Thread by @plthomasEdD

Here's a thread for anyone genuinely interested in the New (But Still Misguided) Phonics Assault on Reading driven by dyslexia advocacy 1/x

a) Students with dyslexia who are not properly identified and/or properly served is INEXCUSABLE. Schools/teachers can and must do better 2/x

b) The zeal demonstrated by parents and other advocates for students with dyslexia is both understandable and ***problematic for its over-reach*** 3/x

c) Dyslexia advocacy has in part fueled a new phonics movement that is nothing new, a recycled and often debunked misrepresentation of how to teach ALL children to read 4/x

d) At every moment of formal education in the US since the turn of the twentieth century, some have cried "reading crisis" but most of that rhetoric has been misinformed 5/x

e) The current use of "the science of reading" is itself a misrepresentation of the actual science of reading; this is a repeat of the flawed and politically charged National Reading Panel, which has been fully debunked 6/x

f) In short, there is a science of reading, but the one being pushed by dyslexia advocates for ALL students and repeated uncritically by the mainstream media IS NOT IT. The science of reading is extremely complex 7/x

g) No one is against phonics instruction, no one is against serving each student's needs so that all students gain the literacy they need. No one 8/x

h) Intensive, systematic phonics has been debunked as a cure-all, a one-size fits all need for all students. ***That*** is the science of reading 9/x

i) Students with special needs and all students absolutely have been and are being mis-served in schools in terms of reading/literacy BUT the real problems are: 10/x

j) racial inequity, poverty inequity; high-stakes testing/ standards obsessions; over-reliance on textbooks and reading programs; excessive class sizes; failure to invest in teacher agency and expertise 11/x

k) Read the following resources:

To read or not to read: decoding Synthetic Phonics
Andrew Davis onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.11…

l) Does Phonics Deserve the Credit for Improvement in PIRLS? Stephen Krashen sdkrashen.com/content/articl…

m) Parent Advocacy and the New (But Still Misguided) Phonics Assault on Reading radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2019/05/03/par…

n) "A case for why both sides in the ‘reading wars’ debate are wrong — and a proposed solution" Is 50% Wrong radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2019/03/28/a-c…

o) Defending Whole Language: The Limits of Phonics Instruction and the Efficacy of Whole Language Instruction, Stephen Krashen sdkrashen.com/content/articl…

p) What Shall We Do About Reading Today?: Looking Back to See Now More Clearly radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2019/02/21/wha…

q) The Big Lie about the "Science of Reading" (Updated) radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2019/02/14/the…

r) Dear Media, Stop Misrepresenting Reading Instruction, Please radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2018/10/30/dea…

s) Political leadership and the media are failing students and education. Zeal is overstepping its bounds. But literacy and reading instruction are being failed also. This thread shows it is COMPLICATED. -fin-

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