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

Sat May 18 18:39:26 BST 2019

Thank you Donna,

I think your analysis of the points David made are spot on.  

It is worth a try.  There was also many years ago a special section of the Atlantic Monthly that Address some of these issues or rather related issues.

I wonder if we might want to look at a report from the National Center for Learning Disabilities.  I see that it has a description of dyslexia.  Might we also want to see what National Policy Institute has done in this area, re-examining the statistical process and logic of reports claiming x or y?  Is anyone connected to either of these groups?

I think if we can find some folks in Special Education or learning disabilities, who are concerned about this?  

I like Donna’s ideas for pro-active action.  

Just wondering where we might be further support from beyond our traditional groups.

Judith

> On May 18, 2019, at 9:25 AM, Donna Alvermann <dalverma at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> In response to P. David's comments (correspondingly numbered):
> 1. A discourse analysis might show what was accomplished; on the other hand, Sara's rhetorical framing of the situation is likely not to change, however. 
> 
> 2. Sara's pushback suggests that she "knows" the US Dept of Ed's stance is likely to deter us from making a counter-argument through Education Week? Maybe, maybe not. Should we submit our letter (lightly edited) to Education Week?  By lightly edited, I mean an intro that states our letter was sent to PBS/News Hour (and leave it at that -- no mention of Sara's response). In the past, EW has occasionally offered a view from both sides. 
> 
> 3. I agree, but outside of a response that includes research on how students respond to phonics instruction, I think our options are limited. 
> 
> 4. The chances seem few that PBS/News Hour would do a segment on RHoF's perspective, unless of course, other news media jumped on "our side of the story." Here, I'm referring to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Maureen Downey. As the AJC's education journalist, she consistently brings attention to controversial issues. Downey's Get Schooled Blog is popular among educators in Georgia. Peter Smagorinsky is a regular contributor to that blog. I'm not saying that an AJC blogger shares the same status as Sara at PBS/NewsHour, but getting our letter's message out to the public through Get Schooled would be a ground-up approach. I'm guessing everyone who signed the letter knows of a similar "local" or maybe even syndicated journalist who could parlay our message. 
> Worth a try? 
> 
> Donna A.
> 
> On Sat, May 18, 2019 at 11:48 AM P Pearson <ppearson at berkeley.edu <mailto:ppearson at berkeley.edu>> wrote:
> 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 <mailto: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 <mailto:Sjust at newshour.org>
> 703-998-2496
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