This episode on the science of reading was so frustrating to listen to. Please, if you’re going to make a podcast episode, do it about a topic that you know and can explain. Thinking that science of reading is primarily about phonics instruction shows that you didn’t read that book and that you don’t understand what the science of reading is. The episode frames phonics instruction and development of background knowledge and vocabulary as an either/or, and that view is wildly inaccurate. Simply looking at Scarborough’s Reading Rope and the Simple View of Reading (which Wexler often refers to) shows that you need BOTH decoding/encoding instruction AND language comprehension to be a strong reader.

Thank you for your time and knowledge sharing! I loved the podcasts about the new MCAS ballot question and ESY. Keep up this great and important work :-)

Abby, Robin and Angela bring a wealth of knowledge to this topic. Each episode is the perfect mix of informative and entertaining. #bigfan!

I want to listen to the opening of each episode but the music makes me feel so anxious I just can’t do it!

This is an excellent podcast: informative, interesting, thought-provoking, entertaining. Robin, Abby, and Angela share what is clearly a wealth of knowledge, insight, wisdom, and firsthand experience dealing with all aspects of special education. You can tell that they love their jobs, believe down to the bone in the underlying tenets of inclusion (“.. a right, not a privilege”), and are 100% committed to the students and families with whom they work and the teachers and administrators with whom they partner. I have learned a lot from listening to the first eight episodes and have come away inspired. Robin, Abby and Angela understand and appreciate the degree to which special education laws have changed the lives of thousands of students and families and have positively impacted the culture of schools everywhere. I love that they are forthright and honest in sharing their own evolving ideas about best practices while not shying away from some of the thornier challenges. Greg Hurray, former principal