Monday, December 16, 2019

Richard Allington and dyslexia



In a special report on Education Week Teacher by Sarah Schwartz on December 11, 2019 was an article entitled:


Here are some extracts and my comments:

Richard Allington, a professor emeritus at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is heard saying he was "reasonably sure" that dyslexia doesn't exist, and attacked proponents of legislation passed in the state to provide dyslexic students with targeted interventions.

My comment: I agree with Richard Allington. He has probably said ‘reasonably sure’ because there probably are less than 1 % of the population who will fit into the dyslexia definition in various websites.


Allington, who is a past president of the International Literacy Association, was presenting at the organization's affiliate conference in Tennessee. In the breakout session, "The Hidden Push for Phonics Legislation," he dismissed the idea that students with dyslexia need explicit phonics instruction or additional supports to learn to read.

My comment: What is explicit phonics instruction? This is a term used by all these researchers/educators loosely. They will not be able to say what they really mean. I have said it numerous times since I first started blogging in 2010 that a majority of these children who cannot read are instructional casualties. The situation has recently been made worse by Baby TV transmitting its episode on sounds of letters wrongly to more than 100 countries.

PISA results show that reading in English is deteriorating and no one is interested in arresting the downward slope.

My question to all these so-called experts is; if the sounds of the letters of the alphabet are taught as in the following manner will kids prone to shutting down, due to confusion, ever be able to read without intervention?


Click here for the sounds of the letters of the alphabets taught wrongly by Baby TV and many other websites on the internet.


But over the past few years, many parents have said that schools aren't able to meet the needs of their dyslexic children.


My comment: What are the needs of the children who are unable to read in English? They need to be taught the sounds of alphabets correctly instead of the way it is taught by Baby TV all over the world.

Allington is well-known as a proponent of independent reading and a critic of commercial reading programs, which he has said deliver "one size fits all" instruction. He has long disputed the existence of dyslexia, and the idea that dyslexic students as a category need a particular type of instructional support.

My comment: Yes, deliver “One size fits all” instruction. Teach the children the correct sounds of alphabets and you will find that a majority of children leaving schools as illiterates will be reduced.

       I have made a few comments in the article above and as usual there will be no response. Do read
       my comments in the article.

2 comments:

Luqman Michel said...

Here is a comment from one of the readers of the article in EdWeek and my response.

"This is careless journalism but representative of the carelessness EdWeek has shown on the "science of reading" coverage for some time now."

My response:I agree. I agree too, with what Allington had said. Dyslexia is a myth. OR at least to say that 5 to 20% are dyslexic is a myth. Read my blog posts and you will see that all my former students could read in Malay but not in English. The reason is simply that about 20% of children will shut down from learning when things taught to them are confusing and illogical. These smart kids are actually instructional casualties. I have written comments on many such articles but never receive a response. Google my name and see the articles I have written.

Luqman Michel said...

Another reader had made the following comment: “Reading Wars” has been reignited by groups and individuals wishing to be “right,” rather than wishing to seek collaborative and productive solutions."

My comment was as follows:

It is the Western world and people with vested interest who are unwilling to look at solutions. Ask anyone of the so-called professors to have a debate with me.
Do you, Laurel Dickey, know that phonics is taught wrongly in most schools in the world. I believe it is done on purpose so that the number of kids requiring intervention will not reduce.

No Westerner has ever asked me to explain. For them, what they do not know cannot exist.