Climbing the Stairs: Publishing The Truth Is An Act Of Resistance, Reading The Truth Requires Action

Thank you for beginning 2026 with me on Substack and Teaching in Dangerous Times. Here is the painting that I shared with family and friends on a New Year card. A friend said it reminded her of the stairs we climb as we journey through life. I am sharing it now to wish you safe passage as you climb the stairs, real and imagined, through 2026 and the rest of your lives. We do not know what is up ahead, but in the painting in the dark woods there is also light.

I very much appreciate your interest in my research and writing on the complexities of children’s lives as they are learning to read and write. This is such a dangerous time to be a child. We have no way of knowing whether they will grow up in a democracy or lose the rights the Constitution of the United States has enshrined for them

In addition to uncovering the strategies used by the Right and by the corporate and financial sectors, I am also keeping my focus on the research and writings of the many scholars whose research counters the propaganda that has spread to every sector of U.S. society based on the false findings of the National Reading Panel’s Phonemic Awareness (P/A) and Phonics meta-analyses,

It is important to recognize that many of the scholars who have been vilified by the Right and by mainstream and social media have spent their entire professional lives conducting longitudinal research studies that focus on young children learning to read and write. Their research is of vital importance to us now as we move forward and “climb the stairs” to establish new literacy narratives for children in public schools that build resilience to the adverse influences that are destroying the democratic principles and processes that will protect them, especially as they learn to read and write.

We have the capacity to raise the alarm and impress on people in every sector of American society that it is a matter of maximum urgency that we create learning environments in public schools that recognize the importance of the many ways that reading and writing contribute to children’s lives and prepares them to participate in collaborative literacy environments that emphasis belonging, community, and making friends – all essential aspects of the problem-solving capabilities they will need to navigate today’s risks and make meaningful progress to a less hazardous future.

In my next post I will present an analysis of the foundational architecture of the massive deception that has been perpetrated on the American people about the scientific basis of reading instruction in U.S. public schools. This includes the active involvement of individuals and groups in multiple sectors of U.S. society, including the involvement of all three branches of government -- executive, legislative and judicial – who have participated in the “reshaping” of the nation’s understandings of how people read and how children learn to read

For centuries, going back to Michel de Montaigne and before, reading has been considered by many to be a meaning-making language process, there is extensive official documentation that underscores that the Right has now convinced governing policy makers and political influencers in the public and private sectors that “reading” is an “unnatural mechanical phonological skill” that must be explicitly taught. The quantitative forensic analysis challenges this erroneous assumption.

I must admit I have been waiting for the moment when I can share the quantitative analysis that has consumed so much of my life for almost six years. So, here’s the plan. First the qualitative analysis of the structural architecture of the Right’s take-over of reading instruction in U.S. public schools. Then in the next post I will share with readers the quantitative forensic analysis of the National Reading Panel’s Phonemic Awareness (P/A) and Phonics meta-analyses.

It is important that we know there were not 100,000 reading studies, that there were only 52 Phonemic Awareness studies and 38 Phonics studies in the NRP meta-analyses and that a significant number of the studies in the P/A and Phonics meta-analyses were later disqualified by the IES-WWC.

I am convinced that I can make the quantitative analysis accessible to everyone. However, just in case I am overly optimistic, to ensure that I have made the numerical findings of the forensic analysis accessible I would like to establish a small focus group to give me feedback on the quantitative posts.

I am hoping the small group of paid subscribers would be interested in fulfilling this role, and so I am turning on comments from paid subscribers. I am looking forward to reading any comments you might have about the forensic analysis quantitative research posts.

It is important that you all know that my research posts will always be available to everyone who subscribes. Everyone is welcome and I want you to know how grateful I am for your encouragement. You keep me researching and writing about children in dangerous times. And please, if you find the posts insightful and useful I hope you will let others know about them.

I’m convinced that publishing the truth is an act of resistance, but reading the truth requires action. My hope is that the forensic analysis will be read and used to create caring communities for children filled with hope and possibility for the future of children.

‘till soon!

Denny