We welcomed Investigative education reporter and host of the ground-breaking Sold a Story podcast, Emily Hanford to discuss why reading is being taught incorrectly.
There’s well-established evidence about how children learn how to read, but this isn’t always reflected in how it’s taught in schools. Unfortunately many teachers aren’t given the knowledge, resources, and practices needed to follow the educational science. Parents, too, rarely have the know-how to best support their children become capable readers. Over many years, educators have been falsely ‘sold a story’ about how children learn and this has harmed the education of countless students.
Helping teachers, parents, and researchers correct the record on how children learn is key to raising education outcomes in Australia and around the Western world. How have so many educators been sold a story that’s proven to be false? Why have flawed ideas about education been so difficult to correct? How are some educators driving a movement to advance evidence-based practice in schools?
Emily Hanford is Senior Producer and Correspondent at American Public Media. She is host and lead producer of the popular podcast, Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong.