Who Stole Literacy? The Silent Sabotage of Our Children’s Future
Dr. Gwendolyn Lavert, PhD
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If you think our children are being taught to read, think again. They’re being set up to fail—and no one is stopping it.
The literacy crisis in America is not just an educational issue; it is a national emergency. The data is clear: reading scores are stagnant, achievement gaps persist, and too many students are leaving school without the literacy skills necessary to thrive in society. While some states report progress, we must ask: If they are truly succeeding, why isn’t their success reshaping literacy nationwide? If a few states are thriving, then what are they doing differently, and why isn’t it being replicated across the country?
This is not a literacy crisis—this is a leadership crisis. Too many leaders do not understand literacy, yet they have the authority to dictate its direction. Without deep knowledge of how children learn to read, policies and decisions are made that fail to address the real needs of students. Leaders who lack literacy expertise cannot effectively move literacy forward, leaving schools stuck in ineffective cycles that do not serve children. Our children are not failing; the system is failing them. When schools lack qualified educators, when leaders prioritize bureaucracy over student achievement, when fear of accountability stifles progress, the result is a nation of children locked out of opportunity.
This is not a sad story; this is truth. We have talked around this issue long enough. Now, we must ask: With the state of literacy today, how can we change the trajectory?
1. A Cognitive Shift: Reading is Thinking
We must stop treating literacy as a checklist of skills and start addressing it as a cognitive process. Reading is not just decoding words; it is about thinking, processing, and making sense of text. Many struggling readers lack the cognitive foundations required for reading success—auditory processing, working memory, and executive functioning. If we fail to develop these skills, no amount of phonics instruction will fix the problem. Literacy instruction must be deeply connected to cognitive development.
Albert Einstein: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
2. High-Quality, Intentional Teaching Over Scripted Programs
The Science of Reading provides a strong research-based foundation, but it is not a magic bullet. Too often, teachers are given a program and expected to follow it word-for-word without considering student needs. We must train educators to teach reading, not just implement a curriculum. The Science of Reading must be met with the Art of Teaching—intentional, responsive, and deeply connected to students' real experiences.
Nelson Mandela: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
3. Equity and Access: Remove Systemic Barriers
Too many Black and Brown children, children in poverty, and multilingual learners are being labeled as struggling readers before they are given real, targeted instruction. The literacy gap is not an intelligence gap; it is an opportunity gap. We must stop prematurely placing students in special education and instead ensure they receive structured, explicit intervention that meets their needs. Literacy is justice. When we deny a child the right to read, we are denying them access to a future of opportunity.
Toni Morrison: “If you can’t read, you can’t figure out how to step out of the limitations placed upon you.”
4. Parental and Community Engagement is Non-Negotiable
Literacy must extend beyond the school walls. Parents must be equipped, empowered, and engaged. Many parents who struggle with literacy themselves do not know how to help their children. Schools must partner with families, churches, community centers, and even barbershops to create literacy-rich environments everywhere children go. Community-based literacy initiatives should not be an afterthought; they should be a cornerstone of literacy reform.
5. Accountability at All Levels, Especially Leadership
If a school has not moved students toward literacy proficiency in four years, it’s time to look at leadership. This is not a comfortable conversation, but it is a necessary one. Literacy is not optional. School leaders must be held accountable for results. Are teachers being supported with the right training? Are evidence-based practices actually being implemented? Are schools prioritizing reading proficiency over everything else? If not, leadership must change.
Marian Wright Edelman: “Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.”
6. The Urgent Need for Qualified Teachers and Ongoing Training
Many schools lack certified teachers, consistent professional development, and highly qualified mentors. Just having an alternative certification teacher is not enough—their 1-2 years of instruction does not equip them with the expertise needed to develop strong readers. Schools must invest in rigorous, ongoing training and bring in outside mentors who can tell the truth without fear of offending. Leaders and teachers must be confident enough to learn from those with more knowledge, without feeling threatened. They must be true to the game—true to the student.
7. Facing Resistance: The Battle for Literacy
Those who challenge the status quo in literacy education often meet strong resistance. Educators who advocate for evidence-based practices, equitable instruction, and real accountability frequently find themselves pushed back, ignored, or even silenced. School leaders must foster an environment where truth is embraced, not rejected. Resistance to change must be seen for what it is—fear of disruption, fear of accountability, and fear of exposing the flaws in the system. But literacy warriors must persist because the cost of silence is too high.
Audre Lorde: “Your silence will not protect you.”
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Join the Conversation:
Enough is enough. Tag a teacher, a parent, a school leader—ANYONE who cares about kids—and demand change. We don’t have time to wait. Who’s willing to fight for literacy?
Drop a comment below: Who do you think stole literacy from our children?
President at The Morris Center clinics, CEO NOW! Programs; Dyslexic & Brain Scientist published in Neuropsychology, Neuroimaging, Neurorehabilitation and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Diagnosis & Treatment
9 小时前Dr Lavert, please consider this caliber of RCT research is never required for a literacy program, but this requirement for all reading programs to be vetted by RCTs is the only way the educational system becomes markedly more effective, like what drives improvements year over year of our healthcare system, albeit with its current limitations it has at least imporved year over year, while NAEP shows literacy is stagnant at a below chance rate of 35% of children on average, for 53 years, have proficient literacy skills when no requirement for RCT evidence-based curriculums exists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AGGojSInxo
President at The Morris Center clinics, CEO NOW! Programs; Dyslexic & Brain Scientist published in Neuropsychology, Neuroimaging, Neurorehabilitation and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Diagnosis & Treatment
9 小时前Dr. Lavert wonderful work increasing awareness of our "hidden literacy pandemic." Are you certain that "scripted programs" are less effective than "high quality intentional teaching" or that neither is more effective than the other. Is is possible that both "scripted programs" and "high quality intentional teaching" are both sources of failed literacy instruction? For example, in healthcare, we have one model that drives improved diagnosis, better treatments and markedly better outcomes year after year. What is that model? All healthcare interventions must be rigorously tested and scientifically proven to be effective, preferably by randomized controlled trials research. Sadly, this standard has never been required of educational curriculum for literacy instruction. Currently, in the USA and abroad, neither "scripted programs" nor "high quality intensional teaching" have any empirical evidence of any degree of effectiveness - both are forms of guessing what works. Yet, RCTs of a program and it's NICHD funded, expert national panel peer-reviewed design & outcomes say we can empower 97.4% of children to full literacy like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLDVL49Wvuo&list=PLQzS-j_PrbQoyQlB4BH52VrCK-p_Yd0HB&index=1&pp=iAQB
Academic Manager, British Institute, Algiers
16 小时前Your point about teaching to think is vital. As Freire and Macedo so powerfully said, ‘Reading the world always precedes reading the word’. Too many programmes focus on bottom up skills without incorporating the top down skills which really help students understand what they are reading.
Award-winning English teacher with middle- and senior-leadership experience.
1 天前I think parents have to take some of the responsibility if children arrive at school unable to read or with limited exposure to literature, although I do appreciate there are sometimes extenuating circumstances and other systemic social impacts affecting this. That said, the promotion of both literacy and reading in school is something which should come from leadership and then be pushed school-wide, rather than simply being a problem for the English Department to deal with, which happens all too often. My solution is for all stakeholders in this to be seen reading. Students who do not read typically pick up this habit from parents, either using replacements, such as mobile phones, or finding alternative sources of entertainment, which can lead them into trouble. Make reading visible and model what we want to see.
Educational Consultant; Youth and Community Advocate
1 天前Your article is very timely and insightful. Your statement rings true. "While some states report progress, we must ask: If they are truly succeeding, why isn’t their success reshaping literacy nationwide?" It will take more than phonics and the science of reading; it will also take skilled teachers who understand how children learn. With our fixation on letting our children use phones and iPads to play games, parents may think their children are reading. However, I recently read that scrolling and skimming are not reading. I agree. Parents have to build that foundation. Reading is reading. We've got to teach our children to love reading, love books and the adventures they bring, love how to think about what they read, and identify what it means to their creative imagination that connects them to the people, stories, and information they read. We must win this battle.