When I saw the trailer for the documentary The Truth About Reading, I wasn’t surprised to see Faith Borkowsky and Emily Hanford featured prominently. That alone was enough for me to know: this film will likely perpetuate the same half-truths and misinformation that have plagued literacy discourse for years.
Nancy Bailey, in her blog post, rightly pointed out that the trailer condemns teachers and public schools without addressing the deeper systemic issues. She asks important questions: What deficits did these adults bring to school? Were remedial options available? What about class sizes?
But the trailer’s most glaring flaw is its reliance on voices like Faith and Emily—figures who have consistently ignored or dismissed the real reasons children struggle to read.
Faith Borkowsky’s Misguided Crusade
Faith recently supported a link claiming that dyslexia is caused by children memorizing sight words. If that doesn’t sound idiotic, then nothing will. The idea that memorization alone causes dyslexia is not just wrong—it’s dangerous. It shifts blame away from flawed instruction and onto children and parents.
Let’s be clear: dyslexia is not caused by memorizing words. The real culprit is confusion—specifically, the confusion created when children are taught consonant sounds with extraneous additions. This is the root cause of disengagement, and it’s the reason so many children shut down during early reading instruction.
Faith’s refusal to engage with this evidence is telling. She blocked me on Twitter after I asked a simple question about phonics instruction. If she truly believed in open dialogue, she would have responded—not silenced dissent.
Emily Hanford: The Journalist Who Never Followed Through
I reached out to Emily Hanford in 2017, sharing my discovery about why children disengage from reading. She acknowledged it and promised to look into it. She never did. Since then, she’s continued to promote narratives that align with the Science of Reading movement—often backed by those with vested interests in commercial programs and interventions.
Her work, while influential, has failed to address the instructional casualties created by flawed phonics delivery. The children labeled as dyslexic are often victims of poor teaching, not neurological deficits.
Nancy Bailey’s Response: A Missed Opportunity
Nancy responded to my comment on her blog by saying that phonics has been taught for decades and that children with auditory processing difficulties may struggle. But let’s not kid ourselves—those children account for less than 1% of the population. Meanwhile, nearly 20% of children leave school as functional illiterates.
The real issue isn’t phonics itself—it’s how phonics is taught. In the 1950s, we were taught correct pronunciation. Today, many children are taught consonant sounds with added vowels, creating confusion and disengagement. This is the elephant in the room that no one wants to address.
Why This Matters
If the truth about reading were truly being told, it would include the voices of those who’ve uncovered why children disengage. It would acknowledge that instructional casualties—not cognitive deficits—are the primary reason for reading failure.
But that truth threatens the business model of intervention programs, remediation services, and the Science of Reading industry. That’s why voices like mine are blocked, ignored, or dismissed.
As Einstein said, “The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance.” And as Buddha reminded us, “Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”
Let’s keep shining light on the truth—no matter how inconvenient it may be for those selling solutions.
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