Category: Education

The Federal Flunk: A Legacy of Literacy Woes Let’s rewind. The Department of Education, born in 1979 under Jimmy Carter, was supposed to be our kids’ golden ticket to equal opportunity. Instead, it’s been a 50-year experiment in centralized control that’s left us with plummeting literacy rates and a generation allergic to books. The podcast […]

Phonics Flop: When Words Stopped Making Sense Jared nails it—phonics ruled reading forever, breaking “c-a-t” into purrs kids could master. Then the 1960s swooned over “whole language,” betting kids would soak up words like sponges if we just tossed them books. Spoiler: they sank. Decades later, we know phonics wins—kids who missed it slog through […]

The Leak That Sinks Dreams Picture this: 85% of incarcerated Black teens can’t read, a stat set in motion by third grade. My Duval County middle school was a petri dish for this—kids like DJ, scraping by with a 2.0, or Kyle, who dropped out before sophomore year. Crime, violence, and drugs weren’t exceptions; they […]

The Phonics Flop That Started It All Back in the day, we taught kids to read with phonics—sounding out “c-a-t” until it purred. It was methodical, and it worked. Then, in the 1960s, “whole language learning” swooped in, promising kids could soak up words like sponges if we just set the vibe. Spoiler: they didn’t. […]

COVID’s Ed Crash Course Erica nails the Dems’ dodge: “They’re mum—abysmal record.” Walz boasts bucks, but Minnesota’s sub-50% reading/math scores scream failure. COVID’s no excuse—nationwide hits didn’t tank Florida’s rebound. “Jersey kids lost two years,” Jamie laments—private schools thrived while publics floundered. Parents, your child’s Visual-Spatial Memory maps zilch when unions hog funds for “food […]

A Bloated Blob’s Birth Brett traces the DOE’s roots—1867’s data-only Office of Ed morphed into LBJ’s cash splash, then Carter’s 1979 union lovechild. “$238 billion now—no score bump!” she fumes, citing the Cato Institute. Ryan Gusy, 1776 Project guru, spills: Pre-DOE, functions split across agencies—Carter’s consolidation handed unions a megaphone. Parents, your kid’s <a href=”https://learningsuccess.ai/visual-spatial-memory/”>Visual-Spatial […]

Know the Basics: Phonics Wins Picture this: I flash “plextentic”—you nail it, no pics, no guesses. Why? Phonics—letters make sounds, sounds make words. Decades of brain scans and meta-analyses scream it: ditch “guess from the picture” nonsense for sound-blending magic. Jake’s not doomed; he’s just lost in a guessing game. I’ve seen it in preschool—kids […]

History’s Cash Grab Nick traces the DOE’s roots—not to founders’ dreams, but to 1979’s union-backed Carter coup. “Article 1, Section 8? No education clause,” he snaps—states ruled till the 16th Amendment’s tax flood let feds bribe with your dollars. Originally a data gatherer (thanks, Andrew Jackson), it ballooned into a $33 billion (2000) to $173 […]

The VARK Myth: A Feel-Good Flop Neil Fleming, a New Zealand school inspector, dreamed up VARK—visual learners crave diagrams, auditory folks thrive on lectures, kinesthetic kids need to fiddle. It’s tidy, it’s personal, it’s… nonsense. Studies—like one pitting visualizers against verbalizers—show no edge when lessons match “styles.” Randomize a picture-based or text-based electronics lesson, test […]

From Flop to Framework Nadim’s tale kicks off with a humbling twist: “I thought I was a great dad—my wife disagreed!” An entrepreneur turned parenting guru, he ditched “no manual” excuses after she modeled SEL gems. His mission? Blend neuroscience and practicality—think 150+ videos and 1,000 activities chunked into 5-10 minutes daily. “Kids don’t learn […]