Richard Allington and dyslexia

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

ProminentLiteracy Expert Denies Dyslexia Exists; Says to 'Shoot' Whoever Wrote Law on It.

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.