Preface to the Greg Ashman Series
This Evening News series examines the writings and claims of Greg Ashman, an educator whose views on literacy and reading instruction have gained attention in Australia and beyond. I have chosen to respond to his posts not because he is my adversary, but because he represents a wider pattern in education: confident assertions made without confronting the real reasons children fail to read.
Lately, I’ve noticed a troubling resurgence of the learning styles myth—so this post couldn’t be more timely.
Why the Learning Styles Myth Persists
Intuitive appeal: It feels right. People are different, so it seems logical that matching teaching to a learner’s “style” would help. But feeling right isn’t the same as being true.
Martin Bloomfield's Wake-Up Call and the Evasive Echo Chamber
If Julian Elliott is the evasive maestro, Dr. Martin Bloomfield is the unwitting spotlight – shining light on the dyslexia farce without realizing it. In his 2024 interview with Elliott, Bloomfield probes the "dyslexic" label's ghosts, only to get half-answers that circle back to square one. But here's the rub: After decades of "research," why are these pros still asking basic questions? In this Evening News follow-up, we dissect Bloomfield's chat, spotlight the dodges, and call out the broader academic blackout. Educators who won't reply aren't just rude – they're roadblocks to literacy for millions. Buckle up; the con unravels further.
We often hear the claim: “All emotions foster learning.” It sounds appealing, almost romantic. But is it true? My experience with children who struggle to read tells me otherwise.
Emotions are deeply intertwined with how we learn. They shape attention, memory, and motivation. Yet not all emotions pull their weight in a helpful way. Some emotions—curiosity, joy, pride—open the mind and expand learning. Others—fear, shame, despair—shut it down.
Julian Elliott’s Decade of Dodging the Truth
🎭 The Master of Evasion
In the lucrative world of dyslexia research, where labels fuel billion‑dollar programs and “special interventions,” one figure has perfected the art of sidestep: Professor Julian Elliott. For more than a decade, Elliott has danced around the real reasons children struggle to read — and the silence from his peers is just as telling.
He admits dyslexia is “a severe and persistent problem with reading.” Fair enough. But if that’s true, why ignore the simple fix that has transformed over 80 children under my guidance?
Let’s get one thing straight: America isn’t talentless. It’s talent-blind.
We’ve got kids with Edison-level genius and Cruise-level grit—but we wait until Grade 3 to notice them. By then, the damage is done. The system has already mislabeled, misdiagnosed, and misplaced them.
That’s why I said it yesterday, and I’ll say it again:
Bridging the Dyslexia Divide: A 15-Year Reflection
Is dyslexia a distraction from teachable fixes? Educational psychologist Prof. Julian Elliott has long challenged the label. In a recent interview, he called out the “multi-billion-dollar business” of dyslexia and emphasized early, evidence-based support.
I agree—and I’ve seen firsthand how confusion, shame, and overload shut kids down. But I also believe the causes are knowable. Fixable. And often overlooked.
A Decade in Literacy Advocacy
In the stormy world of literacy debates I’ve been both a quiet observer and, at times, a thunderclap. From my tutoring sessions in Sabah, I’ve long championed phonics over fairy tales and called out the “dysteachia” that turns eager kindergarteners into reluctant readers.
Now, the term itself has boomeranged back into the spotlight, landing squarely at the feet of Jo-Anne Gross (@RplusDyslexia), the Canadian dyslexia advocate who helped shape this conversation.
It’s been years since Jo-Anne Gross first hit the block button on me—LinkedIn, then Twitter (now X). At the time, it stung. But mostly, it felt like a badge of honour. Here was a self-proclaimed remediation expert, founder of Remediation Plus Systems, selling phonics-heavy interventions for dyslexic kids, suddenly deciding my free lessons and alternative views were too dangerous to engage with.
Stop Importing Brains. Start Mining America’s Own.
The U.S. doesn’t have a talent shortage—it has a talent blindness. For decades, we’ve patched our broken education system by importing foreign brainpower. That’s not a solution. It’s a symptom.
When I saw the trailer for the documentary The Truth About Reading, I wasn’t surprised to see Faith Borkowsky and Emily Hanford featured prominently. That alone was enough for me to know: this film will likely perpetuate the same half-truths and misinformation that have plagued literacy discourse for years.
Why Reading Is the Key to Ending School Misbehavior
In late 2025, teacher burnout is surging. Twitter is flooded with cries for help: flying staplers, constant disruptions, and a teacher shortage pushing schools to the brink. But what if the solution isn’t more behavior charts or segregated classrooms?
What if it’s as simple as this: Every child must learn to read fluently by Grade 2.
Prof. Paul L. Thomas (@plthomasEdD) of Furman University has long been a voice in the education wilderness—pushing back against the hype of "science of reading" mandates, defending balanced literacy, and calling out phonics zealots for oversimplifying complex kids. As a high school English teacher turned professor, his blog Radical Scholarship and tweets cut through the noise with data-driven skepticism. I've cited him approvingly in my own fights against PAD dogma and "cuh-ah-tuh" blunders. But when it comes to my core question—how do multilingual kids (and even fluent adults) nail nonsense words like "scrab" or "thake" despite kindergarten phonics gone haywire? —he's been radio silent. Or worse: a mute button.
A recent Education Week report confirms what many of us have known for years: popular phonemic awareness programs don’t improve reading outcomes. The Heggerty supplement, widely used in U.S. schools, failed to boost word-reading or fluency among first graders. And yet, the same experts who pushed phonological awareness for decades are now doubling down on phonemic awareness—with no accountability.
This isn’t just a failed method. It’s a systemic pattern.
Different Perspectives: Tweets That Echo Across Continents
Good evening, readers. The reading wars don’t respect borders — they leap from U.S. threads to Aussie classrooms faster than a kangaroo on caffeine.
Tonight’s dispatch takes us Down Under to Narelle Lynch, a 19-year veteran teacher from Australia whose tweets on phonics pitfalls and the power of context have fueled fierce exchanges since 2020. Trained by the THRASS Institute — a multi-sensory literacy framework blending phonics, morphology, and more — Narelle champions a holistic approach: grammar, syntax, etymology, and real-world transferability over isolated sound drills.
