1: The Problem Podcast By  cover art

1: The Problem

1: The Problem

Listen for free

View show details

About this listen

Lee Gaul watches his daughter’s lessons during Zoom school and discovers a dismaying truth: She can't read. Little Zoe isn't the only one. Sixty-five percent of fourth graders in the United States are not proficient readers. Kids need to learn specific skills to become good readers, and in many schools, those skills are not being taught.


Read: Emily Hanford’s reading list
Read: Transcript of this episode
Watch: The story behind Sold a Story
Support: Donate to APM Reports
More: soldastory.org
En español: soldastory.es


Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.

adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_webcro805_stickypopup
All stars
Most relevant  
Every parent and teacher needs to listen to this podcast. Its important and the problem Emily addresses continues to negatively effect students everyday. Our children need to know how to read!

An important issue to be brought to light

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I'm a retired teacher who still taught phonics using decodable books within this program. Because I was a successful teacher my principal allowed me to continue to teach using a directed reading approach. As the years went by, my principal retired and we were forced to teach the Caulkins writing program with fidelity. An hour of self directed writing with no accountability. No scoring using a rubric. Only "positive coaching", no pointing out any negatives. I found my students weren't successful. It was one of the many reasons I left teaching.

So true

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I loved this podcast. It was so profound! Our children have been miseducated for years. Many are adults who are struggling and after listening to this I know why. Great information for all parents and educators.

Everyone must listen to this!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.