Unmasking the Myths: My Decade-Long Clash with Professor Pamela Snow (Part 1 of 3)

 

🚨 Unmasking the Myths: My Decade-Long Clash with Professor Pamela Snow

“Reading is biologically unnatural.” — Professor Pamela Snow, 2018

 

For over a decade, I’ve challenged this myth—and the silence surrounding it. I’ve taught 80+ children since 2004, many fluent in Malay and Pinyin yet stumbling in English. The fix? Teach consonant phonemes correctly. Pure /b/, not “buh.” Results in four months flat.

 

But Professor Pamela Snow, a leading voice in Australia’s Science of Reading (SoR) movement, has dodged, muted, and dismissed my evidence. This three-part series exposes the myths, the dodges, and the consequences.

Urgent Call for Support: Fighting for Justice in Sabah Housing Dispute

 

                                                        Click on image for a clearer view

Dear friends, family, and fellow Malaysians,

I'm Luqman Michel, locked in a tough civil suit (BKI-22NCVC-89-10/2025) against Topwira Corporation, Dewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu (DBKK), and others—including the Controller of Housing Sabah—over serious issues of housing development and consumer rights. My fight is for accountability and fairness, but legal battles are draining my resources. 

(Refer my blog posts - LINK) 

Four of the defendants filed their Memorandum of Appearance, escalating the case. To keep going strong, I need your help to cover legal fees. Every ringgit counts toward justice!

Donate securely: Affin Bank Malaysia: Account No. 200590014607 (Luqman Michel)

PayPal: luqmanmichel@gmail.com

No amount is too small—your support fuels this cause. Share widely if you can! DM for updates or questions.

Grateful beyond words. #JusticeForSabah #HousingRights #CrowdfundForJustice

Born to Read — What Science Now Confirms About the Brain’s Reading Blueprint

New research proves what many educators deny: the brain is prewired to read. It’s time to rethink everything.

Sections:

🧬 The Visual Word Form Area

• Ohio State study shows newborns have a brain region ready to process words.

• VWFA is connected to language networks — even before exposure.

❌ The Myth of “Reading Isn’t Natural”

• Pamela Snow and others claim reading is a recent invention, so it can’t be innate.

• This ignores both science and lived experience.

🔄 What This Means

• We’re not building literacy from scratch — we’re protecting what’s already there.

• Mislabeling kids and rigid instruction are the real threats.

🧠 The Future of Dyslexia Research

• OSU is scanning 3–4 year olds to track VWFA development.

• This could reshape how we understand reading disorders.

Call to Action: Reading is not a contrivance. It’s a capacity. 

Read the full post below.

For years, I’ve been told that reading is not a natural process — that it’s a human invention too recent to be innate. Educators like Pamela Snow parrot this claim, citing the 6,000-year history of written language as proof. But new research from Ohio State University finally confirms what I’ve observed for decades: the human brain is biologically predisposed to learn to read.

The Innate Spark — Why Many Children Can Read Before We Teach Them

Children aren’t broken. Our teaching methods are. Discover why decoding is often innate — and how confusion poisons the path to literacy.

Sections:

🔍 What We’re Missing

• Most children who read do so by figuring it out — even when phonics is taught incorrectly.

• Decoding ≠ comprehension. Let’s stop conflating the two.

🧠 The Brain’s Highway System

• Harvard research shows reading relies on smooth neural pathways.

• Wrong phonics = stoplights. Correct input = free flow.

🚨 Instructional Casualties

• Many “dyslexic” children are victims of confusion, not disorder.

• Early exposure to wrong sounds (TV, kindergarten) blocks natural decoding.

🧒 Real Stories, Real Insight

• My first student learned to read without phonics — just Peter and Jane books.

• I’ve seen children “unlock” reading overnight when confusion is removed.

Call to Action: Let’s stop blaming children. Let’s start fixing instruction. 

Read the full post below

For years, I’ve argued that many children possess an innate ability to decode written language — an ability that’s often overlooked, dismissed, or actively suppressed by flawed teaching methods. This claim has sparked heated debates, especially on Twitter, where educators like Pamela Snow have blocked me rather than engage with the evidence. But the truth remains: many children figure out how to read despite — not because of — formal instruction.

 

🚸 Decoding vs. Comprehension: Let’s Be Precise

When I say “reading,” I’m talking about decoding — the ability to recognize and sound out words. Comprehension is a separate skill, and I leave that to experts in that field. The confusion between these two has led to widespread misunderstanding about what it means to “learn to read.”

The power of explicit instruction Anna Stokke with Anita Archer

 

# Confusion, Not Disability: The Real Reason Kids Struggle to Read

 

## A literacy advocate’s challenge to 50 years of consensus—and a call to teach letter sounds with clarity.

 

For decades, educators have relied on explicit instruction to teach reading. But despite its widespread use, millions of children still struggle. Why?

 

**Luqman Michel**, educator and author of *Shut Down Kids*, argues that the problem isn’t cognitive—it’s confusion. When letter sounds are taught with extraneous sounds - schwas (“muh” instead of “m”), children disengage. This landing page explores the overlooked cause of reading failure and offers a path forward.

Echoes of Dissent: China’s Influencer Crackdown and the Silencing of Education Truth-Tellers Part 2

 

Pinyin vs. the Phonics Plague

In Part 1, I asked whether my emails to SCMP, Liberty Times, and Global Times—plus blog posts dismantling dyslexia dogma—nudged Beijing’s October 25 crackdown. Now let’s dig deeper.

 

This isn’t about “misinformation.” It’s about shielding myths—especially those exposed by Pinyin’s quiet brilliance.

Echoes of Dissent: China’s Influencer Crackdown and the Silencing of Education Truth-Tellers Part 1:

When Credentials Trump Truth

On October 25, 2025, China dropped a regulatory bombshell: influencers must now present verified professional credentials—degrees, licenses, official stamps—before speaking on “sensitive” topics like education, medicine, law, or finance. No more armchair experts dropping truth bombs without the ivory-tower seal of approval. The penalties? Up to 100,000 yuan in fines, content wiped, accounts suspended.

From Phonological Lock-In to Ethical Unlocking

 

A Tale of Two Posts and One Overdue Shift in Dyslexia Discourse

In the echo chamber of education LinkedIn—where platitudes like “building each other up” often drown out the gritty work of actual reform—I stumbled on a post that cut through the noise. Sheron Fraser-Burgess, PhD, an ethicist steering data/AI governance and FATE (Fairness, Accountability, Transparency, Ethics), dropped this gem:

The Silencing of Dissent: Why the Dyslexia Establishment Keeps Blocking Me Part 3 of 3

 

Gatekeeping, Credentials, and the Fear of Accountability

 

Recap: What They Block

Parts 1 and 2 exposed the profit motives and herd-driven hit squads that silence my evidence-based solutions:

 

✅ Teaching pure /b/ instead of "buh"

 

✅ Free lessons over multimillion-dollar curricula

 

✅ Student success over PAD myths

 

But the ugliest motive? Gatekeeping.

The Silencing of Dissent: Why the Dyslexia Establishment Keeps Blocking Me Part 2 of 3

 

Herd Mentality and the Comfort of Consensus

 

Recap: Why They Block

In Part 1, I exposed how my free, results-driven lessons threaten the dyslexia intervention industry. That’s why I’ve been blocked by prominent figures like:

 

Jo Anne Gross

Debbie Hepplewhite

Stacy Hurst

The Silencing of Dissent: Why the Dyslexia Establishment Keeps Blocking Me (Part 1 of 3)

 

Why I am writing This Series

Since 2010, I’ve blogged about reading instruction, dyslexia, and phonics—always grounded in facts and student outcomes. I’ve taught over 80 children labeled as dyslexic, and I’ve shared what works, freely and openly.

This new three-part series marks a shift. It’s not just about methods—it’s about why those methods get blocked.

I’ve been silenced, ignored, and blocked by educators, researchers, and influencers—not because my results are flawed, but because they challenge the consensus. These posts explore the motives behind that resistance: profit, herd mentality, and gatekeeping.

I’m not here to attack individuals. I’m here to ask:

“Why block a question? What does that say about openness to debate?”

If we want to solve illiteracy, we must be willing to confront uncomfortable truths. This series is my invitation to do just that.

It's been years since I first noticed the pattern: educators, researchers, and self-proclaimed literacy experts on Twitter (now X), LinkedIn, and beyond, blocking me not for harassment or threats, but for daring to question their sacred cows. As the founder of free online lessons that have helped dozens of children—many mislabelled as "dyslexic"—read fluently in under four months, I've become a thorn in their side. My crime? Pointing out that phonological awareness deficit isn't the root cause of reading struggles; it's the confusion from teaching consonants with extraneous vowel sounds like "buh" instead of pure /b/. Kids shut down, disengage, and get funneled into expensive interventions. But why block the messenger?

A tweet by Michael Strong and my comments

 

Here is a Tweet I read this morning and commented as I have in hundreds of similar tweets since I joined Twitter.

Michael Strong @flowidealism

If your child is bright, alert, energetic and so forth, and you gradually see the light leaving their eyes, they are starting fewer projects, they are less excited about school, they do not do all the cool things, when they start to be, I don't know, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, pull them out.

Pull them out of traditional schooling and into homeschooling, or join a virtual K-12 school like ours, but don't let the light in their eyes fade.

Journalistic Integrity: Words of Commitment, Deeds of Silence

                                                     Tammy Tam, Editor of SCMP 

My Disappointment with SCMP

As I sit here reflecting on World News Day – that global rallying cry for fact-based journalism led by over 900 newsrooms worldwide – I can't shake a profound sense of irony. The South China Morning Post (SCMP), one of Hong Kong's flagship outlets and a proud participant in this initiative, published a stirring message from Editor-in-Chief Tammy Tam. Titled something along the lines of "Acknowledging their role as watchdog, newsrooms must rise to the challenge by embracing new technology while maintaining integrity," it was a heartfelt ode to the "search for the truth." Tam's words rang true: Journalists must "substantiate facts, use dependable sources, seek diverse perspectives and provide context." In an age of rampant misinformation and AI-driven doubts, she emphasized the media's duty to act as a "watchdog with social responsibility, "fostering informed communities through credible stories. She even called out Big Tech for exploiting journalistic content without consent or compensation, urging ethical AI adoption and partnerships that enhance reliability. It's a vision of journalism as a beacon in our "complex, uncertain and fast-changing world" – one that demands public trust through unwavering editorial standards.

Confusion Is Not Dyslexia: The Untold Story of Emmanuel

 

Please share my book 'with parents who have kids who can't read. https://payhip.com/b/ZV01D

For years, I’ve taught children labeled as “dyslexic” who couldn’t read a single sentence in English—yet could read fluently in Malay and pinyin. That contradiction sparked my journey. What I discovered was simple, powerful, and deeply misunderstood: these children weren’t dyslexic. They were confused.

The Curse of Expert Knowledge: Why Reading Instruction Fails Struggling Kids

 

Unpacking Ego, Misguided Phonics, and the Hidden Barriers to Building True Literacy Connections

Below is a tweet by Brett Benson (@SoLInTheWild).

Here are my thoughts:

How does a child prone to disengaging from reading connect concepts when they've been taught the sounds of letters incorrectly from the start?