Empowering Teachers Means Using Every Tool

 

In Response to Dr. Sam Bommarito's recent post. Link. 

This post is in response to a recent post by Dr. Sam. I agree with his observation about how scientists often enter arguments. Years ago, he interviewed me. It was not a debate — he asked questions, and I answered them. Yet the interview was never aired. Was it because he could not accept my discovery?

Dr. Sam himself noted: “One tactic used on social media by folks pushing for the exclusive use of their approach over all others is to discount or discredit competitors’ programs by challenging the validity of their findings.”

 

I have no reason to push for a single approach. Millions of children worldwide learn to read after short interventions — each with their own method. Who am I, or Dr. Sam, to dismiss what works for them?

 

Giving Teachers All the Tools

Dr. Sam also said: “It’s time to empower teachers by giving them access to ALL the tools they need to support their students’ literacy development.”

 

This is exactly what I have been saying for over a decade. Teachers must be equipped with every tool available, including:

·        Teaching pure letter sounds — without extraneous additions.

 

·        Rote memorization of High Frequency Words — not by visual memory, but through repetition.

 

·        Letter names instruction — vital since many words rely on them (Bee, ceiling, deep, giraffe, idea).

 

·        Early awareness of multiple sounds — unlike Malay, most English letters represent more than one sound.

This is not a rigid “method” but a call to use the right tool for the right situation. Why insist on a hammer when a spanner is needed?

 

Why Oppose Reading Research?

I fail to understand why Reading Research is opposed, when thousands of teachers have used it successfully. It is simply one of many approaches available.

However, forty years in the profession does not justify clinging to first‑year practices. Catching one three‑legged rabbit does not mean all rabbits are one‑legged.

 

To me, any approach that helps children learn to read is a good approach. The real question we must confront is: why do so many intelligent children still leave school as illiterates?