Reviews For Sold a Story

This was an incredibly enlightening and informative podcast! It is such a shame that despite the science, the real experiences, the educators who questioned, the parents who struggled to understand, and mostly the kids who suffered and believed that they were flawed and incapable of reading - the system continued to support a curriculum over so many years. This explains so much! And now this information is out in the open. So grateful for the excellent reporting!

This podcast changed the way I teach students to read. This resource has been invaluable. #fduedtech

This should be required listening for everyone in education - thank you for putting words and research to the concerns I have always had but could fully explain.

As a teacher, I’m embarrassed to say that I had no idea. I’m sadden to know that I’ve been teaching reading wrong & have hurt kids in the process. I’d love to know what curriculum the districts ARE using now using the Science of Reading…. Please help

I’ll own to crying happy tears hearing the featured kids reading the credits. Honestly & actually deciphering & reading those names. What an inspired moment of sheer joy. Bravo and thanks.

Sold a Story is a well-reported, fascinating listen on how we teach reading in the US. As a teacher who has taught 1st and 2nd graders for the past decade, I highly recommend all educators, parents, and interested folks check it out!

I listened to your podcast recently. Our district has been teaching elementary teachers and any other interested people about the science of reading. I was part of a 2 year adoption process for a new reading and writing curriculum. We used the tenets of the science of reading to evaluate various programs and we are so excited to launch it this fall. I’m going to recommend people listen to this before the trainings as most teachers have been using the cuing method and we know there will be some resistance. This may help more teachers get on board. Thank you! My hope as an SLP is to use the science of reading strategies in my therapy room. If you have any reading suggestions for that, please share. Thanks!

This podcasts explains how some of our main national literacy programs are FAILING our children. Literacy is a basic skill (and should be a right) that is essential for success. It truly makes me sad to think about the high school students who can’t read - why are we surprised when they struggle? We need to spread the word and do something!

Every parent, teacher, school adm, school board member needs to listen. College faculty…LISTEN! Forget about your political ideology and ideas you are wedded to. Emily Hanford has shown how real investigative journalism is done. She follows the truth…the facts and there is no agenda. She revisits her reporting, listens to feedback and adds to her reporting…clarifying, correcting and sometimes doubling down. If you really care about all children and their ability to read…if you care about our national trajectory and national security…you will listen with an open mind.

This is exactly why I had to repeat 1st grade. I didn’t know how to read. I had no idea why they were teaching me the way they were, but my parents knew something was wrong when I was spelling cat like kat and the teachers were okay with it. I repeated 1st grade at a catholic school and starting reading within a few weeks. This podcast explained so much, I thought I was the only one. But now I have two bachelor degrees, I love reading, but hate writing 😄 I still have issues with pronouncing words, recalling words and spelling.

This is a MUST LISTEN for every parent, educator, voter, student, and legislator. This is foundational investigative reporting that is equal parts exposé, informational, and a roadmap for where to go in the future.

Thank you Emily and all those who put this together. I just stumbled upon the added episodes & of course finished them same day. When this came out, I am not sure how I found it, but it was our story. Just like the kids she introduced, Covid really helped us see the deficit in our 1st grade daughter. I did not want to send her back to school, so she was homeschooled. I figured that I had taught her brother to read by age 3, so additional one on one time phonics would work. Boy was I wrong. Long story short, our dyslexic kiddo need to get down the auditory pathways first and then she began to do better with explicit instruction from an amazing private school. Listening to this podcast, like the Indiana senator, I vacillated between sad and angry. But at the end of the day, there are glimmers of hope and that is enough! Our school district has a wonderful woman that has been leading the change in reading instruction. We are still in private school, but this is so near and dear to me, as I was a struggling reader and do not want any kid to be without the ability to read and read well. Thank you again Emily and all those who put this together!

Really interesting listen. Loved hearing all the research. Amazing to hear how so many literally ignore- especially coming from so called experts. Really sad (I did cry a little) to hear how so much of what we are taught comes from money. Makes it super difficult to know what’s true! Hoping you’ve got a new series coming!

My son is up 3 grade levels in 1 year due to your podcast!!!!!

Absolutely amazing - thank you for illuminating the truth in reading education.

The way to teach reading by using phonics is old news. My kids went to elementary school in Texas over 20 years ago, and they were taught phonics. I was instructed on phonemic awareness as part of my degree on communication disorders which I earned about twenty years ago. Any school not using phonics as an important part of their curriculum now is not following the recommendations of most educators. This podcast seems to think they found out something new.

A colleague mentioned it, I added it to my playlist, and when it started after my other daily routine podcasts, I was absolutely enthralled! After finishing my 18th year ONLY in 3rd grade, this spoke to me. It makes me want to be a better advocate - a better teacher - for my students!

Keep on fighting until everyone can read! Excellent!

Very interesting and informative. I wonder how the teachers that taught it could not see the error. To me it sounded like they were teaching them to guess. What happens when the pictures disappear. Surely the teachers learned to sound out words.

Incredible reporting on such an important topic. I couldn’t stop listening!

I was listening to this podcast as I was driving through a small town. This town had pictures of all the senior athletes hanging on the flagpoles. As I sat at a red light I saw the girl in the photo next to me had a long Greek name. As I sat there and sounded out the name (several attempts needed) I thought to myself how impossible it would be if I was not taught how to sound out words as a youth.

Very interesting. My one issue with this podcast is that they spend an inordinate amount of time discussing how these women made money off their reading/writing programs. The insulation here is that the fact they made money was somehow wrong or perhaps their motives disingenuous. The ironic part is that EVERY SINGLE EPISODE this podcast asks for money from its listeners. They say that their authentic journalism is expensive etc. I believe this is true but it’s funny to me that they harangue the women who made money of their teaching methods yet ask for money themselves for how they choose to spread information.

As a high school English teacher I have seen the negative impacts of the balanced literacy system in the later years of education. Thank you for your reporting and continued work on this topic.

Eye opening, devastating, and a must listen to podcast. It was difficult to listen to at times because it was hard to believe how easily our education system was duped into buying into (literally) mere theories of how to teach reading that were absolutely wrong. Many children will never recover from this injustice and malpractice. I applaud Emily Hanford and her team for bringing this forward. Please listen and share with a teacher you know.

My daughter is 13 and I knew when she was going into kindergarten first and second grade there was an issue with reading and the curriculum. it’s not reading, it’s math too. The idea that kids have to extract meaning from what they read doesn’t just stop with reading an ELA. It continues into math problems that we present to our kids with all these tests. I read an article in edweek.com that talked about how math is not it’s also about making meaning of the numbers. I ask constantly on my social media that’s full of educators about math problems my 13 year-old gets in the seventh grade. The other day I asked “is this a math problem or is this the reading comprehension problem with numbers in it?” I was being sarcastic, but I still had educators come on and explained to me what the problem was that I was looking at, and how I should solve it. They missed my point entirely, that this is not a math problem. this is a reading problem with math in it, that “told a story” and “had meaning.” it wasn’t arithmetic at all. Very few ways that they do math are actually arithmetic. It’s all part of the same problem, this is why our kids can’t do math. That’s a whole other can of worms that you should totally dive into.

Just wondering why episode 2 is explicit I got confused when I had to skip it I’m 9 and i love this it is great i am binge listening to the non explicit eps also pleaseee do a second season maybe on math

This podcast completely blew my mind. If you know any children getting ready to learn to read, or struggling to read, share this with their families.

Kids were not getting the point of reading. Schools were spending millions on programs that were based on nothing but claims from the publishers. I’m glad the tide is turning. I taught middle and high school special education, and spent my own money on phonics to compensate for lack of instruction.

Math is also such a dividing subject right now. So many kids claim that they do not like math and are several grade level behind. While some feel not challenged enough and state that school math is like slow motion.

A friend of mine who is working for an education company recommended this podcast. As a mom of a kindergartner, this could not have come at a more crucial time. I had so many different reactions and emotions as I listened through Emily’s reporting and findings. I was in awe that I was not before aware of the clear differences between the ways in which reading is taught to children, and the immense impact that has and is continuing to have on our youth. I was angry at those who pushed and still pushed lessons that lack the most important part of reading. I am sick to my stomach for those who may never know the disparity. I like to think those who are still teaching and promoting Reading Recovery and similar programs do so because they truly believe it helps. As I sat and read a story with my daughter tonight, I had quell my own impulse to give context clues that would help her recognize a few words she hesitated on, and instead, encourage her to sound out the word on her own. That impulse comes from a good place, perhaps that’s where the cueing methods came from. However, this is no different than when my child needs to endure a small challenge in order succeed independently, and as such, become a stronger and more capable human. I am stunned to see that so many school districts in my home state of Massachusetts are still incorporating cueing methods as part of their reading curriculum. I do hope this changes large scale so that science-based reading techniques are the default in schools, and the cueing methods are an alternative strategy available outside of schools for those who may benefit, as opposed to the current, reversed situation. I am so, so grateful to Emily and those that helped her create this podcast that shed light on this issue, and that I now have this powerful knowledge and can continue to help foster my child’s reading in the most effective way. Thank you.

I really appreciate all the legwork you all did to put this podcast together. As a former art teacher who worked to include literacy wherever I could in my lessons, I noticed that my students couldn’t read. I’m talking third graders who couldn’t read what I knew to be basic words. Words that third graders could read when I first started teaching 25 years ago. I think ALL teachers should be given instruction on the science of reading. And I’d love to see a modified version taught to specials teachers. Because we don’t teach of assess reading and writing, but we rely on students to be able to read and write. And we need strategies to help assist some of this when reading in the content area. THANK YOU!

I loved the show at first and couldn’t stop listening as a special education teacher at elementary school level. However, the latest episodes vilified, Lucy Culkin, and Fountas and Pinnel so much that I felt this reporting is now blown out of proportion. The science of reading is only a part of literacy development and not the totality. Lucy Calkin’s writing curriculum is wonderful and F&P’s reading comprehension intervention really works.

I am a new home educator to my first grade daughter. I have gratitude beyond words for the timing of this podcast in my life. It was my goal to teach her to read this school year. She is reading now. It was encouraging to have some guide posts to point me in the right direction. It’s not rocket science. But it is science. We can do this.

Many historical podcasts can feel like they require immense focus to get the details and follow the plot. Sold a Story however feels like it tracks in a way that is easy to follow along (while driving or walking the dog) and very revealing for educators and non-educators alike.

Can a podcast win a Pulitzer? This is, hands-down, one of the most important pieces of journalism ever produced. And Emily Hanford does a beautiful job unraveling the myths of reading education promoted by Marie Clay, Lucy Calkins, and Fountas & Pinnell. She lets the evidence speak. She brings in the words of the alleged experts, of actual experts in the science of reading, of teachers, of parents, of children. I’m a college professor, and this explained so much to me about the struggles some of MY students have. I’m also gobsmacked that educators have abandoned phonics for guessing. I was one of those kids who could read before going to Kindergarten; I don’t actually remember learning to read. But I do remember decoding the first book I read by myself — Green Eggs and Ham, at age 3 — using phonics. The rhymes of the book gave me cues for pronunciation, and I had seen The Electric Company, in which silhouetted heads sounded out each half of a word. So, I know phonics was key to my learning to read. I assumed that’s how reading was being taught because, well, if you can’t sound out a word, you can’t read. Thanks to Emily Hanford and her team for this extraordinary work. I’d give this 10 stars, if I could! Actually, let me do that here in the comment! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Such a great podcast that I couldn’t stop listening! I’m a special education teacher and have been against some of these programs that were mentioned. Students become stagnant in these programs yet they are continually being used. I’m so happy that my state has been one of those that are forcing all public schools to adopt approved science of reading curriculum!

I’m an 8th grader in Texas and I’ve seen so many of my peers and friends struggle with reading. This whole time I thought they didn’t have the motivation or intelligence, but this podcast has been so eye-opening. I feel terrible for ever thinking it was their fault. I myself probably wouldn’t be a very good reader, but my mother taught my siblings and I how to read when we were still in preschool using phonics and decodable books. Out of all the reading instruction I received school? I can’t name one time I remember receiving a phonics lesson. So many kids around me have suffered. I could so easily have been one of them. Thank you for bringing this to light. Your research is thorough and well-composed, as well as interesting and compellingly presented. Thank you, Emily! ***After reading other reviews I would like to add what a lot of them are saying: please add a second season! You could do one about reading comprehension specifically, since that’s something you barely touched on in this season, or you could move away from the literary aspect of this field entirely. For example, I would enjoy listening to a podcast about the flaws of standardized testing (such as the STAAR in my state).

This podcast has settled so many uncertainties and questions I’ve had for years about my childrens’ reading. I am so grateful for this podcast and truly feel I am in a much better position to advocate for a better way to teach reading! The methods discussed bring back so many vivid memories of frustration with reading.

Hello, This is actually a message to Emily Hanford, whom I have been trying to contact about Spalding, a reading and writing program based on phonics. (Loved the podcast, by the way! Sharing it with everyone.) I am a former English teacher and was trained in Spalding while working for a classical charter school in Arizona. The program is incredible and has been around a while, though I wonder if many people know about it. I would love to hear your thoughts on it considering all the research you have done! The program teaches kids every sound in the English language through phonograms, 1-4 letters depending on how advanced, and even their multiple sounds. Its the best decoding training I have come across. Thanks for listening! And thank you for your work, Leah Ruth

This podcast was quite enlightening. As an educator I always believed in teaching phonics and have always fought for it to be included in our curriculum. I feel that the education system is run on making money as opposed to how to truly support our young scholars in their learning. I am so tired of the proverbial pendulum swing of learning methods of so called “experts” when we already have proven methods that work. This podcast has truly inspired me to continue to speak out. Thank you.

One of the most important podcasts I have heard. Thank you. I am a teacher and so much was clarified during the course of my listen.

This was a fantastic listen about a great feat of investigative and explanatory journalism. Stick around for the credits on the final episode. You won’t regret it.

I just finished this podcast and have been recommending it to everyone. Thank you for providing this valuable info!

We have done massive injury to the kids of this country and it is tragic. This podcast does a remarkable job of highlighting how absolutely corrupt, stupid and unaccountable the people who run the US public education system are. Phenomenal reporting and storytelling.

Thank you. Please continue the work!

This deftly articulates and amplifies the problems so many of our schools have with teaching reading to kids. Amazing long form journalism. Thank you!

You can’t tell me it’s not a purposeful dumming down. Oh how my kids struggled. Luckily they are successful adults but my God I’m still angry.

This was so incredibly validating. The cueing system felt like a cult; F&P and Marie Clay being the leaders. Do not dare speak ill of the literacy goddesses! I left teaching 6 years ago when I had my son because I didn’t feel effective in my high needs, low income district. I was FORCED to use F&P. When my students wouldn’t succeed with these methods, I was told it was my fault even though I was working to burn out. I can remember my first lead principal standing up during a PD saying something to the effect of, “if a student has gone through LLI orange, Reading recovery, LLI green, LLI red, LLI blue, LLI purple, LLI gold, and now they’re creating LLI plus… maybe it doesn’t work?” This always stuck with me. Kids need direct, explicit phonics instruction to learn how to read! Now we need to figure out how we hold these scam artists accountable. Not only for our children’s sake, but the monetary resources they stripped from districts that are already struggling! Please don’t stop your advocacy work until these criminals are brought to justice!

My friends’ kids will be my cardiologist if they drive carefully. To get through cardiology school they will need the ability to figure out exactly what words MEAN that they have never seen before—and to disambiguate between words that appear very similar. Reading cannot just be ‘wung’ (which is different to ‘rung’, ‘stung’, and ‘lung’). Houston, we have a problem that could affect reading ability for generations. Listen to this podcast. You won’t be able to stop.