There's an idea about how children learn to read that's held sway in schools for more than a generation — even though it was proven wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago. Teaching methods based on this idea can make it harder for children to learn how to read. In this special, host Emily Hanford investigates the influential authors who promote this idea and the company that sells their work. It's an exposé of how educators came to believe in something that isn't true and are now reckoning with the consequences — children harmed, money wasted, an education system upended.
"How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong" from American Public Media will air at 3 p.m. on Monday, September 4 on WRVO. Listen on-air, online and with your smart speaker. Just ask it to "play WRVO."
