As anyone who read my book Left Back (2000) knows, I have long been persuaded of the value of phonetic instruction for early readers. I was a friend of the late Jeanne Chall, who began her career as a kindergarten teacher and eventually became a Harvard professor and the nation’s most eminent reading researcher. Her 1967 book, Learning to Read: The Great Debate, should have ended the reading wars, but they continued for the next half century. She understood that both sides were right, and that teachers should have a tool-kit of strategies, including phonetic instruction, that they could deploy when appropriate.

In recent years, proponents of phonics have termed themselves champions of “the science of reading.” Even though I support phonics instruction, I find it misleading to use this term. Learning to read is one of the most important experiences that children have in their lifetimes.

Source: Why I Object to the Term “Science of Reading” | Diane Ravitch’s blog

The pardoning of a Thanksgiving turkey has been a presidential tradition for many years. The often-amusing White House ceremony involves the president and family sparing a turkey from slaughter, after which the broad-breasted birds are sent to a farm to live out the rest of their natural life

Source: Thanksgiving turkeys pardoned by US presidents – in pictures | US news | The Guardian

The coronavirus pandemic may have altered how many people in the United States view the poor, according to new research published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. The study indicates that people became more likely to blame external factors for poverty and less likely to blame personal failings after the outbreak of the virus.

Based on their previous research, the authors of the new study had reason to believe that the pandemic might alter attitudes about the poor and inequality.

Source: Study suggests the COVID-19 pandemic has altered Americans attitudes toward inequality and the poor

The students who need in-person instruction the most are among the least likely to get it, new Michigan data shows.

Education leaders in the state have insisted since the beginning of the pandemic that virtual instruction simply can’t meet the needs of thousands of students — notably young readers, English learners, students with special needs, and students from low-income families who may not have the resources required to learn from home.

But this fall, as the pandemic raged, many of those students didn’t have the option to learn in person. Students from low-income families were seven times less likely to have an in-person schooling option than their wealthier peers, and Black students faced a similar disparity. Only half of districts reported opening their classrooms to children with special needs.

“These numbers devastate me,” said Katharine Strunk, a professor at Michigan State University who helped collect and analyze the data. “Even if parents don’t choose the option to be in person, it’s hard for me to explain why we think it’s okay to give wealthier and whiter families the choice to be in person and not give less wealthy and Black students” that choice.

Source: Report: Michigan’s most vulnerable students have limited learning options during the pandemic | Bridge Michigan

Those who are gathering with family or friends are taking precautions or rethinking their holiday rituals altogether. Most are staying home.

Source: What 635 Epidemiologists Are Doing for Thanksgiving – The New York Times