the blumenfeld education letter august_1993

8/7/2019 The Blumenfeld Education Letter August_1993

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The Blum enfeldEducation LetterV o l. 8 , N O .8 ( L e t t e r # 8 4 )

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." HOSEA4:6A u g u s t 1 9 9 3ED ITOR : Samue l L . B lumen fe ld

The purpose of this newsletter is to provide knowledge for parents and educators who wont to save the children of Americafrom the destructive forces that endanger them. Our children in the public schools are at grave fisk in 4 ways academically,

spiritually, morally, and physically - and only a well-informed publiC Will be able to reduce these risks"Without vision, the people perish'

Further Investigation Into School- Induced Dy slex ia ProvidesIrrefutab le P roof of Dumb ing Down

InMarch 1992we reported on EdwardMiller's theory on the artificial inducementof dyslexia. .Miller discovered that whenpreschoolers memorize as sight words theentire texts of such popular books as Dr.Seuss's The C at in the H at and G reen E ggs andHam, they develop ablock against seeing thewords phonetically and thus become "dys-lexic." They become sight readers with aholistic reflex rather than phonetic readerswith a phonetic reflex.

A sight reader looks at words holisti-cally as ideographs and tries torecall what aword means on thebasis of its total shape orits place in context. Thus, sight readers aregreatly handicapped when confrontingunknown multisyllabic words which mustbe sounded out in order to be decoded cor-rectly. Miller explained that when a sightreader develops a reading speed of 30 ormore words per minute, a holistic reflex isacquired which then overrides anyfra.gmen-tary phonetic knowledge the reader mayacquire later on. Thus, while many sightreaders have agood deal ofphonetic knowl-edge stored intheir brains, that knowledge isnot automatically available. It is only avail-

ablewhen consciously brought forward.Miller, himself adyslexic, started onhis

interesting trailofinvestigationin 1987whenheread whatIhad written about thePavlov-Luria experiments inthe SovietUnion on theartificial induction of behavioral disorgani-zation. I had speculated that the same prin-ciples were at work in the creation of dys-lexiaamong perfectl ynormal children inourschools. The basic principle is that you canartificially create cognitive disorganizationby subjecting the student to two conflictingstimuli at the same time.

And that's what was being done inourschoolsbyimposing an ideographic or holis-tic teaching technique on a phonetic-alpha-beticwriting system. The letters inour writ-ten words represent units of sound which,when blended, produce thespoken word theprinted or written word represents. Butwhen you teach children to look at thesewords holistically as units of meaning likeChinese ideographs, you create symbolicconfusion, cognitive conflict,frustration, andalearning breakdown commonly referred toas dyslexia, reading disability or learningdisability. Also, I strongly suspect that at-

The Blumenfeld Education Letter is published monthly. Sources of products and services described are not necessarily endorsedby this publication. They are intended to provide our readers with information on a rapidly expanding field of educational activity.Permission to quote isgranted provided proper credit isgiven. Original rnaterialis copyrighted by The Blumenfeld Education Letter.Subscription Rate: 1 year $36.00. Address: Post Office Box 45161, Boise, Idaho 83711. Phone (208) 322-4440.


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Education Letter, Pg. 3, August 1993

about 600 inWilkes County, North Ca.rolina.Of the 68 students, 26 were second-graders,25were fourth-graders, and 23 students werefrom different grades in a Title One compen-satory program. (Of the latter, 6 were fromgrades two and four and are counted amongthose tested in their respective classes.)The results were shocking. Of the 26second-graders, only 4 could be consideredgood phonetic readers. They read the 520words at an average of more than 70 wordsper minute, with 99% accuracy. Twelvewere automatic holistic (sight) readers andtherefore already educationally dyslexic, and10 were in a state of reading limbo, that is,they hadn't yet developed automaticity ineither word-identification mode (indicatedby a reading speed of 30 or more words perminute) and could either become fluentphonetic readers or handicapped sight read-ers, depending on how they were taught toread in the next few months.Educational D yslexia

Miller's definition of educational dys-lexia is quite specific: an inability to correctlyidentify 99 percent of the 520 words on theMiller test at a minimum speed of 30 wordsper minute. Obviously, as in any handicap-ping condition, educational dyslexia canrange from mild to severe.Why so technical a definition? Becausethat is what the scientific community de-mands. In fact, Miller, for the first time,provides a definition of educational dyslexiawhich satisfies the need to measure dyslexiain quantitative terms that can by duplicatedanywhere by any researcher using the sametesting instrument in the manner Millerprescribes.Of the 25 fourth-graders, only 7 werephonetic readers and 18were holistic" that is,educationally dyslexic. None of the studentswere in an indeterminate or limbo state. In

other words, they had all developed thedegree of automaticity in their word-view-ing mode to establish a conditioned reflex.Of the 18 holistic readers, only 3 made lessthan 10errors in the phonetic part of the test,while 15made from 10 to 74 errors, confirm-ing that educational dyslexia can range frommild to severe.7 2 P ercent A t R is k

If this fourth-grade class was typical offourth-grade classes throughou tNorth Caro-lina, this meant that 72%of all students in thepublic schools of that state would emerge atthe end of their school careers mildly toseverely educationally dyslexic, a conditionthat would seriously hamper them through-out life.Of the 23 students in Title One, 4 were-to Miller's great surprise-good phoneticreaders, 12were holistic, and 7were in limbo.Of the latter, 4 were in first grade, indicatingthat their reading instruction was leadingthem into educational dyslexia. The 4 first-graders were given the short form of the test,and 5 of the second graders were also giventhe short form because of very poor readingability.To sum up the results, of the 68 childrentested 53 were already educationally dys-lexic or in a state of reading limbo. Thismeant that 53 out of 68 students were at risk.What about the 15 phonetic readers, 4 ofwhom were in Title One? How had theylearned to read phonetically despite the factthat the school's instruction was holistic?Perhaps they had learned to read phoneti-cally at home before going to school, or couldfigure out the phonetic system by them-selves, or were actually taught enough phon-icsin the school by a knowledgeable teacher.Obviously, more research was necessary totest out these hypotheses.In any case, they had learned to look at

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Education Letter, Pg. 4 ,August 1993

words phonetically, and that saved themfrom becoming dyslexic. Another interest-ing question: what were 4 good phoneticreaders doing in Title One? We have yet toknow the answer.Comparing Schools

In January 1991, Miller gained pennis-sion to test 62 students at Dade Christian, aprivate school in Miami, Florida. The school,with an enrollment of about 1,000, is raciallymixed, with many children from Spanish-speaking families.Of the 62 students tested, 19 were sec-ond-graders, 26fourth-graders, and 17placedfor testing in a special group from secondand third grades because of unexplainedreading difficulties. Itwas not known at thetime of the testing how these children hadacquired their reading problems. They mayhave been transfers from the public schools.Of the 19 second-graders, 9 were excel-lent phonetic readers,S were mildly holistic,and 2were in limbo. Of the 17children in thespecial group, 16 were educationally dys-lexic and 1 was in limbo. The 16 read thephonetic half of the test at an average rate of21 words per minute, with 74% accuracy.But they read the holistic half at 50words perminute, with 93%accuracy. Of the 26fourth-graders, 22 were phonetic readers, and only4 were educationally dyslexic. The phoneticreaders read the 520 words at an averagespeed of 75 words per minute, with 99.5%accuracy.In other words, while 72% of the stu-dents in the public schools ofNorth Carolinawere becoming educationally dyslexic, only16% in the private school in Florida werebecoming educationally dyslexic. The pub-lic schools in North Carolina were using aholistic reading instruction program, whilethe private school in Florida was using analphabetic-phonics program.

Miller s tests prove beyond a doubt thatthe kind of dyslexia that afflicts millions ofchildren in American public schools is thedirect result of the teaching methods beingused, and that the only way to prevent edu-cational dyslexia is to teach children to readby intensive, systematic phonics so that theydevelop the necessary phonetic reflex.The F ollow U p

But the most significant and sensationaldata was to come two years later. In April1992, Miller obtained permission to retestthe same students at Ronda-Clingman hehad tested in 1990using the same first-gradetest. Fifty-one of the original 68 studentswere available for retesting.The results showed that none of thestudents who were holistic readers in 1990had become phonetic readers in the interim.Most of them were able to read these first-grade words faster, and their accuracy hadincreased in the phonetic part of the test. Butmore than half of the dyslexic students mis-called some of the very same sight wordsthey had read correctly in 1990. One studentwho, as a fourth-grader, had made a total of12 errors in 1990made 29 errors in 1992 as asixth-grader on the identical test. In otherwords, this student read better in the 4thgrade than in the 6th grade! In fact, 17out ofthe 27 sixth graders did better in 1990 asfourth graders than they did two years lateron the same first-grade test!P roof of Dumb ing Down

And nowhere was the dumbing downprocess more obvious than among the goodphonetic readers of the second and thirdgrades of 1990 who were now in the fourthand sixth grades. Of the 13students who hadachieved the best scores in 1990, nine mademore errors on the very same test in 1992.

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Education Letter, Pg, 6, August 1993

The scale is applied only to studentswho have developed a holistic reflex. Ascoreofl would indicate averymildreadinghandicap while ascoreof100would indicatean extremely severe case of educationaldyslexia. A score of 8 or 10may indicate aslight reading problem for a second grader,but for a sixth grader it would represent amore serious handicap since the measuringinstrument is a first-grade test. Of the 51students tested at Ronda-Clingman in 1992,13had no handicap, 17 showed handicapsfrom 8 to13,and 20students had handicapsfrom 21 to 100.

Edward Millerhasgonetogreat lengthsto bring his findings to the attention of thegovernment education and research depart-ments. Thus far,hisletters and phone callstotopofficialshave beentonoavail. However,he intends to continue his research and thedevelopment of his wholly original reme-diation system which promises to providedyslexics and functional illiterates with afast, efficient way to cure their disability.There can be no doubt that Miller's morerecent findings not onlyconfirm thevalidityof his reading assessment methods, but areproviding irrefutable evidence that theread-ing instruction methods being used in thepublic schools are causing far greater aca-demic damage among even the brighteststudents than any of us could have imag-ined.V i c k i e ' s Story

nally it stopped and I thought things wereokay. Later inthe year hebegan going tohisroom and crying for no reason. When Iasked what was wrong he did not know.Thishappened usually onaweeklybasis. Asa parent I was distraught. I prayed forunderstanding."

AndVickiegot itwhen shewas asked tohelp Miller in his testing at Ronda-Cling-man. After three days oftesting thestudentsand marking the papers, Vickie began torealize that therewas asevere reading prob-lem at Ronda-Clingman. She took acopyofthe test home and tested her son, a second-grader. Itwas obvious that hehad areadingproblem. Hewas asight reader andwhen hecame to a word he had not memorized, hesimply called itanything.

Shewondered how he had gotten thatway. Her older son had learned toread verywell at Renda-Clingman, and Travis hadlearned phonics in kindergarten as a four-year-old. But apparently his phonetic skillhad not reached automatic speed and wasbeing replaced by a holistic view ofwords.

"My son," she relates, "had started outon theright trackwith intensive phonics, butafewmilesdown theroad had beenswitchedtoholistic sight reading or amixture ofbothand after three years was totalIy confusedand hated school or anything that had todowith reading."

Vickie immediately removed her sonfrom Ronda-Clingman and put him in aChristian school in Statesville where theyteach intensive phonics. She says:

"Hehasmade great improvement, lovesschool, and hasn't criedoncebecause hehada reading assignment. At the present time,my children are not being affected by theseholisticprograms. However, I have cometoknow and love lots of children at Ronda-Clingman who are truly, in my opinion,being ruined, because their parents are notas fortunate as I in finding out there was a

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Perhaps the best way toend this reportis to tell the story of Vickie Reid and herthird-grade son},Travis, who had been at-tending Ronda-Clingman where Vickiehadbeen a substitute teacher. Vickie had be-come concerned with her son's reading.problem whenhebegancominghomecryingbecause he had to read. Shesays:

''This went on for several weeks. Fi-


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problem and then working on the cure."Vickie's story sums up why Ed Miller'swork is so important. He is the only re-searcher in America who, without the helpof any government agency or private grant,has proven that dyslexia is being artificiallycreated in our public schools to the great det-riment of American children. The questionis: why are those in positions of responsibil-ity so reluctant to even consider, let aloneinvestigate, the possibility thatitis the teach-ing methods that are causing such wide-spread dyslexia and not something intrinsi-cally wrong with the children. If there issomething wrong with the children, thenwhy are there so many more defective chil-dren in the public schools than in the privateones? The honesty and integrity of oureducators and federally funded researcherswill be sorely tested in the years ahead asthey seriously consider Miller's findings andreact to them.

Sc ientis ts Believe Dys l e~daMay Be Genetically Inherited

cine. "It's at least something to go on, topoint us in the right direction."Previous research linked dyslexia tochromosome 15. The Miami researchers triedconfirming that, but their evidence pointedelsewhere. They continue trying to narrowthe search for the gene, in hopes that the linkbecomes more statistically significant.They're seeking more dyslexic families, too.Should a certain gene, or genes, fordyslexia be found, people with the disabilitycould be iden tified ear Iy. Once dyslexics arediagnosed and get help, "they do incrediblywell," Rabin says. "The problem is theydon't get into the programs soonenough."(USA Today, 7/16/93)Comment:The federal government has spent, andcontinues to spend, millions of dollars tofind the genetic causes of dyslexia. Natu-rally, many of the researchers working onthese lucrative projects will find their liveli-hoods threatened by Ed Miller's research. Itis interesting to note than not a dime hasbeen spent by the government to investigatethe possibility that dyslexia is caused by theteaching methods used in the schools, eventhough there is more than enough evidenceto support that possibility.The intellectual and moral corruptionthat is now so widespread throughout thescien tific research establishmen t is the resultof the federal millions that now finance most

According to scientific researchers, moreevidence has been found suggesting thatdyslexia may be inherited. Researchers havelong been investigating a genetic link to thelearning disability, experienced by 3% to15%of the population. Its best-known char-acteristic, itis said, is the reversing of letters.Two studies out Saturday in The Lancetmedical journal report on several familieswith dyslexia. In analyzing the families'DNA, researchers working separately inMiami and Germany found that the familiespass on a common area on chromosome 1that may hold a dyslexia-linked gene.''They're good preliminary data to initi-ate further studies," says geneticist MarkRabin, University of Miami School of Medi-LThe Blumenfeld Education Letter - Post Office Box 45161- Boise, Idaho 83711 -,

of it. It poses a very serious problem forthose whose sole interest is finding the truth.Before the government got involved in sci-entific research, discoveries were made byindivid ual scientists who sacrificed their ownresources to be able to pursue their studies.Today, billions are spent by the governmentto find cures for cancer, AIDS, heart disease,etc. But no cures are being found. Why?Because a cure means the end of governmentfunding.In the old days, scientists worked to find


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a cure so that they could not only helphumanity but also reap the financial rewardsof their work. Today, the government moneyis the reward for most researchers, and find-ing a cure will only end the reward since anycure found by government research fallsinto the public domain. That is why pharma-ceutical companies fund their own research,so that they can reap the rewards that comewith their discoveries.Ed Miller has financed his own researchwith his own retirement money. And he hasbeen able to do more with his very limitedresources to find the cause and cure of dys-lexia than the entire government researchestablishment with its millions of dollarsand hundreds of researchers. That is whythe federal budget is what it is today: anendless political spending spree driven bygreed, arrogance, and outright fraud.

Reading Scores in N .Y . SchoolsLag Behind 1 9 91

Although New YorkCity's public schoolstudents showed a modest improvement in1993 on the annual reading test, they stilllagged below the reading levels record of1991, both for the city as a whole, and inevery individual community school district.Some of the poorest and lowest performingdistricts in the Bronx and Brooklyn sufferedconsiderable declines, the Chancellors of-fice reported yesterday (6/17/93).The new figures present an ambiguouspicture of achievement in the school systemas the Chancellor, Joseph A. Fernandez,prepares to leave office. Since his arrival in1990,Mr. Fernandez has used test scores anddropou t statis tics in an effort to show that hispolicies were working. In the last two weeks,though, results on a new math test suggestedthat city students were not outs coring muchof the country, as scores on the old test had

indicated. And a report on the dropout rateshowed no increase in the percentage ofstudents graduating high school in four years.On the latest test, administered in May,48.6percent of students in the second through10th grades scored at or above the typicalscore for their grade. This represents anincrease of 1.4 percentage points above the47.2 percent of students scoring at gradelevel in 1992. But it lags behind the 50.4percent reported at grade level in 1991, thehighest score in recent years.In fact, since the reading test, the De-grees ofReading Power, was lastrecalibratedagainst a national sample of students in thelate 1980's, performance on the test hasmoved within a narrow range, just at orbelow, the national average. (N.Y. Times,6/18/93)C o m m e n t :

Since we are not familiar with the De-grees of Reading Power test, we have no ideawhat the "average" score means other thanthat50% scored higher and 50%scored lowerthan the mean score. Since this is a silentreading test it does not tell us how well thestudent actually reads. It is basically acomprehension test. Be that as itmay, thescores cannot hide the declining readingperformance of poor children in the city'spublic schools. For example, children in theSouth Bronx scored 34.6 in 1991 and 27.2 in1993, a decline of 7.4 points! In Bedford-Stuyvesant the score dropped from 45.8 in1991 to 36.2 in 1993, a decline of 9.6 points!Even the best school district in the city,Douglaston, Little Neck, went from 81.6 in1991 to 80.5 in 1993, showing that even thesmartest are being dumbed down. Harlem,with the lowes t score in the city, 31.6 in 1991,declined to 30.6 in 1993. Apparently, theeducation system is not doing anything toraise the poor out of the misery they seem tobe permanently mired in- except to offerthem condoms.

'---- The Blumenfeld Education Letter ~Post Office Box 45161~Boise, Idaho 83711 _J

the blumenfeld education letter august_1993

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