Ableism (A tweet by Pamela Snow)

Here is a tweet by Pamela Snow on 26.5.2020 which I happened to read.

Pamela Snow @PamelaSnow2

Let's call out "neoliberal ableism" nonsense on effective reading instruction wherever we see it. It is a cancer in the lives of children who need competent reading instruction. Let's also stop dumbing down the process of reading & robbing teachers of their rightful knowledge. 

Dr. Linda retweeted the above with her comment as follows:

Linda J. Graham @drlindagraham

Mmm. And what’s the term for NOT teaching a child to read, coz deep down we believe it’s beyond them and they won’t really need it anyway?

Wait. It’s coming to me... ableism!

So, glad we got our ableism sorted out.

I then decided to reply with the following tweet:

Luqman Michel Replying to @drlindagraham and @PamelaSnow2

I think it is discrimination against the able bodied and not in favour of able bodied. I am talking about the majority of kids who are wrongly classified as dyslexic. These are the really smart kids.

Well, you may all think why Luqman comes up with a contrarian view on matters such as this. We will come to that tomorrow. As for now I would like to see what Pamela Snow has to say. Let us give her a little time.

Meanwhile, let us look at a quote by Whitney Tilson. This quote, I believe, has to do with the stock market but it suits us just as well.

"To succeed as a Contrarian you must recognize what the Crowd believes, have Concrete justification of why the Crowd is Wrong, and have Patience and Conviction to stick with what is, by definition an Unpopular bet.."

Contrarian Thinking is not a Contradiction; it is to Reveal the Ambiguity of Ordinary Thinking. 

A true learner will listen to Contrary opinions and be willing to see holistically with an open mind. 

With a closed mind one will not be able to see what another person has to say and thereby improve one’s own thinking and understanding.

As per the quote above, I have concrete evidence of why the crowd is wrong. I have had the patience to stick with an ‘unpopular bet’. 

In 2010, I was the first person in the world to go against the popular belief that phonological awareness deficit is the cause of dyslexia. In 2010 that belief was 35 years old and had been quoted by more than 100 researchers.

That theory was debunked in 2015. Here is one of many articles on Phonological awareness deficit not being the cause of dyslexia.

You may read selected articles I wrote in 2010 from Google search.