2022 PISA - Amir Faizal Abdul Manan is feeling concerned. 20.12.2023

                                                       

The following is from a Facebook post by Amir Faizal whose English is a pleasure to read.

Our latest 2022 PISA scores (released in December 2023) are actually quite depressing.

Discussion in a Dyslexic Support Group

 

                                     Click on the image above for a clearer view

I copied the chart above from a Dyslexia support group. This is the only dyslexia group that I have not been kicked out from for saying what I understand about ‘dyslexic’ kids’ vs ‘disengaged kids’.

This 7- year- old, grade 2 kid depicted in the image above does not have a problem with word understanding, understands what is heard and following the flow of conversation, but has a word reading problem as well as not being accurate with decoding words and reading accurately.

This appears to be similar with ALL the students I have taught.

Handling Reading Wars by Sam Bommarito and my comments

                                                                

Here are extracts from a post by Dr. Sam Bommarito on Dec 16, 2023.

Dr. Sam

I will also continue interviewing folks from all sides of the literacy issue. All this is my way of working for the day when we can finally follow P.D. Pearson's advice about handling the so-called "Reading Wars." That advice is to take positions, not sides.

My comment:

I don’t take sides as I use the best from all sides. I use all the tools available to teach kids to read. Read my book Teach Your Child to Read and you will understand what I mean.

A sample of my book Teach Your Child to Read

 

The following is a sample of my book on Amazon. LINK

Click on the image and read the notes and preface. Scan the QR Code on page 17 and listen to lesson 1. This can be done only on a laptop or a desktop. This is not possible on a hand phone. 

However, the QR code on the book can be scanned on a hand phone.

Listen to exactly how the letters are pronounced without any extraneous sounds.

This book is available in Malaysia at RM25 if collected from my house.

For delivery in Sabah add Rm 8. (Total RM33 including postage).

For delivery to other parts of Malaysia add RM13. (Total RM 38 including postage)

It is available on the Notion Press website at RM65 including postage. LINK

For those in India it is Rupees 420 excluding postage. Available on the Notion Press website.

Those in the US may get it from Amazon at USD14 excluding postage. LINK

Note: For Malaysians who want the book to be posted please bank in the purchase price into my bank account.

Luqman Michel account no: 200590014607 and send me your postal address together with your telephone number.

 

Hypothesis - Why Singapore consistently does better in PISA (Part 3)

                                                          

                       "There are none so blind as those who will not see".

Here is some corroborative evidence for you to ponder.

Ms. Nancy Hennessy who was the President of International Dyslexia Association from 2013 to 2015 said:

“……even if we settle on a middle number, let us say 10%; that still leaves a lot of children who are not dyslexic, whose brains are not wired any different way, who have reading difficulty.”

Hypothesis - Why Singapore consistently does better in PISA (Part 2)

                                                           

                                                     PISA reading Singapore vs Malaysia

A Twitter friend said the following:

Singapore's success in the PISA reading test can be attributed to several factors and effective teaching strategies. Here are some key aspects that contribute to Singapore's strong performance in reading:

Emphasis on Early Literacy: Singapore places a strong emphasis on early literacy development. Teachers focus on building a solid foundation in reading skills from the early years...

The other points he mentioned are general and common to most countries around the world.

Hypothesis - Why Singapore consistently does better in PISA (Part 1)

                                                             

Back in 2010 after teaching so-called dyslexic kids for 6 years I was convinced that all my approximately 20 students whom I taught during the 6 years were shut-down kids who had disengaged from learning to read due to confusion.

At that time the existing theory that had existed for more than 35 years was that kids could not read due to phonological awareness deficit.

I disagreed with that theory and wrote over 100 articles/comments that disagreed with it until it was debunked in 2017. You may read some of my articles/comments in 2010 here. LINK

Why Questions become a threat?

                                                           

Here is a post on LinkedIn that I have copied verbatim. This comes exactly at a time I have asked an important question -  Why is Singapore number 1 in reading for years. Compared with Malaysia which is number 60 out of 81. 

Dr.Shalini RatanDr.Shalini Ratan  • 1st • 1st Founder & Chief Knowledge Facilitator, NIRVAN Life Sciences.Founder & Chief Knowledge Facilitator, NIRVAN Life Sciences. 1d • 

Dr. Anuar Ahmad and PISA results

                                                          

                                                                     Dr. Anuar Ahmad

Recently I saw a Facebook post by one Dr. Anuar Ahmad who has a following of 64K members. He writes many articles on education in Malay on Facebook. His motto on his Facebook profile is: "The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.” – Herbert Spencer

I have copied below his article dated 7.12.23 translated into English by Google and my comments. I hope to be able to pick his brains on this matter. 

Anna Stokke's podcast with Matthew Burns - Final Part

                                                     

Here is the fourth and final part of Anna Stokke's podcast with Matther Burns.

Anna Stokke:

About some of the education thought leaders, sometimes you could even call them education celebrities, I think. And we see this in both reading and math. Do you think maybe they get caught up in the positive attention that they're receiving and that this may be why they don't step back on the claims they've made, even when it comes to light that there are problems with some of the ideas they promote?

Matthew Burns:

And I think because of that, people telling you that your stuff is so great and people tell you what you say is true, that you sort of start to believe it.

And you get to the point where you can say, “Well, I think it's true. Therefore, it must be.” So I think we researchers need to be more self-critical and self-reflective. We need to recognize “What I'm thinking based on evidence, or is it something I think is true because I think it's true?” So I really challenge other researchers to engage in that level of self-reflection because you can get caught up in it really easily.

My comment:

Wow! Matthew has put it very well. Do read his excellent response above, again.

Anna Stokke's podcast with Matthew Burns - Part 3

                                               

                                                                     Matthew Burns

This part is quite interesting and I hope that I am not misinterpreting what Anna is saying.

Anna Stokke:

If we immerse kids in books and we make reading fun and we start with meaning and understanding, the reading will just come.

And I hear this sort of thing in math. all the time. So it's sort of like a top-down approach to teaching instead of a bottom-up approach. So in other words, the idea is to start children with problem-solving. They'll get excited about the problem and the foundational skills will just come after that. But as a matter of fact, you can't solve a problem, right, if you don't have the skills to solve the problem if you don't have the foundational skills to do it or the techniques to do it. Does that resonate with you in terms of what happened with reading?

Anna Stokke's podcast with Matthew Burns - Part 2

                                                 

This is a continuation of the podcast by Anna Stokke. (LINK)

Anna Stokke:

Do you see similarities between what happened with reading instruction and what's going on with math instruction?

Matthew Burns:

I do. It's quite analogous, although it's not a complete one-to-one. It's almost like there's a shift in thinking around what constitutes evidence and what constitutes research-based practices. And I think that's cutting across all aspects of teaching and learning…

Trivia & my book - Teach Your Child to Read.

                                                          
 

Perhaps many of you already know this but I just learned it a few days ago. We don't need an ISBN number for printing and selling our books directly. We need it if we are marketing them through a third party - shops etc.

The above image is the amended book cover for the printing in Kota Kinabalu.

 

The original ISBN number has been deleted and the name of the original publisher removed.

I have checked and see that postage for a copy to Sarawak and West Malaysia will be Rm8. Including packaging and transport, Rm10 is a reasonable price.

So, for those in West Malaysia and Sarawak and other parts of Sabah, the cost per book will be Rm30 which is still so much cheaper than the price on the Internet of RM65.

 

Contact me if you are in Malaysia and would like to buy a copy. It is not available in book shops.

Here is the book on the Internet. LINK

 

Please share this info with your contacts.

Anna Stokke's podcast with Matthew Burns - Part 1

                                                            

Here is a transcript of the podcast by Anna Stokke.

She asks many relevant questions and since she is not an ‘expert’ in reading and not selling a reading programme I believe she will read my comments with an open mind.

This podcast is with Dr. Matthew Burns whom she claims is a renowned researcher in the science of reading world.

Here are some extracts and my comments/ questions:

Disinformation by Dr. Miah and Tiffany Peltier

                                                                    

This morning I read a Tweet by Dr. Miah who does not know how kids learn to read. She supports her friend, another Ph.D. who blocked me probably for asking questions she could not answer.

These are the people who will say anything to promote their products.

Here is the Tweet by Dr. Miah @dst6n01

(This woman has 17K followers. Imagine the harm she is causing by this disinformation)

Check out this blog on sight words—and why we should be moving away from them :)—from my colleague @tiffany_peltier @NWEA

Tiffany Peltier, Ph.D.🌸 @tiffany_peltier profile says she is a Mama to 2. Designer of Literacy PL @NWEA. Research in reading, dyslexia, conceptual change.

Here is the Link attached by Dr. Miah

What if your child struggles with a concept?

                                                       

On 30.11.23 I read a tweet by The reading mum, Ph.D. @readingmumngr

If your child struggles with a concept, they have yet to understand it. Sometimes, they are not developmentally ready. Other times, you need to show them another way they can better learn that concept.

What has been your experience?

I replied as follows:

What if that kid is struggling with a concept that has been taught wrongly?

How can a child scaffold when the first scaffold is damaged?

I am only talking about decoding/reading.

I am from the audit field and started teaching to find out why kids were able to read in Malay but not in English. There is a Chinese saying - A journey of 1000 miles starts with the first step.

My question is - what if a kid's first step is to the East when he actually wants to go West?

Do educators know the importance of foundational skills?

 

On 30.11.23 Cameron Carter @CRCarter313 Tweeted the following:

Every educator knows the importance of foundational skills, and of building student engagement and ownership while teaching these skills.

I then Tweeted as follows:

'Every educator knows the importance of foundational skills'.

This is Bullshit! Stop spreading disinformation.

Dr. Sam Bommarito @DoctorSam7 then replied to my Tweet.

? Sorry you feel that way.

Jennifer Serravallo and P.D. Pearson on phonics and reading

                                                                

Yesterday, 21.11.23 I read a blog post by Jennifer Serravallo. A large portion of the post was on comprehension. My blog focusses on decoding. I leave comprehension to experts like Jennifer.

Here are extracts and my comments.

Jennifer Serravallo:

Yeah, nobody denies how important phonics is, but if we're taking a ton of time, then that's the time kids aren't getting to practice other things like you said, fluency or having read aloud or getting to play with each other or all the many other things that they need to develop oral language and literacy skills and things like that.

"The solution to poor reading scores is not simply better instruction"- Emily Hanford (Part 2)

                                                

Here is a response from Jani Wright. As expected there is no reply from Emily Hanford, the so-called literacy expert.

 

Jani Wright @thewrightjungle

Poor Tier I curriculum, poor MTSS, F&P fans at the DO, lack of training for teachers, laws that allow each district to operate with local control, and a state DOE that hasn't prioritized reading using evidence-based practices. No accountability.

These are all too general.

i.                    What exactly is poor tier 1 curriculum?

ii.                  Why has nothing been done since 1972 (the year since when data is available)?

iii.               Why has the reading proficiency level remained the same since 1972?

"The solution to poor reading scores is not simply better instruction"- Emily Hanford (Part 1)

                                                             

Here are some Tweets of Emily Hanford, Jani Wright and me on 15.11.23 (Part 1)

Emily Hanford @ehanford

"The solution to poor reading scores is not simply better instruction, it is also better assessment—an assessment that is matched more closely to what is taught in the classroom." - Hugh Catts    

I then tweeted:

You continue barking up the wrong tree. Since 2017 I have told you that the problem is in decoding. Check the kids who fail the assessment and you will find that it has nothing to do with understanding but an inability to decode. You can't be that naïve can you?

Reading Comprehension - Tweets discussion with Dr. Sam Bommarito

                                                             

Here is a Twitter discussion between Dr. Sam Bommarito and me.

Luqman Michel @luqmanmichel Nov 8

Dr. Sam Bommarito, the simple view of reading says:

   Reading comprehension = Word Recognition X Language Comprehension.

Almost all of my students were unable to answer comprehension questions found at the back of the book when they read the passages. But all of them could answer when I read to them.

Is it a language comprehension problem or a word recognition problem?

If it is not a Language Comprehension problem, then where does the Reading Comprehension problem come from?

How is it that kids who have gone to school for 2 or 3 years have a word recognition problem?

Tweet exchanges with Catlin Goodrow - Evidently Reading

                                                             

On 7.11.2023 I read a tweet by a SoR advocate, Catlin Goodrow. Here is part of her tweets and my replies.

EvidentlyReading @EvidentlyR

I'd like to address another misconception, however. The article begins with an anecdote about a striving reader who is being assessed by one of the authors.

They argue that, because this reader knows letter-sound correspondence, but has trouble reading "after" and "insect" she needs some other instruction than phonics. In fact, they claim this is evidence that "phonics" failed this reader.

But letter-sound instruction is not all there is to phonics! It IS something that will be taught in a structured literacy environment, usually in kinder and/or early first grade. But phonics (or, more accurately, foundational skills) is so much more!

 For example, "after" includes an r-controlled vowel.  Phonics instruction explicitly teaches these vowels, as well as vowel teams, syllable types, etc. We also teach how to blend sounds into words/syllables, and strategies for decoding longer words. 

P David Pearson talks about various literacy issues

                                                      

Here are extracts of the interview of P David Pearson by Dr. Sam Bommarito and my comments.

David Pearson:

We take people's temperatures but we don't assume that the only thing you do once you've taken the temperature is to do everything you can to raise or lower the temperature directly you look for a cause and you try to root out that medical cause for it and then see if the temperature goes down so I think that the first task facing the child is transforming graphemes letters into phonemic names sounds and that's what you should focus on.

My Comment:

Teachers and educators are doing exactly this. They do not look at the causes of why many kids are unable to read at the end of Grade 1. These are the kids who get into higher grades and misbehave due to shame avoidance. 

David Pearson:

Telling kids not to use context clues when they are figuring out what a word says is like telling leaves not to fall or dogs not to bark. If you are in a problem situation and you cannot figure out what the word says you are going to use every resource at your disposal to figure it out if you are a decent learner.

My comment:

This has been my mantra for more than a decade. Use all the tools available. In my book, Teach Your Child to Read, I use all the tools mentioned by David Pearson. I use Systemic phonics, analytical phonics, word family phonics, memorising Dolch Words (not mentioned by David), context clues, patterns (not mentioned by David), analogy and ways of figuring out new words. 

Amy McGovern on Reading Comprehension

                                                               

Here is a comment on LinkedIn by Amy McGovern, Associate Director of Continuous School Improvement Services/ Reading Specialist at CESA 9, &The Reading League Wisconsin~ Board Member

“We absolutely MUST do knowledge-building, read-aloud, writing, and language-building. The simple view of reading requires it—Word Recognition X Language comp = Reading Comp.

If we ignore language comprehension, which was NEVER the intention, then of course, the equation is going to break down. We need to pay attention to the language comprehension strand as well."

Here is my reply:

Of course, this is part of the equation. No one will ever say Language Comprehension is unimportant. 

The simple view of reading

 

The image above is copied from a post on LinkedIn by Amy McGovern, a highly accomplished Reading Specialist. 

Here is a comment I wrote this morning on the post above.

The above is the simple view of reading put forward more than 30 years ago (More than thirty years ago) by Gough and Tunmer in 1986.

An individual's reading comprehension (RC) is the product of his decoding skill (WR) and language comprehension (LC).

The question that begs a response is why has the reading proficiency level remained the same since 1972.

Acquired Learning Disabilities - Part 2

                                                              

Here is part 2 of my Twitter discussion I posted yesterday. LINK

Luqman Michel @luqmanmichel

Get a copy of my book Teach Your Child to read and point out if you hear any consonants pronounced with extraneous sounds.

Pat Stone @PATSTONE55

Nice cover. I’ll have a look.

I still defy anyone to say g without it being ug or guh

Acquired Learning Disabilities Part 1

 

On 25.10.23 I Tweeted the following:

Baby TV Channel and Reading Reform UK are 2 of the main culprits for poor reading performance in the world. I have explained this in my blog post. LINK

 
More than 100 countries in the world broadcast Baby TV programmes.

I tagged Geraldine Carter the Managing Director of Piper Books who told me in June 2020, that the Reading Reform Foundation receives thousands of requests, messages, and different points of view. It is not possible to address all of them. Perhaps write your own programme and get it published?

 

I wrote my own programme and published my book this year and it is as good as any programme on teaching children to read and it is the cheapest in the world complete with Tracking which enables a kid to listen to the lessons while following the book. LINK

Disinformation by Marion Blank.

                                     

The following are extracts from a YouTube video by Karen Quinn, Co-Founder - www.TestingMom.com interviewing Marion Blank from Columbia University New York City, United States. LINK

 

Kindergartens today are asking parents to teach phonics lessons at home with their children to help them label the sounds and so that is generally very destructive and not constructive and it puts a lot of pressure on the children those who can do it don’t need it and those who can’t do it just fail. It is a lose-lose situation as opposed to a win-win. (Marion Blank)

This is the kind of disinformation that misleads many parents and teachers who accept such nonsense from so-called educators.  

Overlearning to automaticity - Marion Blank.

                                                 

Marion Blank is a psychologist known for her work on language, both spoken and written. The following is an extract from her article. LINK

Children with reading difficulties struggle with automaticity. Yet no attempts are made to teach them the skill because of the misguided notion that it can be developed only after extensive phonics practice. Overlearning to Automaticity (OtA) is the key to less-skilled children mastering reading. It requires multiple exposures to a word: typically, 20 to 30 exposures on each of about 200 carefully selected words from both the content and non-content domains.

About 60 percent of the words on any page are “non-content words”—words like the, so, what etc. that cannot be decoded by sounding out.

English Reading Code is complex says Larissa Philipps.

 

Here are tweets I read this morning and my comments:

Larissa Phillips

@larissaphillip

The English reading code is complex to be sure.

But of all the adult reading students I’ve worked with through the years, not a single one started able to decode unfamiliar CVC words.

Almost all have memorized the common irregular words.

But can’t read words like jig, lad, yen.

My comment:

Larissa is a volunteer teacher teaching adults. She probably never reads any of my replies to her or she does not understand my replies.

The Reading Wars continue...

                                                         

Below is a post by Dyann Powell whose profile says she is a Dyslexia Specialist and expert in dyslexia.

I tried to comment on the post but only connections were allowed to comment.

I asked a simple question: If either methods, Phonics or Whole Word/Balanced Literature can reduce illiteracy why has the graph showing the non-proficiency of children remained flat since 1972?

Somewhere in those 50-odd years, we must have had Whole Language/ Balanced Language and phonics.

Another question I asked was: What is it with peer-reviewed research?

What do we do when there are no research reports? Dyann Powell, your comment is awaited.

Ignorance and arrogance (Part 2)

                                                         

This is a continuation of the misleading article dated 26.9.2023 by Marion Blank

Breaking phonics into its components lays bare its shortcomings. First, in the initial instruction, months are spent teaching children how to decode a minute set of simple, three-letter words like man, cat and bus that can be sounded out. Those words bear little resemblance to the content of any book, leaving children unprepared for actual reading.

What an exaggeration that is! Do we need to spend months to decode a minute set of simple three-letter words? It could be true if this woman is talking about teaching 5 minutes a week or so.

About 60 percent of the words on any page are “non-content words”—words like the, so and what that cannot be decoded by sounding out. The result is that children have no solid tools for dealing with the most frequent words they see on every page.

Pre-boxed intervention programmes – Jackie Connell

                                                                    

Below is a Tweet asking an excellent question and a reply that is equally good. It is like many other such tweets where the twitter says he/she is serious but never replies once I have tweeted in response.

Jackie Connell @jackielconnell Aug 30

Why is our education system so deeply committed to pre-boxed intervention programs? Models almost exclusively designed by people who do not represent the learners or communities they are intended to support. Legitimate question. Not rhetorical. Please answer.

Angelina Gerard @awolgerard Aug 30

You have to consider, that most educators are people who enjoyed & did well in school, so most see education through the lens they experienced, making it challenging to consider approaches they never needed or experienced, taking the creativity out of the problem solving process.

This is exactly what I have been harping on for many years.

Ignorance and arrogance (Part 1)

 

On September 26, 2023, I read the following article by Marion Blank

Two Thirds of American Kids Can’t Read Fluently. LINK

Here are some extracts and my comments:

Phonics may be a popular way to teach reading, but it fails too many children.

This is another disinformation spread by the Balanced Literacy proponents that has its roots in Whole Language (WL) instruction that emerged in the 1970s.

The level of arrogance attached to ignorance is unbearable because it is rooted in smug satisfaction with being isolated from the facts of the case.

Research on why kids can read in transparent languages but not in English

                                                     

Let us continue with the tweets by Dr. Sam and my replies on 8.10.23.

Dr. Sam:

You are at the starting stage of research. You need carefully designed research around this issue.  You have promising practices. But at the end of the day yes we need peer-reviewed research for ideas to become widely accepted.

I am not sure if I am at the starting stage of research. As far as I am concerned, I have finished my research. We'll leave this for another day. Anyway, here is my reply.

Luqman Michel @luqmanmichel

Beginning stage of research? Perhaps you are right. I gave up employment in 2004 to learn why kids could not read in English but could read in Malay. I taught > 80 'dyslexic' kids and read incessantly any article on dyslexia. There is hardly anything new on dyslexia to read.

When is anyone going to teach kids Malay or Hanyu Pinyin and at the same time teach them English to research why they can read in 2 languages but not the third?

When is anyone going to do research on why kids disengage from learning to read?

Major cause of 'dyslexia'.

                                                     

Here is another Tweet that was not replied to by Dr. Sam Bommarito.

Luqman Michel @luqmanmichel

I did not speak a word with Alanna's son. I heard a recording of the sounds of the letters and told Alanna that the reason why her son could not read was due to confusion as a result of extraneous sounds taught by his teacher. She corrected him and he was keen on learning to read.

Let’s discuss this. What exactly do you disagree with, Dr.Sam?

Tell me why Alanna's son was keen on learning to read after his mother taught him the sounds of the letters without the extraneous sounds. You are familiar with this discussion on Twitter in 2020/2021.

Dr. Sam did not reply but here is an answer he Tweeted in January 2021 to Alanna Maurin’s Tweet.

Dr. Sam Bommarito @DoctorSam7 Jan 4, 2021

What works with one child doesn't always work with another. Glad you found something that is working for your student. Here is a blog in which I try to make it clear one size doesn't fit all.

This appears to be a stock answer. 

What causes kids to disengage from learning to read

                                                                 

Here are Tweets between Dr. Sam and I on 8.10.2023

Dr. Sam Bommarito @DoctorSam7

I know you (Luqman Michel) do good work. But I spent my career working with a diverse group of children, teaching them in a language that is not always regular in its sound-symbol relations.

 

Luqman Michel @luqmanmichel

I understand Dr. Irregular sound/symbol relations are not what causes a kid to disengage from learning to read. The weird spelling of words is not what causes kids to shut down from learning to read. Teaching sounds of letters with extraneous sounds is what causes kids to shut down.

 

Dr. Sam Bommarito @DoctorSam7

Agree to disagree.

 

Luqman Michel @luqmanmichel

Are you saying that kids disengage from learning to decode because of irregular sound-symbol relations?

There is no reply from Dr. Sam. In the absence of a reply, I have to try and guess which of the following he is referring to.

Dyslexia – What % of the world is dyslexic

                                                       

Here are a few tweets and my response.

Luqman Michel @luqmanmichel

Most of the so-called dyslexic kids are kids who have disengaged from learning to read due to confusion. They shut down from learning to read. Get rid of the root causes and you will not have to blame Phonics or Lucy Calkins or BL.

Teaching EcoSystems Matter @CreditFlex

Not sure I’d say “most”. But really have had difficulty narrowing down the real percentage.

Luqman Michel @luqmanmichel

The dyslexia advocates try to convince the world it is around 15 to 20%. Some researchers have said it is about 2 %. Recently David Boulton said it s/b around 3 to 5 %.

Here is the latest discussion between David Boulton and Andrew Johnson where this is mentioned. LINK

When does one size fit all

                                                     

On 6.10.23 in a Twitter thread Dr. Sam Bommarito Twitted the following:

Dr. Sam Bommarito @DoctorSam7

One of the many reasons I speak out against one-size-fits-all solutions is that different children really do need different things. What works with one does not always work with another. Many adults who were Dyslexic as a child have found ways to succeed. One of my favorite stories along that line is the story of this mother and daughter team, who saw the strengths in themselves and shared with others how to use those strengths. They replace "succeeding despite of Dyslexia" with "succeeding because of Dyslexia". 

Dr. Sam keeps saying the same things over and over because, as I have said several times, the mind of most people is like the human egg. 

Education as a market literally means marketers must create a ‘problem’ – Jane Caro

                                                                        

                                                                            Jane Caro

The following was a Tweet in August 2020.

Aug 4, 2020

Decision-makers must listen to those with qualifications and experience, not those with a vested interest. Myths and deception: ‘synphonpreneurs’ are pushing synthetic phonics in schools —@craigp66 @nswppa @TeachersFed @JaneCaro @Anncaro11

Jane Caro @JaneCaro in August 2020 Tweeted the following:

Yep, education as a market literally means marketers must create a 'problem' (teachers don't know how to teach kids to read properly) and then sell us an expensive solution ('synthetic phonics tm) (I just made the trade- mark bit up, but you get the gist) is the only 'answer'.

There was a tweet that was not agreeable to Jane Caro and it was deleted. This is a Western disease and is one of the reasons they do not progress. They either delete or ignore tweets they cannot reply. LINK

The following is Jane Caro’s tweet after deleting the Tweet (not my tweet) she disagreed with.

Finally, an intelligent question - Chicken or the egg

 

I telephoned someone on some important matter and after that was settled he asked me a point-blank question:

The book – Teach Your Child to Read – was published only recently yet the testimonial is dated before the publication, please explain.

Those who have been following my blog will not have asked that question. Anyway:

I wrote more than 100 articles since 2010 disagreeing with the more than 35-year-old theory that phonological awareness deficit is the cause of dyslexia. That theory was debunked in 2017. You may read some of the articles in 2010 by Googling.