Why the Reading Wars Persist: A Deeper Look at Shutdown Kids

 

I've stepped back from diving into why kids struggle with reading fluency—it's often like shouting into a void, where well-meaning educators echo the same tired lines without probing deeper. But this morning, an email landed in my inbox with Sam Bommarito's latest blog post, pulling me right back in. His reflections on the "reading wars" and the "science of reading" (SoR) movement are thoughtful, as always, but they skirt the core issue I've been hammering on for years: instructional confusion that causes kids to shut down entirely from learning to read.  

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.

How to reduce the number of kids requiring intervention

 

I have asked the following question on social media several times and have not received a response. However, when I give them the answers I received from the experts – my students – they refuse to accept them. They do not have an answer and yet refuse to accept answers from the experts. Therein lies the problems with the Reading Wars that have gone on for decades.

Here is the question without an answer from teachers/educators on social media.

'...if many children can read after a short period of intervention, how do we prevent such kids from requiring intervention?'  

Answer/s to this question may be able to reduce illiteracy.

New York Times and the Science of Reading

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/16/us/science-of-reading-literacy-parents.html#commentsContainer

I read a report on Science of Reading in the New York Times dated 16.4.2023.

In the entire report there was no definition of the ‘Science of Reading.’

Why do we keep reinventing the wheel and come up with so-called discoveries which do not improve the level of reading?

Here are some extracts from the article in the New York Times and my comments.

New York Times:

The movement, under the banner of “the science of reading,” is targeting the education establishment: school districts, literacy gurus, publishers and colleges of education, which critics say have failed to embrace the cognitive science of how children learn to read.

Twitter and the reading wars

 

The reading wars have been going on for decades. The more I read tweets by teachers the more I understand why the wars have been going on for so long.

Many teachers are unwilling to discuss with an open mind. They are like the prince in an Indian fable who had caught a three legged rabbit and started proclaiming that all rabbits are three legged.

They are exactly what Charlie Munger had described about the human egg.

 

Dr.Sam Bommarito – Finding the path to end the reading wars.

 

The following are extracts from a post by Dr.Sam Bommarito and my comments. You may read the whole post here.

Dr.Sam:

It takes a centrist perspective and suggested ways we can use ideas from all sides to finally resolve this decades old debate.

Seeds have begun to germinate

One of the good things brought about by Covid19 is the fact that many educators have had the time to read tweets and the links attached.

“Twitter has a mute function” Pamela Snow, Jennifer Buckingham, P.L.Thomas

This post is in response to the educators, Pamela Snow, Jennifer Buckingham and Paul Thomas, who have suggested to mute my tweets. This is obviously because they have no answer to my question and cannot understand my explanation on why kids leave school as illiterate.

If educators are stubborn and shoot from the hip without reading my posts how are we ever going to end the Reading Wars?

The endless war Jennifer Buckingham vs Jeffrey Bowers

                                           

                                                                 当局者迷，旁观者清

The following is extracted from Dr. Jennifer Buckingham’s Blog post. There has been a debate going on between Jennifer and Jeffrey.

Learning to read via analyses

The following are two video clips of a Filipino lady who has been in Australia for a number of years.

As mentioned in my post several times, the pronunciation of phonemes is taught wrongly in most countries around the world.

"I am capable of navigating research". (Professor P.L. Thomas)

P. L. Thomas is a Professor at Furman University.

He said on his Twitter message on 7.4.2020 - ‘I have a doctorate and I know that I do *not* know everything even though I am capable of navigating research.’

The Shameful practices of many ‘Educated’ Americans

One of the most shameful practices of American Educators is the fact that they bury their heads into the ground when they are cornered by questions they cannot respond to.

Reid Lyon and David Boulton of the Children of the Code fame are just two of the many.

Timothy Shanahan ignores comments which he cannot respond too.

Reading Wars - Robert Slavin's blog post Part 1

                                                                  Robert Slavin (Ph.D.)
                                                                Educational Researcher

Let us take a short break from Diane Ravitch and get back to her later.

Meanwhile, 
Here is a blog post by Robert Slavin written on 26.3.2020, on which I commented. The author has touched on the heart of the ‘Reading Wars’.

The following are a few extracts from the blog above.

Diane Ravitch - Philosopher of Education?

                                                            Philosopher of Education

On the internet, it says Diane Ravitch's blog is 'A site to discuss better education for all.'

I read the following on Diane Ravitch's Blog .

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Joint Statement Regarding

“Science of Reading”

KEY TAKEAWAY:

It’s time for the media and political distortions to end, and for the literacy community and policymakers to fully support the literacy needs of all children.

Unfortunately, this media coverage has distorted the research evidence on the teaching of reading, with the result that policymakers are now promoting and implementing policy based on misinformation.

This key idea of a “balanced literacy” approach stresses the importance of phonics, authentic reading, and teachers who can teach reading using a full toolbox of instructional approaches and understandings.

At the very least, federal and state legislation should not continue to do the same things over and over while expecting different outcomes.

I made the following comment and I expected Diane Ravitch to agree or dispute what I said.

The Dyslexia Scam

I have taught more than 70 kids since 2004 on a one on one basis. Many of them were certified as dyslexic by some experts in Singapore and even from Australia.

After a few years of teaching, I realised that they were all shut down kids and did not fit into the dyslexia description on the internet.

Colorado's Dyslexic Students Face Systemic Challenges

Here are extracts from a Colorado Public Radio News. 

Colorado's Dyslexic Students Face Systemic Challenges—If They Can Even Get A Diagnosis

“But then she was failing. Years of struggling in class had worn away at her self-esteem, and eventually her will to live.” 

My comment: Yes, this is true with smart kids who cannot understand why they are smart and yet are unable to read. They enter school with very high self-esteem which is lost within a few months of entering grade one. My first student kept asking me ‘Uncle, do you think I am stupid?’This question was asked by him intermittently and stopped when he was able to read at grade level.