Sold a Story

A lot has changed since Sold a Story came out in the fall of 2022. At least 15 states have passed new laws to try to change the way schools teach reading. And there have been consequences for the people and organizations who promoted the flawed idea we focused on in the podcast. Teachers College, Columbia University, announced that Lucy Calkins would no longer lead the teacher training institute she founded there more than 40 years ago. Sales are down at the publisher, Heinemann. And the organization that promotes the Reading Recovery program in the United States is facing serious financial challenges.  

Things have changed for kids, parents, teachers and researchers featured in the podcast, too. Emily Hanford spoke with several of them.  

Their comments have been edited for clarity and length. 

Zoe and Lee Gaul

Zoe was in first grade when she and her dad, Lee Gaul, were first interviewed for Sold a Story. Zoe wasn’t learning how to read from the instruction she was getting at school, so Lee created his own phonics curriculum and taught her at home.  

Zoe Gaul: I’m in fourth grade now. It’s going pretty amazing. Two of my best friends are in my class. And I have a really cool teacher. 

Lee Gaul: She’s a really good reader. I think it speaks to the fact that certain things we did together when I was teaching her phonics really stuck and helped her connect the dots on how to read. But all of that work happened at home. There has not been much progress at school in terms of instruction. 

There’s so much urgency around literacy that I just expected more action. The principal let me know she knows about the podcast. But we didn’t really talk about it. She just said she knows about it and essentially, she disagrees.   

I’ve had people I went to high school with who I haven’t spoken to in 25-plus years reach out to me and say, “Hey, did I hear you on a podcast?” These are teachers and they told me that their schools are teaching reading differently now. It’s been sort of surreal. And I’ve heard from a lot of parents asking me for advice and thanking me for sharing my story with the world through Sold a Story.

Christine Cronin

In Sold a Story, Christine Cronin talked about her regrets as a teacher who embraced curriculum based on the flawed theory we focused on in the podcast. Now she is Executive Director of Professional Learning for the Boston Public Schools, where she’s working with a team to change the way reading is taught. 

Christine Cronin: I've had a lot of people talk to me about what an emotional experience it was for them to listen to the podcast. I think they opened up to me because I shared my own story, and I shared that I was feeling a sense of shame. They shared that they felt similar feelings, that they were embarrassed. It's been an invigorating year to have those conversations and to be open with colleagues. 

I do work now that's focused on the science of reading. I would say with the teachers we work with, there's a greater level of openness. People are coming into learning experiences curious in a deeper way. And I think part of what did it for people was that you included in the podcast the history, the evolution of these approaches to teaching reading. That was new information that made it more than, “This is just the next new thing.” Now, it’s more like, “Wow, there was a flaw here all along that we weren't privy to at the time. I should learn more about this.” 

I'm definitely very hopeful. I think we always have to check each other. I appreciate when I see a thread on social media of somebody saying something and then somebody else countering it. That’s a good conversation to be having. I am hoping that the conversation stays at the forefront long enough for real change to get to students. It's nice to have big talk and whatnot. But if it doesn't change the experience our kids have in our classrooms, then it's not changing outcomes for them.

Reid Lyon

Reid Lyon is a neuroscientist who helped design Reading First, the program President George W. Bush championed 20 years ago to try to get the science of reading into schools. Lyon is retired but still works on applying scientific research to policy and practice.  

Reid Lyon: Since your reporting, what's changed is this tremendous hunger for information. There's a thoughtfulness about reading in the country today. There is an actual mature conversation. It's the first time I've ever experienced people asking me, “Where can I find more information so I can really do this well?” 

The thing is — even with the best information — whenever you're trying to put anything in place in a complex system, you’ve got to have time to do it. You’ve got to have teachers who feel like they're being taken care of. You’ve got to have courageous leadership which says, “Let's give you enough time so that you can collaborate with your colleagues.” The nuts and bolts of helping people work together and feel supported, as hokey as that sounds, is so critical. You can have the best programs in the world, but if you do not have that building-level leadership and district-level leadership, it's not going to go anywhere.  

My big worry is that the “science of reading” is the new monument, the new zeitgeist. People want to develop a program that makes it easy for teachers. People see business opportunities. They want to capture their version of the “science of reading” in a program. But programs don’t teach kids. Ultimately this is about teacher knowledge. Does the teacher know what it takes for a kid to learn how to read? 

Scores will rise if schools put in place what we know has to be learned by kids and taught by expert teachers. If we put in the science of reading as a platitude — definitely not.