问题

导盲犬过着非常有趣的生活。

Guide dogs lead very interesting lives.

在十到十二年的时间里，它们负责引导一位盲人。

For ten or twelve years, they are in charge of guiding a blind person.

我从美国教育部获得了这段录音。

I got this recording from the US Department of Education.

他们每两年对一组儿童进行阅读测试。

They give a reading test every two years to a sample of kids.

大多数导盲犬出生在犬舍里。

Most guide dogs are born at a kennel.

这是一个在阅读关于导盲犬的文章时表现优异的四年级学生。

This is a fourth grader who did well on the test, reading a passage about guide dogs.

这些狗会成群接受大约三个月的训练，它们知道

The dogs train in large groups for about three months, and they know

但大多数孩子在这项测试中表现不佳。

But most kids don't do well on this test.

狗是

Dogs are

事实上，有三分之一的四年级学生阅读能力如此差，听起来更像是这样。

In fact, a third of fourth graders read so poorly, they sound more like this.

贾德狗过着非常有趣的生活。

Judd dogs lead very interesting.

这

This

这个孩子只读完了文章的一小部分，无法读出几个理解内容所必需的关键单词。

child gets through only a fraction of the passage and can't read several words that are key to understanding what's going on.

比如‘导盲’和‘盲人’这样的词。

Words like guide and blind.

大约

About

百分之十。

ten percent.

四年级中，每三个孩子就有一个读得像这样。

One in three kids in fourth grade reads like this.

他们必须

They must

这是怎么发生的？

How did that happen?

我是艾米莉·汉福德。

I'm Emily Hanford.

我是一名教育记者。

I'm an education reporter.

大约五年前，我开始非常关注为什么这么多孩子在学习阅读时遇到困难。

And about five years ago, I started to get really interested in why so many kids are having a hard time learning to read.

我发现，在这个国家乃至世界其他地区的学校里，孩子们并没有被教会如何阅读。

And what I discovered is that in schools all over this country and in other parts of the world too, kids are not being taught how to read.

学校以为自己在教孩子阅读。

Schools think they're teaching kids to read.

当然，他们确实这么做了。

Of course, they do.

但事实是，关于阅读以及孩子如何学习阅读，已经积累了大量的科学研究。

But it turns out there's a big body of scientific research about reading and how kids learn to do it.

这些研究表明，所有孩子要成为优秀的读者，都需要掌握一些重要的技能。

This research shows there are important skills that all kids need to learn to become good readers.

而在许多学校里，这些技能并没有被教授。

And in lots of schools, they aren't being taught these skills.

在过去几年里，我制作了一系列关于这一问题的广播纪录片和文章。

Over the past few years, I produced a series of radio documentaries and articles about this.

而引发的反响是我职业生涯中从未经历过的。

And the response was like nothing I've ever experienced in my career.

成千上万封电子邮件、信息和社交媒体帖子。

Thousands of emails and messages and posts on social media.

人们基本上在表达两种类型的观点。

And there were basically two kinds of things people were saying.

第一种是：我知道。

The first was, I know.

我知道。

I know.

我多年来一直在试图告诉人们这一点。

I've been trying to tell people this for years.

另一种反应是：我完全不知道。

The other response was, I had no idea.

我从很多老师那里听到了这种说法。

This is what I heard from lots of teachers.

他们根本不知道自己没有教孩子如何阅读。

They had no idea they weren't teaching kids how to read.

我一直想弄清楚的是为什么？

What I've been trying to figure out is why?

他们为什么会不知道？

Why didn't they know?

为什么学校没有教孩子们如何阅读？

Why haven't schools been teaching children how to read?

我有一个答案。

And I have an answer.

这是APM报道推出的播客《被售卖的故事》。

This is Sold a Story, a podcast from APM Reports.

在这个播客里，我要告诉你很多内容，但我现在就直接回答这个问题。

I've got a lot to tell you in this podcast, but I'm gonna tell you the answer to the question right now.

孩子们没有被教会如何阅读，是因为几十年来，教师们一直被灌输了一种关于阅读以及儿童如何学习阅读的观念。

Kids are not being taught how to read because for decades, teachers have been sold an idea about reading and how children learn to do it.

而这种观念是错误的。

And that idea is wrong.

对于那些一直在推销这种观念的人，我没有理由相信他们知道这是错的。

The people who have been selling this idea, I don't have any reason to believe they thought it was wrong.

我认为他们想要的，和我认为每个人都想要的一样。

I think they wanted what I think everyone wants.

他们希望孩子们学会阅读。

They wanted kids to learn how to read.

他们希望孩子们热爱阅读。

They wanted kids to love reading.

但他们深信自己关于如何实现这一目标的理念，以至于忽视或合理化了大量证明这一理念错误的证据。

But they believed so deeply in their idea about how to do that that they somehow ignored or explained away a whole lot of evidence that showed the idea was wrong.

而且他们因此赚了很多钱。

And they went on to make a lot of money.

在这个播客中，我们将聚焦于一家出版公司及其四位顶级作者。

In this podcast, we're gonna focus on one publishing company and four of its top authors.

他们并不是唯一在推销这种错误阅读理念的人，但他们在这方面最为成功。

They are not the only ones who've been selling this wrong idea about reading, but they've been the most successful at it.

除非你在过去二十年左右的任何时间里在小学工作过，否则你很可能不知道这家公司和这些人是谁。

Chances are you have no idea who this company and these people are, unless you've worked in an elementary school anytime in the last twenty years or so.

那么你很可能知道我指的是谁。

Then you probably know exactly who I'm talking about.

她走进那栋大楼时，就像一位摇滚明星。

She was like a rock star walking into that building.

如果碧昂丝来我的学区举办一场私人演唱会，对许多老师来说也不会比这更轰动。

And if Beyonce came and gave a private concert in my district, it would not have been a bigger deal for many of my teachers.

他们关于教授阅读的书籍成为了教师们的必备读物。

Their books on teaching reading became must haves for teachers.

我以前管它们叫我的圣经。

I used to call them my Bibles.

嗯。

Yeah.

我一直把它当作我的圣经。

I kept it as my Bible.

我所做的一切都基于

Everything that I did was based off

他们的工作。

of their work.

一代教师相信了这些作者和这家公司所传达的观点。

A generation of teachers believed what these authors and this company were telling them.

他们描绘了一幅阅读教学的图景，看起来很美好，就像光线柔和的房间。

They framed a picture of reading instruction that seemed beautiful, like softly lit rooms.

孩子们将拥有舒适的角落，蜷缩在那里读一本好书。

Kids were gonna have cozy nooks where they were curling up with a good book.

它同时触动了你的心灵和思想。

It got your heart along with your mind.

但在一些当今教师出生之前，他们研究中的一个关键观点就已经被证伪了。

But a key idea in their work had been disproven before some of today's teachers were even born.

很多教师并不知道这一点。

A lot of teachers didn't know that.

让我耿耿于怀的是，当教学效果不佳时，我却把责任归咎于孩子。

What I'm haunted by is when it wasn't working, I blamed it on children.

我的意思是，我

I mean, I

说实话，我觉得我伤害了孩子们，因为我没有给他们所需的东西。

feel like I harmed kids, to be honest with you, because I didn't give them what they needed.

教师、家长和政策制定者们正逐渐意识到存在问题。

Teachers and parents and policymakers are waking up to the fact that there's a problem.

我们都在遵循这种蒙昧的做法。

We're all following this kind of benighted approach.

我们是怎么陷入这种困境的？

How did we get into this mess?

我们为什么要这样做的？

Why are we doing it this way?

在这个播客中，我们将调查这种关于阅读的错误观念从何而来，它如何伤害了孩子，以及一家公司及其四位顶尖作者为何能长期兜售这种观念。

In this podcast, we're going to investigate where this wrong idea about reading came from, how it's harming kids, and why a company and four of its top authors have been able to sell it for so long.

我一直在和另一位记者一起研究这个故事。

I've been working on this story with another reporter.

他的名字是克里斯托弗·皮克。

His name is Christopher Peak.

我们采访了一百二十五个人以上。

We've interviewed more than a 125 people.

我们向近二百个学区申请了记录。

We've requested records from nearly 200 school districts.

我们翻阅了远至新西兰的大学档案和图书馆。

We scoured university archives and libraries as far away as New Zealand.

我们找到了旧录像带，并买了一台二手录像机来观看它们。

We found old videotapes and bought a used VCR so we could watch them.

我们稍后会讲到这些，告诉你关于那些作者和这家公司以及我们对他们的发现。

We're gonna get to that, tell you about the authors and the company and what we learned about them.

但在第一集中，我要告诉你，在那些错误阅读理念根深蒂固的教室里，孩子们是如何被教导的。

But in this first episode, I'm gonna tell you about how kids are being taught in classrooms where this wrong idea about reading has taken root.

好的。

Okay.

所以我们开始录音了。

So we're recording.

好的。

Okay.

我是科琳·亚当斯。

I'm Corinne Adams.

我住在罗德岛的南金斯敦。

I live in South Kingstown, Rhode Island.

我有两个孩子，一个六岁，一个两岁，一男一女。

I have two kids, six and two, a boy and a girl.

她的儿子是大的那个。

Her son is the older one.

他叫查理。

His name is Charlie.

2019年她送儿子上幼儿园时，科琳并没有任何担忧。

When she sent him off to kindergarten in the 2019, Corinne had no concerns.

她和丈夫搬到南金斯敦的原因之一是，大家都说这里的学校很棒。

One of the reasons she and her husband had moved to South Kingstown is everyone told them the schools were great.

她根本不知道儿子的学校是如何教阅读的。

She had no idea how her son's school was teaching reading.

谁会想这个呢？

Who thinks about that?

我不知道该怎么教孩子读书。

I don't know how to teach a child how to read.

所以我只是假设，我送进学校的孩子回来时都会识字，因为学校本来就应该做到这一点。

So I just assumed that the children I sent to school would come back to me literate because that's what school does.

对吧？

Right?

起初，一切看起来都没问题。

At first, everything seemed fine.

查理会带回家一些小书，每天都是同一本书，持续一整周。

Charlie would come home with these little books, the same book every day for a week.

他会练习那本书，然后又送回去。

And he'd practice that book and send it back.

我们就是这样做的。

And that's what we did.

家长们收到了如何与孩子一起阅读这些书籍的指导。

There were directions for the parents about how to read these books with their children.

就是先给孩子读一遍书，然后孩子练习足够多之后，就能自己读了，你知道吧？

It was like read the book to the child first, and then eventually the child will have practiced it enough that they'll read it and it'll be great, you know?

他会听我读，非常认真地听我重复的内容。

And he would listen to me read it, pay very close attention to what I was repeat that.

如果是新书，他就说：‘妈妈，你先给我读一遍。’

And if it was a new book, mommy, you read it to me first.

查理对尝试阅读她还没给他读过的书毫无兴趣。

Charlie wasn't interested in trying to read books she hadn't already read to him.

新书让他感到害怕。

New books, like, freaked him out.

他不想做那件事。

He didn't wanna do that.

她有点担心，也许他只是在背诵这些书。

She was a little concerned maybe he was just memorizing the books.

这些故事都很简单，情节可预测。

They were pretty simple stories with predictable patterns.

句子像：我喜欢玩火车。

Sentences like, I like to play with a train.

我喜欢玩我的狗。

I like to play with my dog.

查理能读这些书，但他真的在阅读吗？

Charlie was able to read these books, but was he really reading?

她不确定。

She wasn't sure.

但学校说他表现得很好。

But the school said he was doing great.

他们告诉我他进展顺利。

They were telling me he was doing fine.

他们告诉我他在一个水平上。

They were telling me he was on level.

当查理在学校表现良好时，老师会寄一张小便条回家。

When Charlie did well on something in school, the teacher would send home a little note.

他会得到

And he would get

总是因为读得好而得到这些。

them all the time for, like, great reading.

他会收到这些在

He would get them in

他的小背包里，我会说，哦，你做得真棒。

his little backpack, and I'd be like, oh, you're doing so great.

然后到了2020年3月，疫情来了。

And then March 2020, the pandemic.

突然间，科琳也上了幼儿园，看着查理和他的同学们通过Zoom上课。

Suddenly, Corinne was in kindergarten too, watching as Charlie and his classmates were being taught over Zoom.

所以我们坐在一起，我也参与其中。

So we sit together and I participate.

你知道，

You know,

我帮他确保能自己取消静音之类的操作。

I help him make sure he can unmute himself and all that stuff.

科琳娜是一位全职妈妈。

Corinne's a stay at home mom.

她没有一边兼顾在线学习，一边还要工作。

She wasn't juggling online school with another job.

所以她观察得很仔细，觉得阅读指导方式有点奇怪。

So she was watching pretty closely, and the reading instructions seemed kind of odd to her.

他们给了我们一些需要遵循的策略。

They gave us, like, these strategies to follow.

这些是孩子们遇到不认识的单词时应该做的事情。

These were things kids were supposed to do when they came to a word they didn't know.

帮助猜出单词的策略。

Strategies to figure out the word.

比如，看图。

They were things like, look at the picture.

看单词的第一个字母。

Look at the first letter of the word.

想一个意思通顺的词。

Think of a word that makes sense.

科琳想告诉查理拼读这个单词。

Corinne wanted to tell Charlie to sound out the word.

但学校发来的手册告诉她，这样做并不好，拼读单词应该作为最后的手段。

But handouts coming from school were telling her that wasn't a good idea, that sounding out words should be a last resort.

所以我就想，好吧。

So I was like, okay.

嗯，这是一种新的不同方法，我相信他们知道自己在做什么。

Well, this is a new different way, and I'm sure they understand what they're doing.

因为我确实记得拼读的过程。

Because I do remember sounding out.

我记得那个活动。

I do remember that activity.

但查理和他的同学们被教导使用这些其他策略。

But Charlie and his classmates were being taught to use these other strategies.

我们要看我们的书，《泽尔达和艾薇：逃跑者》。

We're gonna look at our book, Zelda and Ivy, the Runaways.

这是查理一年级上网课时，老师让学生观看的视频。

This is a video Charlie's teacher had her students watch during Zoom school in first grade.

视频里的人不是查理的老师，而是学校 district 所使用课程的教学内容。

It's not Charlie's teacher in the video, but it's a lesson from the curriculum the school district was using.

我来给你们读一点这个故事。

I'm gonna read a little bit of this story to you.

如果我在某个词上卡住了，我希望你们试着帮我猜出这个词可能是什么。

And if I get stuck on a word, I want you to try to help me figure out what that word could be.

老师读这个故事。

The teacher reads the story.

孩子们可以看到屏幕上的文字。

The kids can see the words on the screen.

他们跟着老师一起阅读。

They're following along as she reads.

然后老师遇到一个被黄色便签纸遮住的词。

And then the teacher comes to a word that she's covered up with a little yellow sticky note.

好的。

Okay.

所以我们在这里停一下，看看这个被遮住的词。

So we're gonna stop right here on this covered word.

老师说，这个字可能是什么？

And the teacher says, what could this word be?

我们来看看图片。

Let's look at the picture.

我们要看看图片是否能帮助我们猜出这个词是什么。

We're gonna see if the picture helps us to figure out what that word would be.

孩子们看不到这个词。

The kids can't see the word.

它被便利贴盖住了。

It's covered with the sticky note.

所以他们没法通过发音来拼读它。

So there's no way they can sound it out.

他们只能根据故事中的情节来推测这个词可能是什么。

They're just trying to figure out what the word could be based on what's going on in the story.

如果我们回想一下故事到目前为止的情节，我们知道泽尔达和艾薇的爸爸为午餐做了黄瓜三明治。

If we think about what's happening so far in the story, we know Zelda and Ivy's dad made cucumber sandwiches for lunch.

而泽尔达和艾薇不想吃三明治，于是跑开了。

And Zelda and Ivy didn't want to eat the sandwiches, so they ran away.

现在他们觉得妈妈和爸爸会

And now they think their mom and dad will

什么？

Will what?

三重检查。

Triple check ins.

泽尔达和艾薇跑掉了，现在他们觉得妈妈和爸爸会想念妈妈。

Zelda and Ivy ran away, and now they think their mom and dad will Miss mom.

责备他们？

Scold them?

真的很想念他们？

Really miss them?

他们？

Them?

你觉得这个被遮住的词会不会是‘想念’这个词？

Do you think that covered word could be the word miss?

啊，想念他们。

Ah, miss them.

会不会是‘miss’这个词？

Could it be the word miss?

因为现在他们走了，也许他们的父母会想念他们？

Because now that they're gone, maybe their parents will miss them?

老师让孩子们思考‘miss’是否可能是那个词，运用他们学过的策略。

The teacher asks the kids to think about whether miss could be the word, using the strategies they've been taught.

让我们做三次检查，看看吧。

Let's do our triple check and see.

这合理吗？

Does it make sense?

听起来对吗？

Does it sound right?

我们三次检查的最后一步，这个词看起来对吗？

How about the last part of our triple check, does it look right?

我们揭开这个词，看看它是否看起来正确。

Let's uncover the word and see if it looks right.

老师掀起了便利贴，果然，这个词是‘miss’。

The teacher lifts up the sticky note, and indeed, the word is miss.

看起来也是对的。

It looks right too.

做得好。

Good job.

非常好。

Very good job.

请继续点击下一张幻灯片，以便在故事的下一部分练习这个策略。

Go ahead and click on the next next slide so you can practice this strategy on our next part of our story.

这让科琳感到很奇怪。

This seemed weird to Corinne.

为什么要让孩子猜这个词？

Why have kids guess the word?

为什么不直接让他们看这个词并尝试真正地读出来？

Why not have them look at the word and try to actually read it?

我对儿子的老师说：这可不是我们当年学阅读的方式，指的是我和她那一代人。

And I said to my son's teacher, was like, this isn't how we learned how to read, like, meaning me and her.

我就是一直觉得，心里老有个声音在提醒我：这不对劲吧？

And I just, like, kept, like, nagging at me, like, in the back of my mind, like, this isn't how we did it right?

这不可能是对的。

Like, this can't be right.

对吧？

Right?

更奇怪的是，孩子们其实正在学习一些如何拼读单词的方法。

What made it all weirder is that the kids were actually being taught some things about how to sound out words.

老师确实上了一些自然拼读课。

The teacher did some phonics lessons.

但到了读故事书的时候，这些教学似乎全都被抛到脑后了。

But when it came to reading books, all that instruction seemed to go out the window.

孩子们要读的书里充满了他们从未学过的拼写模式的单词。

The books the kids were supposed to read had all kinds of words with spelling patterns they hadn't been taught.

比如，当时是圣诞节，他们给他读的书是《米饭里的鸡肉汤》。

So for example, they were giving him oh, it was at Christmas time, and it was from the book Chicken Soup with Rice.

《米饭里的鸡肉汤》是莫里斯·桑达克写的一本书，后来被卡罗尔·金谱成了歌曲。

Chicken Soup with Rice is a book by Maurice Sendak that was turned into a song by Carol King.

我

I

我小时候特别喜欢这首歌。

loved this song when I was a kid.

这首歌涵盖了全年十二个月，从一月到十二月。

It goes through every month of the year, January through December.

在十二月，我会变成一棵挂满装饰的、叮当作响的圣诞树。

In December, I will be a bobbled bangled Christmas tree.

而且

And

就像在十二月，我会变成一棵挂满装饰的、叮当作响的圣诞树。

it's like, in December, I will be a bobbled bangled Christmas tree.

他们让他读这本书。

And they wanted him to read that.

我只是想，怎么可能？

I just was like, how?

她知道查理根本不可能读出‘bobbled’或‘bangled’这些词，甚至无法通过图片猜出它们。

She knew there was no way Charlie could read bobbled or bangled or even guess those words by using the pictures.

科琳娜也许根本不会在意这些事。

It's possible Corinne would have just brushed all this off.

随它吧。

Whatever.

他会自己弄明白的。

He'll figure it out.

学校说他表现不错。

The school says he's doing fine.

但她还得给查理在家做一次阅读评估。

But she also had to give Charlie a reading assessment at home.

这不是父母通常会被要求做的事情，但当时是新冠疫情。

Not something a parent would normally be asked to do, but this was COVID.

我不能先读给他听，也不能以任何方式帮助他。

And I wasn't allowed to read it to him first, and I couldn't help him in any way.

我只是能为他指一下单词，仅此而已。

I just I could point to the words for him, and that was it.

他必须自己读出来。

He had to read it.

她给了他这个测试。

She gave him the test.

他们坐在厨房里。

They're sitting in their kitchen.

查理两岁的妹妹在背景中玩耍，而查理必须读一本叫《事物如何运动》的书。

Charlie's two year old sister is playing in the background, and Charlie has to read a book called How Things Move.

《事物如何运动》。

How Things Move.

这是那个阅读评估。

This is that reading assessment.

科琳录下了它。

Corinne recorded it.

你是我

You is my

这是查理正在尝试读的句子。

Here's the sentence Charlie is trying to read.

这个玩具当你推它时就会动。

This toy moves when you push it.

书里有一幅图，画的是一个女孩推着一辆卡车。

There's a picture in the book of a girl pushing a truck.

你

You

这是查理

It's Charlie

在拼命挣扎。

is grasping for straws.

他根本不知道如何读这本书里的大部分单词。

He has no idea how to read most of the words in this book.

他说的一些词甚至根本不在页面上。

Some of the words he is saying are not even on the page.

积木。

Blocks.

那一刻简直令人震惊，我回到卧室哭了。

It was just like eye popping, and I went into my bedroom and cried.

然后她打开电脑，开始搜索。

And then she went to her computer, and she started googling.

这种教孩子阅读的方式到底是什么？

What was this way that her kid was being taught how to read?

她找到了我写的一些文章和纪录片。

And she found some of the articles and documentaries I had written.

就在那时，我突然意识到，到底发生了什么？

That's when it was like a realization that what is happening?

天哪。

Oh my god.

到底发生了什么？

What's happening?

她试着和其他家长交流。

She tried talking to some other parents.

他们看我的眼神就像我疯了一样。

They kind of looked at me like I was insane.

他们的孩子都很好，至少他们这么认为，因为科琳也曾这么以为。

Their kids were doing fine, or so they thought, because that's what Corinne had thought too.

然后她开始在推特上分享自己的经历。

Then she started posting about her experience on Twitter.

有一些家长说，天哪，这说的就是我的孩子。

There were parents who were like, oh my god, like, this is my kid.

这件事正发生在我身上。

This is happening to me.

就像这件事正发生在我身上，我在芝加哥，或在加利福尼亚，或在其他任何地方。

Like, this is happening to me, I'm in Chicago, or I'm in California, or I'm in wherever else.

他们似乎并没有真正教他阅读。

It didn't seem like they were really teaching him to read.

这就是那种家长。

This is one of those parents.

他们似乎只是教他假装能阅读。

Seemed like they were teaching him to sound like they could read.

我在Twitter上看到他的帖子后，联系了这位家长。

I contacted this parent after I saw his posts on Twitter.

他叫李·加尔。

His name is Lee Gall.

他住在纽约市。

He lives in New York City.

在新冠疫情期间，我终于接种了疫苗，从我居住的华盛顿特区乘火车前往曼哈顿上东区，见到了李。

And in the middle of COVID, finally vaccinated, I hopped on a train from DC where I live, and I met Lee on the Upper East Side Of Manhattan.

嘿，佐伊。

Hey, Zoe.

明天见。

See you tomorrow.

你好，李。

Hi, Lee.

明天见。

See you tomorrow.

再见。

See you.

我们去接李的女儿放学。

We're picking Lee's daughter up from school.

她叫佐伊，马上就要读完一年级了。

Her name is Zoe, and she's just about to finish first grade.

她上的是离他们公寓几个街区远的公立学校。

She goes to the public school that's a few blocks from their apartment.

这所学校使用的阅读课程和查理的学校一样。

The school was using the same reading curriculum that Charlie's school was using.

好吧，我应该去大公园的中圈见凯瑟琳。

All right, I'm supposed to meet Catherine in the middle circle in Grande Park.

哦，原来你已经有安排了。

Oh, so you already got plans.

那很好。

That's good.

今天是美好的春日，我们正前往佐伊学校拐角处的公园。

It's a gorgeous spring day, and we're on our way to the park around the corner from Zoe's school.

公园里全是孩子、父母和保姆。

The park is full of kids and parents and nannies.

喷泉正在喷水，孩子们四处奔跑。

The sprinklers are on, the children are running around.

我们位于美国最富裕的邮政编码区域之一。

We're in one of the richest zip codes in The United States.

佐伊上的是所声誉很好的学校。

Zoe goes to a school with a great reputation.

你可能会以为她会学到如何阅读。

You'd think she'd be taught how to read.

但李所看到的并不是这样。

But that's not what Lee was seeing.

疫情来袭时，他失去了工作。

When the pandemic hit, he lost his job.

所以当佐伊在家上网络课程时，他就一直在旁边观察一切，就像科琳一样。

So when Zoe was at home doing Zoom school, he was there watching everything just like Corinne was.

我会听到她读书，也会听到其他孩子读书。

I would hear her reading, and I would hear the other kids reading.

这是我们第一次交谈。

This was the first time we talked.

我在家，他也在家。

I was at home, and he was at home.

音频质量不太好。

And the audio quality isn't very good.

他们没有在阅读。

They weren't reading.

他们只是按照老师的要求做，纯粹是在猜。

They were doing what the teachers told them, and they were just guessing.

我的意思是，这没什么好说的。

I mean, there's no two ways about it.

他们在猜，我就想，好吧。

They were guessing, and I just thought like, okay.

我想，最终他们靠猜学会了阅读。

Well, eventually, they guessed their way into being able to read, I'm assuming.

但这对佐伊来说并没有发生。

But it wasn't happening for Zoe.

她看起来没有理解，而且很沮丧。

She didn't seem to be getting it, and she was frustrated.

李上网查找了信息。

Lee went to the Internet.

他还找到了我之前做的报告。

He came up with the reporting I had done too.

他顺着脚注去查阅了一些研究资料，自己阅读后感到震惊、困惑和担忧。

He followed the footnotes, started reading some of the research himself, and he was shocked, confused, concerned.

他试图跟公园里的其他家长讨论他们孩子学校阅读教学的情况。

He tried to talk to the other parents at the park about what was going on with reading instruction at their school.

有几位家长说：‘是啊，我知道。’

A couple of parents were like, yeah, I know.

我对这件事真的太沮丧了。

I'm just so frustrated with it.

我根本不知道该怎么应对。

I can't even deal with it.

但大多数情况下，人们对他反应的方式和对科琳娜的反应一样。

But for the most part, people responded to him the way they responded to Corinne.

这简直就像在说：我看到了外星人。

It was almost like saying, I saw aliens.

我看到了飞船，你必须相信我。

I saw the ship, and you have to believe me.

对吧？

Right?

人们只是说：哦，是啊。

Like, people were like, oh, yeah.

好吧。

Okay.

没有人愿意相信自己孩子的学校没有教孩子如何阅读。

No one wants to believe their child's school isn't teaching kids how to read.

而在曼哈顿上东区声誉良好的学校？

And a school with a great reputation on the Upper East Side Of Manhattan?

李说，如果他没有坐在那里观察教学，他和妻子可能会觉得佐伊有什么问题。

Lee says if he hadn't been sitting there watching the instruction, he and his wife probably would have thought there was something wrong with Zoe.

她不是因为有学习障碍才学不会阅读的。

She wasn't learning to read because she had a problem.

我们可能会想，她怎么了？

We probably would be like, okay, what's wrong with her?

得给她找点帮助。

Like, let's get her some help.

带她去看心理咨询师、心理学家、听力专家、视力专家，把所有这些都查清楚。

Let's take her to, you know, counselors and psychologists and hearing experts and seeing experts and figure all this stuff out.

但他并不认为问题出在佐伊身上。

But he didn't think the problem was with Zoe.

他不认为她有阅读障碍。

He didn't think she had a reading disability.

问题在于她没有接受如何阅读的教导。

The problem was she wasn't being taught how to read.

所以他决定亲自教她。

So he decided to teach her himself.

更多内容请见广告后。

More on that after a break.

2021年，在华盛顿特区一个反常凉爽的日子里，我去了乔治城公共图书馆。

In the 2021, on an unseasonably cool day for Washington, DC, I went to the Georgetown Public Library.

我来这里见一位儿童图书管理员。

I'm here to meet one of the children's librarians.

她的名字叫露丝·菲茨。

Her name is Ruth Fitz.

她正在周六早上户外为学龄前儿童讲故事。

She's doing story time for preschoolers outside on a Saturday morning.

我们第一本书是上周点的，《这本书末尾的怪物》，主角是可爱毛茸茸的老罗弗。

Our first book was requested last week, the monster at the end of this book, starring lovable, furry old Rover.

大家好。

Hello, everybody.