Structured Literacy: Forward to the Past

Podcast: The Reading Instruction Show · Dr. Andy Johnson

Opublikowano: 2026-11-02

Using Blanche DuBois’s tragic reliance on the "kindness of strangers" as a central metaphor, this article critiques the recurring cycle of corporate-driven reading mandates and the reduction of literacy instruction to rigid compliance. Drawing upon autobiographical reflections from early career teaching in 1983 and connecting them to current "Science of Reading" and structured literacy policies, the author demonstrates that contemporary commercial basal programs repackage historical scope-and-sequence routines under modern educational jargon. Rather than advancing teacher expertise, these prepackaged curricula deskill educators into mere direction-followers while serving corporate profit margins. The article synthesizes empirical and theoretical research to challenge the su...