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How the Science of Reading Really Works
Why Capital S Science of Capital R Reading Gets it Wrong
Do you work in the trenches, as so many teachers are told they do? Maybe your child was taught word attack strategies. What side are you on in the reading wars? Wars are the great binaries of our time, as a former US President once proclaimed[1]: “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists” leaving absolutely no room for disagreement or discussion. I ask, “What place do war metaphors have in education, in teaching our children, and in our classrooms?”
Consider the recent spate of commentaries advising parents and teachers to pay attention to the “Science of Reading (Capital S and R).” While “Science of Reading” sounds like, well, science, it is not. Rather it is a call to battle, once more unto the breach[2], of the reading wars. Let’s leave war, trenches, and battles out of the classroom, shall we? Before we dive into the “Science,” a quick look at what science (lower case) looks like may help.
How Small s science Works: An example
Human brains are wired for learning, for inquiry, for communication including reading (stay tuned). At the turn of the last century, some scientists confidently told the world that intelligence was a fix from birth. Either you had it, or you didn’t. But nowadays, we know better.
