The Kids Can't F***ing Read
Welcome to episode three of Back Room Book Talk! Join us today to discuss the literacy crisis and some steps you can take to help kiddos gain a love of reading.
Here are some links for further reading:
More about the current crisis:
* https://online.regiscollege.edu/blog/child-illiteracy [https://online.regiscollege.edu/blog/child-illiteracy]
* https://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/press_releases/12_10_2024.asp [https://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/press_releases/12_10_2024.asp]
* https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/ [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/]
More about No Child Left Behind and the Every Child Succeeds Act:
* https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/no-child-left-behind-an-overview/2015/04 [https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/no-child-left-behind-an-overview/2015/04]
* https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/the-every-student-succeeds-act-an-essa-overview/2016/03 [https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/the-every-student-succeeds-act-an-essa-overview/2016/03]
* https://www.understood.org/en/articles/the-difference-between-the-every-student-succeeds-act-and-no-child-left-behind [https://www.understood.org/en/articles/the-difference-between-the-every-student-succeeds-act-and-no-child-left-behind]
Resources for Families
* https://www.connectionsacademy.com/support/resources/article/helping-kids-synthesize-information-for-reading-comprehension/ [https://www.connectionsacademy.com/support/resources/article/helping-kids-synthesize-information-for-reading-comprehension/]
* https://www.k5learning.com/reading-comprehension-worksheets/first-grade-1/comprehension-exercises/who-what-where-when-why [https://www.k5learning.com/reading-comprehension-worksheets/first-grade-1/comprehension-exercises/who-what-where-when-why]
* https://www.unr.edu/cll [https://www.unr.edu/cll]
* https://nnlc.org/ [https://nnlc.org/]
* https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/laws-preschool-grade-12-education/title-I [https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/laws-preschool-grade-12-education/title-I]
* https://www.washoeschools.net/directory/business-financial-services/title-i [https://www.washoeschools.net/directory/business-financial-services/title-i]
* https://www.washoeschools.net/directory/child-find [https://www.washoeschools.net/directory/child-find]
* https://www.lexercise.com/tests/dyslexia-test [https://www.lexercise.com/tests/dyslexia-test]
Nevada Authors mentioned in this episode:
* Teri Farley, author of the Phantom Stallion Series
* Brad McMullen, author and illustrator of Stitched Tales
* Naseem Jamnia, author of The Glade
* Jarret Keene, author of Decide & Survive
* Nanda Reddy, author of A Girl Within A Girl Within A Girl
Thanks for joining us!
Hey all! Annie here! I wanted to expand some of my thoughts: 1) because I think a mile a minute and my brain can’t always keep up and 2) I was starting to get a cold when we recorded this and my brain was dead!
Oral vs Written Word
We have long had a history of discrediting oral storytelling in the West. This has often come at the expense of indigenous cultures. Their view of history, science, how the world was made was “less valid” then the written word (even though most of the ancient stories were an oral story first). So, when Jarret mentioned a shift away from the written word toward more oral forms of information, I had to pause and ask myself: Am I limiting my understanding of storytelling and information-sharing to a relatively recent invention? (Yes, writing is an invention.)
As I mention in the podcast, ultimately I felt that they were actually two very different conversations. Yes, oral storytelling and information communication is a valid form of expression, but separately, we have an issue where an alarming amount of children cannot read at a functional level and cannot comprehend what they are consuming appropriately.*
The People are Not Informed
The No Child Left Behind Act was passed in 2002 and replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2014. And yet, here’s what people focus on: “Bush left these kids behind.” But no, Bush isn’t the one leaving the kids behind—he left their parents, aunts, uncles, older brothers, sisters, and cousins, as well as other supportive adults behind. The Obama-era legislation that was supposed to fix the problem didn’t.
Let’s be clear: people love their kids. Both pieces of legislation were passed with the idea that “the kids are our future.” But they both exposed the flaws of their respective parties. Bush’s approach was punitive, with strict adherence to standardized measures. Obama’s, while loosening federal oversight, still relied heavily on testing to make sure those measures were followed. Neither one addressed the real issues, and now—well, the kids still can’t fucking read.
Language
Talk with your kids! Have that back and forth conversation to help model language comprehension. “We are unlikely to understand something we read if we cannot understand the same ideas when they are spoken or read aloud to us” pg. 17 (from Moats, Louisa Cook, and Carol A Tolman. LETRS : Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling. Volume One. Units 1-4. Dallas, Tx, Sopris West Educational Services, 2019.)
Science is Real! But… Maybe We Need to Trust Teachers?
The Science of Reading is the current trend sweeping through the education system. It’s based on solid research and can be very effective in teaching kids how to read. But my concern is that this obsession with data-driven practices puts us in a cycle of bad curricula and wasted millions. How do we prove that a curriculum is working? By administering a test, of course! And so, the cycle of test-taking and test-failing continues, over and over.
Instead of getting stuck in this loop, why not trust that we’ve been teaching kids to read for centuries? Yes, some of it is boring, repetitive rote work—but that’s part of the process. Many of these methods were pushed aside in favor of newer, supposedly more engaging ways to teach reading. The result? Kids paid the price.
*I’m not sure how to cite a TikTok, but earlier today (9/29/25), Hank Green posted a video expressing alarm over a statistic circulating that 60% of people in the U.S. are functionally illiterate. This would mean they cannot read or write their own name, fill out basic forms, or function in everyday life. Hank was particularly frustrated that people were so concerned about this statistic, which, ironically, only proves the point both the statistic and I are trying to make: people are given information but lack the skills to properly interpret it and discern whether it’s real or not. That’s what reading comprehension is all about. And that is genuinely alarming.
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