Jun 8, 2022
For decades, millions of children have been taught to read
using a popular method that’s out of step with the scientific
research on how our brains really learn. Amid pushback and
criticism – including from researchers, parents, and education
journalists – that’s starting to change.
Dana Goldstein, national correspondent for The New York Times,
shares the latest from her reporting on the
growing pushback to the widely used “balanced literacy” approach
advocated by Lucy Calkins, a charismatic professor at Columbia
University’s Teachers College. Why is Calkins’ recent
acknowledgment that her methods need revising such a
groundbreaking shift? What might this mean for how schools teach
reading? Will the broader push to emphasize phonics produce a sea
change in the nation's literacy levels? What questions should
education reporters ask local teachers about the materials and
instructional models they use? And what are some story ideas on
curriculum and instruction, especially amid recent efforts by some
grassroots advocacy groups to put new limits on how – and what –
students are taught?