The Reading Wars

"My child can't read!" - John Stossel

That's become a common complaint from parents...
But I think it's also because reading instruction became lazy and political.

• "Progressives" at teachers' colleges pushed a reading technique called "Balanced Literacy."
• Instead of memorizing sounds and letters, teachers push what they call "cueing," guessing words based on their context, or pictures.
• Balanced Literacy downplays "structured phonics," the older technique where kids memorize letters' sounds and learn to sound out words.
• Balanced Literacy does sound more fun than boring phonics drills. 

Progressives said it would make kids want to read.

It mostly didn't...