After Students Can’t Read, NYC Goes Back to “Right-Wing” Phonics

“Half of city children in grades three through eight are not proficient in reading”

By Daniel Greenfield May 9, 2023 

The Left, which controls the educational system, went to war against phonics, dubbing it a “right-wing” concept. A 1985 essay in Education Week explained that, to conservative activists, “only systematic phonics, employing sound-symbol decoding, is acceptable…Reading comprehension is to be taught…[using] didactic reading materials and literal-level questions.” By the 1990s, Nicholas Lemann reported that reading instruction had become “one of the main organizing issues for the Christian Coalition.” Legislation compelling teachers to rely on explicit phonics instruction was introduced by Republicans in many states — especially those in which the party was dominated by the Christian right. Mel and Norma Gabler, known for their successful campaigns to censor textbooks in Texas (and then elsewhere), were also outspoken on this issue, as were Cal Thomas, James Dobson, John Rosemond, and others. Pat Robertson announced that learning to read is “a breeze…if reading is taught the way God made us to talk – by syllables, by what is called phonics.” Well if god is for it, then progressives must be against it!............To Read More....