This is a continuation of my discussion with Ethan Lynn, PhD. LINK and LINK I then asked Ethan the following question: Luqman Michel Author Ethan Lynn, PhD, without intervention, will kids who can't read in grade 4 read at grade level by the time they reach grade 9? Ethan Lynn, PhD Luqman Michel, it's unlikely that students who struggle with reading in grad ..read more

  Yesterday, 2.10.24,  LinkedIn prompted me to request a connection with Dr. Steve Truch. Sometimes, I request for connections but I seldom read the profile of the members I request connections. This was an exception and I viewed his profile and was excited to read the videos listed on his profile. I have said several times that when you want something, the whole universe conspires for you to achieve it. There are many things that I have done in my life where Mother Nature provided the information I required. Let me share just 3 of many.   i.       ..read more

  Luqman Michel Author I have listed the other reasons in my book Shut Down Kids which no one has disputed. But the root cause is teaching sounds represented by letters wrongly. NOTE: You may read the book reviews on Amazon. LINK Ethan Lynn, PhD That is interesting. That's the first time I've heard this perspective. Is this specific to Malaysia, where English is not always the native language? Or is this generalized to native speakers learning in the USA? I'm very interested in broadening my horizons a bit. Thanks for the dialogue! NOTE: Why is this even a question raised? What is diff ..read more

  The following are extracts from an article I read this morning and my comments. The article, written by Joe Fernandez is well-written and well-researched. Unfortunately, what is written is based on ‘research’ that researchers copy from one another. My work is based on talking to experts on reading – my students who could not read when they came to me for one-on-one tuition. Here are extracts and my comments: Author: If many people remain cursed by broken English, it’s because they are bogged down and/or plagued by the sounds of the English. My comment: I have read many articles by t ..read more

  The following is an dialogue between Ethan Lynn and me on LinkedIn. I am copying the main points here for posterity. Ethan Lynn, PhD Illiteracy Eradicator | Published Researcher Thanks for sharing your thoughts. This is my first 'negative' feedback, and I appreciate you taking the time to engage. That said, I'm unclear on your main points and what specifically you disagree with. We might be talking past each other, and I don’t think we differ as much as your comments suggest. I’m always open to meaningful, constructive dialogue, but I’m not sure what your aim is here. My goal is to co ..read more

  Dr. Richard Selznick in our email discussions in 2010 said: “I agree with you that many of these kids are instructional casualties and if they had been taught differently, many would not have shut down.” Please keep in mind that what I say and how I respond are based on my experiences and understanding of the research.  I am not a scientist or researcher, but I respond from my decades of clinical experience.   Siegfried Engelmann:     And the mistakes that the kids made guided us to see that we had something missing. For instance, at first, we had them sound ..read more

                                                                 This is part 2 of my response to Dr. Martin’s answer to my question.  As you read this, please ask yourself what happened to this research 'Children of the Code' which was conducted over 13 years. David Boul ..read more

  In a recent LinkedIn post by Dr. Martin Bloomfield I asked what % of the population can be considered neurodivergent. He gave a detailed reply as follows: Such a good question, and impossible (at the moment, although I'm working on something...) to answer with any degree of certainty. So, you have several intersections making the precise answer impossible: you have intersections of (or shared neurotypes/ phenotypes of) ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, autism, etc. You have intersections of neurodivergence and gender. You have intersections of neurodivergence and wealth/ poverty. You then ..read more

  Another University Kebangsaan Malaysia Lecturer has hit the headlines for saying stupid things. Here are extracts from the Sin Chew Daily. A Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) professor is currently under fire for something he said recently concerning Chinese school students. “These Chinese students studying in Chinese schools are not very smart. Although the school teaches 3 languages, they are only good at their mother tongue. They are not very good at English or Malay,” he said. LINK and LINK.   Does UKM hand-pick such professors? Previously I wrote about Dr. Anuar Ahmad and ..read more

  Here is another part of the LinkedIn thread by Ethan Lynn Ethan Lynn, PhD Author Illiteracy Eradicator | Presenter | PD Specialist | Published Researcher: Luqman Michel, this is an interesting perspective. Are you saying, it's best not to teach it at all if it's not done right? Ethan Lynn was referring to teaching sounds represented by letters. Luqman Michel: Ethan Lynn, PhD Yes, teach it correctly or not at all. Why confuse kids by teaching them consonants with extraneous sounds? Many kids shut down/disengage when they can't make sense of fuhahtuh to form the word fat. We then blame ..read more