A 'Science of Reading' Revolt Takes on the Education Establishment

When I reached third grade, I could not read. We were supposed to learn to read by reading, the same way we learned to talk. I didn't get it. "How was I supposed to remember all that stuff?" Yet, I had an extreme IQ.

Then they put me in Mrs. Gordon's third grade class. If there is a heaven, then surely there is a special place in it for people like Mrs. Gordon. She taught me phonics. That summer I was reading novels. I will never forget her.

The "Sold a Story" podcast, which is mentioned in the article, absolutely blew my mind. I listened to the entire series three times over because I just couldn't get over it. It is astonishing that people who get degrees in education basically don't even know what reading even is.

https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/

Like others, I heartily recommend the "Sold a Story" podcast. It explores this issue in depth, and you'll walk away with a more complex understanding that you'd have after reading this article alone. Case in point: "balanced literacy" is not exactly a "method of teaching," as portrayed by this article. Rather, it's a loose conceptual framework that teachers and other curriculum planners have used in many ways. In theory, it does include phonics as one of the 5 core components of reading, and I know teachers (myself included) who have taught balanced literacy programs with an emphasis on phonics.

On the flip side, this article is quick to point out that "science of reading" is not a specific program or curriculum, either. To see the many, many ways teachers have interpreted the "science of reading," just pop into any number of social media groups dedicated to this topic.