I'm always telling editors that if they want some quick copy, the easiest way is to send me a bunch of questions, I'll send back the answers, and the editors can edit any way they want. They control the whole thing. I think this is an irresistible offer. In fact, only a few people have taken me up on it. Recently Brad Nelson at Stubborn Things did.…

Pensare Oltre is a group of Italian education reformers. They decided that their public schools have gone in the wrong direction, and they are trying to fix this mistake.

 The fascinating part of the story is that these are not the typical disgruntled intellectuals (such as myself) but in fact are upscale doctors, lawyers, business people, ballerinas, psychiatrists, sports figures, and everybody else who has figured out that the people in charge of education should be…

Suppose, instead of the grandiose, totalitarian, billion-dollar approach that doesn't turn out well, Bill Gates wants to sponsor education reform that quickly and efficiently produces fine results....

 In short, he wouldn't do something like Common Core, a vast federal program that is top-heavy, top-down, and contemptuous of everything at the bottom. No, he'd stay miles away from that.

 But how about he looks for the quick, simple, even down-and-dirty…

Anybody still confused about why we're having so much trouble with reading should look at this short article.

It explains why reading and phonics should be considered interchangeable terms.

You cannot teach a phonetic language without phonics. Phonic, phonics, and phonetic are equivalent derivatives from the Greek word for sound. That's the beginning and…