Gatekeeping, Credentials, and the Fear of Accountability
Recap: What They Block
Parts 1 and 2 exposed the profit motives and herd-driven hit squads that silence my evidence-based solutions:
✅ Teaching pure /b/ instead of "buh"
✅ Free lessons over multimillion-dollar curricula
✅ Student success over PAD myths
But the ugliest motive? Gatekeeping.
These self-appointed experts—foundation directors, “professional learning coaches,” and credentialed consultants—demand qualifications I don’t have (PhD? Nope. Just 80+ kids taught since 2004). They block questions that expose their emperor’s-new-clothes theories.
As I wrote in Asking for My Credentials:
“If PAD causes dyslexia, explain why my students excel in Malay but struggle in English.” Crickets. Then block.
This isn’t education. It’s ego preservation. They advise governments, chair boards, and yet flee debate like it’s contagious.
Exhibit A: Blocking Truth to Protect Status
🧠Tom Bennett OBE (@tombennett71)
UK DfE behavior advisor and researchED founder (116K followers) blocked me on Nov 29, 2024. Why?
“I have the answer to solve reading problems… What has he researched? I’ve studied why kids fail in English but succeed in Malay and Pinyin.”
His tweet asked about “areas of almost complete consensus.” I replied:
“If we eliminate the causes of disengagement, we reduce illiteracy.”
Blocked. Why? Because a finance guy’s classroom wins—kids fluent in four months—shame his silence on PISA flops.
Naureen Khalid chimed in:
“Have you published in peer-reviewed journals?”
Gatekeeping 101: Ignore results, demand stamps.
🧠Jon Hutchinson (@jon_hutchinson_)
Reach Foundation Director and Meno Academy co-founder blocked me on Feb 18, 2024.
His tweet:
“What are the areas of almost complete consensus?”
My reply:
“Many educators agree HFWs shouldn’t be rote memorized… Idiots claim learning 10 sounds lets kids read 26,000 words.”
Post deleted. Instant block. Why? My blog links debunking “consensus” lies threatened his subject-knowledge empire.
Educators can’t think? He proved it—by running.
🧠Rebecca Saunders (@BeckRSaunders)
“Professional Learning Coach” blocked me on Jan 13, 2024, after I critiqued her retweet of a Guardian piece blaming Aussie kids’ PISA disdain for illiteracy.
My reply:
“Smart kids in Australia are leaving school illiterate, while those in Singapore thrive. Please read my hypothesis.”
Her motive? Arrogance. “They think they know everything.” As a coach, she should foster debate—not delete it.
🧠Stephen Parker (@ParkerPhonics)
Phonics isolation evangelist blocked me on Mar 27, 2020, after liking my tweet.
His “simple solution” boast? I replied:
“If it’s simple, why was the UK 14th in PISA?”
No reply—just exile. Why? To protect isolation phonics (blending “guh-eh-tuh” disasters) from my evidence:
Teach correct phonemes from day one, and no kid disengages.
He liked my anti-dyslexia myth tweet—then bailed. Classic accountability dodge.
🧠Sally Shaywitz
She didn’t block me, but left my Yale comment roasting PAD untouched for years before deleting it. Same vibe:
“Knowledge leads to ignorance.” — Dr. Shalini Ratan
Truth gets buried when it threatens power.
🧠Sara Peden (@SaraJPeden)
“Bye now!” she said after I tweeted:
“Teach all kids proper pronunciation… and no kid will disengage.”
Her gripe? My “exaggerated statements” scare people. Translation: Truth hurts.
🧠Peter Blenkinsop
UK teacher blocked me in a Dylan Wiliam group chat over sight words. He tweeted post-block:
“The ONLY person I’ve ever blocked, @luqmanmichel… a thoroughly nasty man.”
Nasty? For citing Kilpatrick:
Sight words are effortless recall—not visual memorization traps.
Motive? Colonial-era evasion: criticize, don’t engage.
The Reckoning: Time to Unblock Progress
Over 12 blocks. One pattern: They profit from confusion. I end it—with free tools.
📉 David Kilpatrick’s studies slashed remediation by 90%
📈 Engelmann’s methods? Less than 1% failure
Yet they block me because my wins—kids reading nonsense words—expose the scam.
Final Word
Parents, educators: Question the herd. Try my lessons (link in bio). Experts: Debate, don’t delete. Illiteracy isn’t inevitable—it’s instructional. Unblock the truth—before another generation pays.
P.S. Still no blocks from me. Your move.
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