Star Tribune 10.15.24 “Readers Write: Student illiteracy, the merits of the Electoral College”

Who’s to blame for student illiteracy? Look in the mirror, administrators.

In the Oct. 11 Star Tribune, columnist Denise Johnson wrote about the poor state of literacy in Minnesota (“Boost literacy levels for Minn. students,” Strib Voices). The Star Tribune has printed some version of this opinion multiple times over the years. I agree the poor reading proficiency in our state is multifactorial, but declining reading proficiency in Minnesota (and nationally) started well before the pandemic. Without question, most blame should fall on the professional administrators of our public schools. There are certainly exceptions, but too many administrators clung to and invested in outdated, unproven reading curricula. For decades, young students were actually taught to read by guessing words based on pictures. Intensive phonics instruction was rejected in favor of so-called visual cuing. For years, dyslexia and other reading experts begged public school districts for more phonics instruction. Unfortunately, public school administrators continued to invest millions of taxpayer dollars in failed reading programs. Only recently has the state mandated phonics-based reading instruction. … Read More on StarTribune.com