WEBVTT 00:00:02.440 --> 00:00:05.620 Readings. This is the Reading Instruction Show. 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:10.640 I am your host, Dr. Andy Johnson. Topic of today's 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:14.519 presentation or conversation is called, Toady's 00:00:14.519 --> 00:00:19.000 Transactions and Reading Instruction. And this 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:23.339 is from my upcoming book called, Making Sense 00:00:23.339 --> 00:00:27.699 of Reading Teachers Matter. Now, my purpose for 00:00:27.699 --> 00:00:30.600 writing this book was to bring clarification. 00:00:30.940 --> 00:00:35.079 an additional understanding to, one, the reading 00:00:35.079 --> 00:00:41.159 process, two, reading instruction, three, reading 00:00:41.159 --> 00:00:46.899 research, and four, reading policies and politics. 00:00:47.259 --> 00:00:51.280 And obviously, I think there's a great lack of 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:54.880 understanding related to these things. This I 00:00:54.880 --> 00:00:59.719 call the great un -understanding or goo theory. 00:01:00.250 --> 00:01:04.829 And as we learned in book one, theories are used 00:01:04.829 --> 00:01:09.269 to explain a set of facts and to understand phenomena. 00:01:10.290 --> 00:01:14.750 Now, goo theory is the only way that I can account 00:01:14.750 --> 00:01:19.530 for the very expensive and pseudoscientific science 00:01:19.530 --> 00:01:23.829 of reading mandates that will end up impeding 00:01:23.829 --> 00:01:27.230 students' ability to create meaning with print. 00:01:27.980 --> 00:01:33.459 And while science is involved with these mandates, 00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:38.099 it's a very limited type of science used to ask 00:01:38.099 --> 00:01:43.140 a very narrow range of questions. And while research 00:01:43.140 --> 00:01:48.200 is cited, it's either A, data and not research, 00:01:48.659 --> 00:01:54.359 B, research that has been misinterpreted or overinterpreted, 00:01:54.400 --> 00:02:00.670 and C, selected. bits of research. It's the goo. 00:02:02.890 --> 00:02:07.489 Now, movies and sequels, despite all the smiling 00:02:07.489 --> 00:02:11.629 kids used as props for the pictures and the silvery 00:02:11.629 --> 00:02:16.210 promises of Sylvester McMonkey McBean, science 00:02:16.210 --> 00:02:19.610 of reading mandates will have a negative impact 00:02:19.610 --> 00:02:24.870 on literacy and learning. Students will be less 00:02:24.870 --> 00:02:29.289 able to think and use literacy for real world 00:02:29.289 --> 00:02:34.469 purposes. And they'll be less motivated to read 00:02:34.469 --> 00:02:38.189 good books. Gaps in reading achievement will 00:02:38.189 --> 00:02:44.030 widen. And how can I be so certain? Well, you 00:02:44.030 --> 00:02:47.599 could certainly ask any kid. who's forced to 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:51.259 sit in a structured literacy class for 60 minutes 00:02:51.259 --> 00:02:54.439 or more every day. You certainly could do that. 00:02:55.219 --> 00:02:58.300 You could ask them what it's what they like about 00:02:58.300 --> 00:03:02.340 reading class and ask them what they've learned 00:03:02.340 --> 00:03:06.400 in reading class. Ask them what they're reading 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:11.000 and ask them to describe something they've read. 00:03:11.419 --> 00:03:15.099 And of course, this would be anecdotal evidence 00:03:15.099 --> 00:03:19.259 of the negative impact of science reading mandates. 00:03:19.819 --> 00:03:22.500 Anecdotal evidence, and that's not very good 00:03:22.500 --> 00:03:28.319 evidence. You could also sit for a week in a 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:31.500 first grade classroom using structured literacy. 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:35.960 How much joy do you see? How often are students 00:03:35.960 --> 00:03:40.819 using literacy for real life purposes? And how 00:03:40.819 --> 00:03:43.099 long does it take before you want to leave that 00:03:43.099 --> 00:03:46.919 classroom? That too would be anecdotal evidence. 00:03:47.500 --> 00:03:50.599 And while this kind of evidence is powerful, 00:03:50.939 --> 00:03:55.159 it can be subjected to misinterpretation and 00:03:55.159 --> 00:03:59.219 not generalizable. Now the science of reading 00:03:59.219 --> 00:04:02.840 insists that only evidence -based instruction 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:07.979 be used to teach reading. And we all agree that 00:04:07.979 --> 00:04:12.840 evidence is important. However, here in Minnesota, 00:04:12.900 --> 00:04:17.040 as in other states, state reading laws were made 00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:23.120 based not on evidence, rather on testimony. Testimony 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:28.519 is not the same as evidence. Testimony is selected 00:04:28.519 --> 00:04:32.439 people coming before other selected people and 00:04:32.439 --> 00:04:37.019 saying selected things. Testimony is like baking 00:04:37.019 --> 00:04:41.779 a cake, when what you get is based on what you 00:04:41.779 --> 00:04:45.819 put in. And in the case of the Reed Act here 00:04:45.819 --> 00:04:49.519 in Minnesota, what you got was a half -baked 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:53.860 law mandating what teachers must teach, how it 00:04:53.860 --> 00:04:57.540 must be taught, when it must be taught, and what 00:04:57.540 --> 00:05:01.920 you cannot say under any circumstances. Now, 00:05:01.980 --> 00:05:06.709 Figure 3 shows what happened. when kindly old 00:05:06.709 --> 00:05:10.209 Mrs. Peterson used illegal reading instruction 00:05:10.209 --> 00:05:16.509 in her first grade classroom. On a larger scale, 00:05:16.930 --> 00:05:21.410 we've seen this movie before and it did not have 00:05:21.410 --> 00:05:25.110 a happy ending. The movie was part of the No 00:05:25.110 --> 00:05:29.750 Child Left Behind and the Reading First initiative. 00:05:30.540 --> 00:05:35.759 Six billion dollars of taxpayer money was spent 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:41.139 on things that had no impact on children's ability 00:05:41.139 --> 00:05:46.319 to comprehend text. Imagine that. That's a very 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:52.560 sad ending. It was a billion dollar boondoggle. 00:05:53.180 --> 00:05:56.920 Billions of dollars were wasted on what most 00:05:56.920 --> 00:06:00.180 literacy experts could have told you up front 00:06:00.180 --> 00:06:04.259 wouldn't work. In fact, they did tell you in 00:06:04.259 --> 00:06:09.279 2002, the National Council of Teachers of English. 00:06:10.680 --> 00:06:13.620 But policymakers weren't much inclined to listen, 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:17.660 you see. They listened to people who would. They 00:06:17.660 --> 00:06:20.100 wouldn't listen to people who would disagree 00:06:20.100 --> 00:06:24.680 with their preconceived idea. Besides, they had 00:06:24.680 --> 00:06:30.620 testimony. They had ample. testimony. Now here 00:06:30.620 --> 00:06:34.100 in Minnesota, the most recent sequel to this 00:06:34.100 --> 00:06:38.139 movie is called The Read Act. It's only a hundred 00:06:38.139 --> 00:06:41.579 million dollar boondoggle. At the state level, 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:46.899 you can get your boondoggles much cheaper. Bargain 00:06:46.899 --> 00:06:50.420 basement boondoggles at the state level. Yes, 00:06:50.420 --> 00:06:54.660 you can. Who needs healthcare and nutrition for 00:06:54.660 --> 00:06:57.720 kids? Who needs small class sizes, good books 00:06:57.720 --> 00:07:00.899 to read, professional working conditions, and 00:07:00.899 --> 00:07:03.600 legitimate professional development for teachers 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:07.759 when you can get yourself a first -rate boondoggle? 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:14.439 Big publishing, Scotty, eat, am I right? Now, 00:07:14.779 --> 00:07:18.170 note to who's ever publishing this book that 00:07:18.170 --> 00:07:21.870 I'm writing, I'm not including you in my critical 00:07:21.870 --> 00:07:24.810 analysis of big publishing in what I just said. 00:07:25.550 --> 00:07:29.810 You're kind and benevolent. And since you're 00:07:29.810 --> 00:07:33.569 publishing my book, you're obviously intelligent 00:07:33.569 --> 00:07:37.629 beyond human recognition. And the acquisition 00:07:37.629 --> 00:07:40.430 editor, who decided this book should be published? 00:07:40.930 --> 00:07:44.329 You will someday be recognized for the great 00:07:44.329 --> 00:07:49.420 mind that you are. Perhaps there might even be 00:07:49.420 --> 00:07:54.279 a Pulitzer Prize in the future. Now that, my 00:07:54.279 --> 00:07:58.699 friends, is an example of toadism, and it's part 00:07:58.699 --> 00:08:03.839 of the goo problem. Toadies sometimes call themselves 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:07.920 consultants. Consultants. They promote methods 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:12.019 and say things that just happen to coincide with 00:08:12.019 --> 00:08:16.759 the products and services being sold by big publishing. 00:08:18.019 --> 00:08:22.379 Quite a coincidence, yes. Right and wrong are 00:08:22.379 --> 00:08:25.120 not determined based on what's right and wrong, 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:31.879 rather by what will sell. Toadies are strongly 00:08:31.879 --> 00:08:36.100 in support of the current thing. They highly 00:08:36.100 --> 00:08:40.879 recommend that which will generate revenue. And 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:45.509 if state legislatures We're convinced that pinning 00:08:45.509 --> 00:08:49.610 clothespins on the children's ears enhance reading, 00:08:49.769 --> 00:08:54.169 and if clothespin mandates were passed, you'd 00:08:54.169 --> 00:08:58.289 soon have a gaggle of toadies lining up to train 00:08:58.289 --> 00:09:02.210 teachers how to put clothespins on children's 00:09:02.210 --> 00:09:06.190 ears and declaring clothespins products to be 00:09:06.190 --> 00:09:11.529 research -based. That is the nature of toadyism. 00:09:12.809 --> 00:09:19.610 Now, I admit, I am not above such toady transactions. 00:09:20.710 --> 00:09:24.710 Almost anybody will be a toady if the price is 00:09:24.710 --> 00:09:28.509 right. The only difference between me and the 00:09:28.509 --> 00:09:31.710 current horde of educational toadies is the price. 00:09:32.830 --> 00:09:36.210 My price is quite a bit higher, you see. Now, 00:09:36.210 --> 00:09:40.590 I often ask myself, what would that price be? 00:09:41.100 --> 00:09:45.360 How much would you have to pay me to be a literacy 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:49.879 toady? Realistically, I could be bought for about 00:09:49.879 --> 00:09:55.000 25 million dollars. That's my price. For 25 million, 00:09:55.419 --> 00:10:00.129 I too would be a consultant. to shill your products. 00:10:00.529 --> 00:10:04.370 I, too, will do infomercials disguised as professional 00:10:04.370 --> 00:10:08.210 development. I, too, will have a product -based 00:10:08.210 --> 00:10:12.590 answer in search of a problem. I, too, will help 00:10:12.590 --> 00:10:16.110 develop products that are so complicated that 00:10:16.110 --> 00:10:19.649 teachers have to be trained before they're able 00:10:19.649 --> 00:10:23.509 to use them. And by the way, you train animals, 00:10:23.570 --> 00:10:29.179 you educate humans. And I justify my $25 million 00:10:29.179 --> 00:10:33.340 toadism by saying I'm using the money to help 00:10:33.340 --> 00:10:38.419 people. Yes, I would. I want to be very upfront 00:10:38.419 --> 00:10:44.519 about my toadism. My price is $25 million. So 00:10:44.519 --> 00:10:47.919 if someday you see a book written by me describing 00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:51.440 the wonders of a specific for -profit method, 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:56.120 product or service, you'll know. that I'm living 00:10:56.120 --> 00:11:02.639 large someplace. But this exemplifies the transactional 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:06.799 nature of toadism. Toadies say things because 00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:09.519 there's money to be made, and they don't say 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:13.720 other things because it might impact sales. It's 00:11:13.720 --> 00:11:17.600 passion with a price tag. It's knowledge for 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:23.700 sale. So I'll leave you with two questions. You 00:11:23.700 --> 00:11:28.419 must ask yourself, what is your price for becoming 00:11:28.419 --> 00:11:32.620 a toady and what's the ultimate price to our 00:11:32.620 --> 00:11:36.159 society for the current epidemic of toadism? 00:11:37.460 --> 00:11:39.919 This has been The Reading Instruction Show. I 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:42.759 am your host, Dr. Andy Johnson.