[Reading-hall-of-fame] Re: Response from Sarah Just

[P Pearson]

Several issues come to mind on a first reading, and I am not sure yet what
to make of them or how to respond, but I'll get them down in print while I
am still thinking about them:

1.  Is this a show mainly about how a group of parents used a political
process to get the schools in a particular locale to sit up and take notice
of how their kids were being underserved?  Or is it about defining dyslexia
and teaching allegedly dyslexic-diagnosed kids in a particular way?  While
it may have been intended to be the former, did it really accomplish the
latter?  We should do a careful discourse analysis of the entire segment it
we want to show what purpose it served.

2. Does pointing to the widespread acceptance of dyslexia as a diagnostic
category within the field of special education, along with citing it
official recognition by the US Dept of Ed constitute sufficient license for
its use (or in PBS's case, portraying it as an uncontested construct)?

3.  If the producers recognize, as they assert, that kids, including
officially diagnosed kids, need all the other stuff we mentioned in our
letter, why didn't they say so?  Why focus on one facet of teaching reading
when so much more is required to stand a chance of doing justice to kids'
needs and goals?

4.  Does the rhetorical force of their response suggest to us that they
think the conversation is over?  What's the likelihood that they will
consult the RHF or its members for a future show?

Looking forward to the responses of others.

David P



On Sat, May 18, 2019 at 4:38 AM David Reinking <reinkin at clemson.edu> wrote:

> Here is Sara Just’s response.  Thoughts? Next steps?
>
> David R
>
>
>
> Dear Professor Reinking,
>
>
>
> First, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to share your concerns
> about our recent story on dyslexia and reading instruction in Arkansas.
> While I’m sorry that you found issues with our work, I genuinely appreciate
> the thoughtfulness of your note.
>
>
>
> With your concerns in mind, my team and I went back through the reporting
> we did and reviewed the piece we aired, which was produced with our
> partners at Education Week. It’s worth remembering that our goal for this
> piece was to show how a group of concerned parents had driven change in
> education policy at the state level, and in doing that we explored the
> aspect of reading instruction most relevant to the story.
>
>
>
> In your letter, you raised two main points of concern.
>
>
>
> The first, as I read your letter, was to challenge our reliance on the
> term dyslexia as an identifiable learning disability. I appreciate your
> point that diagnosing dyslexia is complex and perhaps unsettled. And while
> it’s true that the Diagnostic Statistical Manual moved to a single, broad
> category of disability, the term dyslexia is still used in states and
> districts per guidance from the U.S. Department of Education
> <https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/guidance-on-dyslexia-10-2015.pdf>.
> As such, dyslexia falls under the umbrella of a specific learning
> disability and is a condition that qualifies a student for help under
> federal education law.  Our reporting on this piece, and in others, has
> found that within the field of special education—including among many
> professional organizations, educators, advocacy groups, parents, and
> students themselves—the term dyslexia is both well-used and well-defined.
>
>
>
> Your second concern was that we oversimplified reading instruction. It’s
> true that our segment focused on phonics, which we understand is just one
> piece of the reading puzzle. We recognize, as you might argue, that
> students also need phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, and
> comprehension, along with many other things such as exposure to good books.
>
>
>
> Our report did not prescribe a particular phonics program or outline the
> amount of phonics – or other literacy instruction – recommended in a
> classroom. We sought to highlight that a strong grasp of sound-letter
> correspondences is key to effective reading, and we were motivated to that
> emphasis because the parents at the center of the policy change in Arkansas
> had found the absence of phonics had been an obstacle to their own
> children’s reading success.
>
>
>
> Professor Reinking, we have great respect for your and your colleagues’
> expertise on matters of reading instruction and we take seriously the
> concerns you and those who also signed the email have raised. We are
> committed to providing our audience with education coverage that is
> accurate and clear. We expect our coverage of these matters, including
> reading educational approaches, and students who struggle in reading, will
> continue to be subjects of our future coverage. As you suggested  in our
> email, we will certainly keep you and the others listed below in mind as we
> go forward in our coverage.
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Sara
>
>
>
> Sara Just
>
> *Executive Producer*
>
> *PBS NewsHour*
>
> *Sjust at newshour.org <Sjust at newshour.org>*
>
> *703-998-2496*
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
P. David Pearson
Evelyn Lois Corey *Emeritus* Professor of Instructional Science
and Professor of the Graduate School
Graduate School of Education
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