all […]
Give the Gift of Removing Reading Pressure on Kindergartners!
This holiday season, give children the gift of reading. One of the best ways to do that is to relieve the pressure of insisting they read early. Some children might pick up reading when they’re very young, but others will learn a little later, and there’s nothing wrong with this. However, children who are made […]
The Science of Reading Corporate Connection: Replacing Teachers with Tech
Many of the same individuals who favor charter schools, private schools, and online instruction, including corporate reformers, use the so-called Science of Reading (SoR) to make public school teachers look like they’ve failed at teaching reading. Politicians and corporations have had a past and current influence on reading instruction to privatize public schools with online […]
Redefining Reading Achievement Creates Reading Problems in Children!
A critic who charges that children aren’t reading well and teachers need to learn about the Science of Reading, also says children must read sooner than they did in the past. This new ideological construct promotes standards that many children will not be capable of achieving. It also sets children and their teachers up to […]
The Science of Reading Plot to Replace Reading Teachers with Phonics on a Screen
Not only are school districts spending huge sums on laptops with little research to indicate students learn better on computers, they’re also pushing children to face screens to learn the most serious subject, how to read. They’re doing this alongside efforts by corporate reformers to kick teachers out of the classroom, and by promoting the idea […]
Problems Surrounding Amplify’s Core Knowledge Language Arts to Teach Reading
Many teachers and parents raise concerns that instruction is age-inappropriate. Many school districts have signed on to Amplify to teach subjects including language arts and reading. Teachers must teach virtual, scripted, commercial programs. Even if you don’t live in Oklahoma, I recommend checking online to read Tulsa Kids. Betty Casey is the editor and her […]
Pressuring Parents to Teach Their Kindergartners to Read: The New Norm?
Ahh. There’s no place like home, especially if you’re a kindergartner whose been sitting and working all day on phonics worksheets, or seated in front of a screen doing reading exercises. Once you get off that school bus it will be time to finally make a break for it. Play awaits! Looking at those pictures […]
It’s Wrong to Force Four and Five Year Olds to Read! Focus on Speaking and Listening Instead!
With No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and Common Core State Standards, some adults have been led to believe that four- and five-year-old children should read by the end of kindergarten. Preschoolers are pushed to be ready for formal reading instruction by the time they enter kindergarten. This is a dangerous idea rooted […]
Problematic “Scientific Based” Phonics: The Flawed National Reading Panel
It’s odd and detrimental that the National Reading Panel is highlighted in reports as science, used to promote phonics and criticize how teachers teach reading. It has become so intense that teachers are being advised to drop certain reading methods to focus solely on “systematic, explicit phonics!” The NRP was discredited long ago. Why it’s […]