Book Nook - I Didn't Believe Him

Irene Daria, Ph.D,  has taught the children of Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett, Bridget Moynahan, and Tom Brady. In a soon-to-be-published book, I Didn't Believe Him, she recaps her son's misguidance in learning to read. It's a contemporary take on an old argument about phonics vs. balanced literacy and in this case, in NYC's toniest schools. It's "an intimate window to how schools are causing millions of kids to be struggling readers and how parents are helping their children succeed."

I had a chance to learn more in this interview.

Why did you write this book?

I wrote this book to help make parents aware of the fact that many children are struggling with reading not because there is anything wrong with the kids, but because teachers are using ineffective methods to teach them. This fact has recently made national headlines, but so many parents are still unaware of it. I am now a developmental psychologist but used to be a journalist and this was an unbelievable story that I felt needed to be told. Millions of kids have been labeled learning disabled even though there is nothing wrong with them. The only thing wrong is that their schools never taught them how to read.

 

Why is it so important for people to understand the debate between phonics and balanced literacy?

The debate is between whether you need to teach phonics in an explicit, systematic way with each step building on the one that came before, or through Balanced Literacy which believes kids learn best when they discover things on their own. Some kids WILL learn to read without explicit, systematic phonics instruction, but they tend to grow up to be poor spellers. Systematic phonics benefits everyone.

 

Why is it so important to build a strong literacy foundation early?

Phonics is not the only element needed to become a strong reader. Children also need a strong vocabulary and also comprehension and fluency skills. The earlier a child learns to read, and the more a child loves reading, the more those other elements develop.

 

If families have kids who are struggling to read, how can they help them learn?

They should absolutely teach them systematic phonics. I have made a video explaining exactly how to do that. It is at: https://www.stepstoreading.com (They should scroll down and watch the first video on the right.) They can use my Steps to Reading workbooks which are available on Amazon. Those books literally enable anyone to teach a child to read. My Steps to Reading website also has information on those.