A fictitious tale by a SoR proponent Dr. Brittney Bills

 

The following is a Twitter discussion between Dr. Brittney Bills and Alanna Maurin in December 2020. I did not take part in the discussion.

Dr. Brittney Bills @Brittne79358065

“Imagine a nation where 99% of our third graders read at or above grade level and where our high schools are dominated not by students who are discouraged and frustrated but by confident young adults who are preparing to fulfill their life mission.” - Denise Eide

Alanna Maurin @AlannaMaurin Dec 28, 2020 Replying to @Brittne79358065

No one seems to have figured out how to do that yet.

But what an amazing thing it would be to see this in our life time.

My comment now:

I believe it was figured out years ago but those with a vested interest have prevented it from being widely known. One such case is that of Dr.David Boulton and his multi million (or Billion) dollar research of Children of the Code. When I asked him why he is promoting videos that teach sounds represented by letters wrongly he reprimanded me by saying; ‘I don't have the time or interest in being the object such people want to stroke themselves with.’

He then immediately removed the videos I complained of. Read the comments on my post on one of my discussion with Dr. David Boulton.

 

Dr. Brittney Bills @Brittne79358065 Dec 28, 2020

There are schools that have figured this out. To achieve this on a national level would require a complete overhaul of teacher preparation. Plain and simple.

I should clarify that some schools have the early reading piece figured out. It will be years before they see the impact in high school.

Alanna Maurin @AlannaMaurin Dec 28, 2020

To clarify, there are schools with 99 % of year 3 children reading and comprehending at or above grade level?

Which schools are these?

They can't actually claim to have figured it out until such time as the results are seen in high school achievement. To do so would be a gross misuse of data. At this stage, it is still a hypothesis. Nothing more.

My comment now:

Excellent comment and question which needs a simple response. All Brittney has to do is to name the schools but instead of that she tweeted the following.

Dr. Brittney Bills @Brittne79358065 Dec 28, 2020

I would argue that the decades worth of NAEP reading data with virtually no change in how we teach students to read is a gross misuse of data. If that isn’t evidence that our current system doesn’t work, I don’t know what is.

Alanna Maurin @AlannaMaurin Dec 28, 2020

Evidence that the current system is not working is not evidence that a different way of doing things does work.

You are still not answering my questions. I am not defending the current way of doing things and I'm not sure what has lead you to this conclusion. You are claiming that some schools have the early reading sorted. I'm interested in the evidence behind this. Which schools?

Dr. Brittney Bills @Brittne79358065 Replying to @AlannaMaurin

Twitter isn’t exactly the best platform for sharing a lot of information. If you’re an educator and this peaks your interest, I would encourage you to join the Facebook group -The Science of Reading: What I Should Have Learned in College. It’s a wealth of credible information.

My comment now:

I have been a member of a few SoR Facebook groups. I was kicked off each one of them for asking valid questions like Alanna has asked above.

The above is just one example of how many SoR proponents exaggerate and mislead readers. They are only interested in promoting their products and services.

I wish there were more intelligent teachers like Alanna who dare question Ph.D.’s who make misleading statements.