"My child can't read!" -
John StosselThat'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...