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.

Here is her original post:

In honor of #dyslexiaawarenessmonth, I am sharing this show. The fact is, the “reading wars” are irrelevant and those in education need to get their egos out of the way. Whole language and Balanced Literacy have failed. The data doesn’t lie and neither does the science of brain imaging. We know how kids learn to read, ALL kids. Structured, systematic, and explicit reading instruction works for all students. Some that are more deeply impacted by Dyslexia will need more intensive instruction, but the tier 1 instruction should be structured for all. I got into this work 9 years ago when my daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia and the Dr here in Colorado told me to homeschool because none of the schools knew how to teach it. So I did. I also went on to get a masters in it and national certifications because our schools need to do better! Not every family can homeschool. So, if you haven’t listened to this show, I highly recommend it.

Here is her reply to my questions above:

Hi Luqman Michel, thanks for the questions. First, I’ll say that I do not advocate a phonics only approach and neither do any credible advocates of the science of reading. A good place to start if you are looking for reports is The National Reading Panel. And, since the Science of Reading does not only come from the field of education, you can find much research on it in other fields. Reid Lyons, Hugh Catts, Mark Seidenberg, Stanislas Dehaene, Louisa Moats, and William Van Cleave are a few well respected researchers. There is actually a lot of scientific evidence in support of Structured Literacy, which is why it’s called the science of reading. Here is an article with some suggested readings.

This is the vague kind of replies I have received for over a decade. It does not answer questions asked.

I then reworded my questions as follows:

i.                     My question is, if either method can reduce illiteracy why has the graph showing the non-proficiency of children remained flat since 1972? Is the answer in one of the books you have listed below, Dyann Powell?

ii.                   What do we do when there are no research reports? Please answer in which book you listed below is the answer?

Let us wait for her reply. I will let her know my post here and hope she will be kind enough to provide her insightful replies here in the comment section.  

Donna Lee Fields has clicked 'Like' on the above post in LinkedIn. I have been eagerly waiting for a reply from her on another question I asked her. She is an International Teacher-Trainer/Podcast Host/Author. Let us wait and see what we have to see.