Basically, some kiwi (Marie Clay) looked into how good kids learn to read, but somehow identified all the things bad learners do. Turned this into an approach to help kids, had some apparent success in New Zealand. Basically it got kids to guess what words were based on the context of the statement, the initial letter, pictures accompanying the statement etc, rather than sounding out the word. It got imported to the states as the word of god, while at the same time science identified how kids actually learn. George Bush introduced No Child Left Behind which required science based teaching of literacy. Those who were profiting off Marie Clay's work pushed back because they wouldn't be funded, resulting in the current mess we have today.
It became fashionable in early childhood education circles to teach children to read by looking at the accompanying pictures in the book instead of by deciphering the letters and sounding out the word.
This led to many parents thinking that their kids must have dyslexia because they weren't learning to read.
You should listen to the podcast -- it is fascinating. I listened to the entire series three times because I couldn't get over it. It blew my mind that some people think that reading is not about deciphering letters and sounding out words, and that these are the people in charge of teaching kids how to read.
> It blew my mind that some people think that reading is not about deciphering letters and sounding out words, and that these are the people in charge of teaching kids how to read.
Indeed. We can debate the merits of letters vs ideograms as much as we like, but English is not Chinese. Reading an alphabet is a phonetic exercise, even with all the exceptions in spoken English.
And yes, the 'dyslexia epidemic' is harrowing. Sure video-everywhere is part to blame, but how many readers and writers are we down due to children being given a label that says 'you will never spell' early in life. Even if well-intentioned the label is detrimental to your relationship with words.
