A flawed theory has shaped reading instruction for decades.

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** THE WEEKLY REVEAL
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Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023

Hello! In this issue:
* Some teacher training programs still emphasize a debunked theory that children can learn to read without learning how to sound out words.
* Police routinely unleash a slew of interrogation techniques meant for criminal suspects on unsuspecting young and vulnerable people reporting sexual assaults.
* After our years of reporting on Arizona's water grab, the state has taken some action.
* Secret undercover recordings reveal an FBI operation to infiltrate Denver’s racial justice protests in 2020.


** THIS WEEK’S PODCAST
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** How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong
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Credit: Molly Mendoza for Reveal

We partnered with American Public Media reporter Emily Hanford to dig into a flawed theory that has shaped reading instruction for decades. The theory is that children can learn to read without learning how to sound out words, because there are other strategies they can use to figure out what the words say. Strategies like “look at the picture” or “think of a word that makes sense.”

Research by cognitive scientists has demonstrated that readers need to know how to sound out words. But some teacher training programs still emphasize this debunked theory, including books and classroom materials that are popular around the world.

Hanford looks at the work of several authors who are published by the same educational publishing company. One, Lucy Calkins, was a rock star among teachers. Her books and training programs were wildly popular. Now, Calkins has decided to rewrite her curriculum in response to “the science of reading.” But other authors are sticking to the idea that children can use other strategies to figure out the words.

Since this investigation was first released, at least 22 states have introduced bills to overhaul reading instruction, and several have banned curricula that include cueing strategies. Teachers College at Columbia University announced that the teacher training project founded by Calkins would be “dissolved.” The word “dissolved” was later removed from the statement, and the college instead characterized the move as a “transition” to ensure its “programs are informed by the latest research and evidence.”
Listen to the episode ([link removed] )
🎧 Other places to listen: Apple Podcasts ([link removed]) , Spotify ([link removed]) , Google Podcasts ([link removed]) or wherever you get your podcasts.


** OUR LATEST
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** How Police Officers Turn Victims of Sexual Assault Into Suspects
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Dyanie Bermeo (second from right) and her parents, Gabe Bermeo and Karla Cardenas, speak with reporter Rachel de Leon (right) in Abingdon, Va., in August 2021. Credit: Still from “Victim/Suspect,” courtesy of Netflix

When dealing with someone reporting a sexual assault, police routinely unleash a slew of interrogation techniques meant for criminal suspects. One common tactic is known among law enforcement as a ruse or a bluff. Most would call it a lie. And those lies can be used to gaslight and confuse reporting victims until they make inconsistent statements that undercut their credibility – and sometimes even make them recant.

Dyanie Bermeo was 21 in 2020 when she told deputies in Washington County, Virginia, that a police officer or someone impersonating one had pulled her over and groped her. Officers doubted her account and told her they found surveillance footage proving that no one pulled her over. She never saw the footage – which was dark, grainy and labeled with the wrong date and time – before they interrogated her. So when they asked if the stop really happened, she said it didn’t; Bermeo later said it was because she was tired of trying to prove herself and wanted the interrogation to end.
Read the investigation ([link removed])


** Impact Update
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Arizona’s governor took steps to end leases for about 3,500 acres of farmland ([link removed]) used by a Saudi dairy company that has been effectively shipping the state’s limited water overseas. Reveal was the first news organization to report on the Saudi farm ([link removed]) back in 2015, sparking a nearly 10-year debate. Public pressure has been building on the state government to take action ever since Reveal’s initial coverage, and this week’s historic decision is the most concrete action to date.

Read: State Pension Fund is Helping a Middle Eastern Firm Export Arizona’s Precious Groundwater ([link removed])

Read: What California can learn from Saudi Arabia’s water mystery (reported in 2015) ([link removed])

Listen: Listen: High and dry: A deep dive into the water crisis (originally aired in 2015) ([link removed])

Listen: Listen: The Great Arizona Water Grab ([link removed])


** A Quote to Remember
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“He just seemed like some authority figure, this powerful figure that was there. … He had committed a ton of violence, but he was for this BLM movement.”

Racial justice activist Zebb Hall is talking about Mickey Windecker, who joined Denver’s Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020 and quickly established himself with protest leaders. But Windecker’s real goal was to infiltrate the movement ([link removed]) as a paid informant for the FBI.

Listen: Alphabet Boys Revealed ([link removed])


** In Case You Missed It
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🎧 The Spy Inside Your Smartphone ([link removed])

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🎧 They Followed Doctors’ Orders. The State Took Their Babies. ([link removed])

This issue of The Weekly Reveal was written by Nikki Frick and edited by Kate Howard. If you enjoyed this issue, forward it to a friend ([link removed]) . Have some thoughts? Drop us a line (mailto:[email protected]) with feedback or ideas!

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