Biography infomation on thomas newkirk

There’s an old Roman insult that goes like this: “He can’t read or swim.” The presumption is that just about anyone who applied himself (or herself) could learn these skills.

Indeed, many countries with high literacy rates, such as Japan, are successful in teaching children to read without all the angst and sense of crisis so common in the United States.

Here, our crisis mentality has led to the curious elevation of “reading science” as the savior that will lead us from a reliance on tradition, habit, experience, and impression to a truly solid foundation.

The 2000 report of the National Reading Panel is seen by many reformers as a bold first step that will place reading instruction on a scientific basis. Virtually any educational product related to the subject now claims to be “research based,” no matter how tenuous the connection.

The reading panel’s report has elicited a steady drumbeat of criticism over the years, both for what it chose to e