S1E1 /// The Sound to Letter Code We Never Learned — And It’s Not Your Fault

What if everything you believed about how kids learn to read… was wrong?

 

In this Season 1 premiere, host Jesica Glover — a mom, former reading specialist, and once-struggling reader herself — shares her family’s journey through confusion, frustration, and discovery. This episode uncovers how our education system lost sight of how reading really works… and why so many parents and teachers were left in the dark.

You’ll hear from brain scientists, psychologists, educators, students, and parents all asking the same painful question: Why can’t my child read — and why didn’t anyone prepare us to help them?

This isn’t just a story about what went wrong. It’s the beginning of a reckoning — and a roadmap toward what’s possible.

In This Episode You’ll Hear

• Jesica Glover’s personal story of struggle — as a mom and an educator

• Kansas Educator, Jill Hodge, reflecting on feeling unprepared despite a degree

• Sarah Collins discovering her child’s experience wasn’t unique

• Teen Emmi Johnston describing what it’s like to feel “stupid” — until someone finally teaches you to read

• Austin Collins, age 10, student with dyslexia

• Dr. Reid Lyon explaining why reading isn’t natural — and why the science still hasn’t reached most classrooms

 

“If you’re a teacher who feels unprepared, a parent who feels unheard, or a student who feels invisible — you’re not alone. And it’s not your fault.”

  Call to Action

• Subscribe so you never miss an episode

• Rate & Review on your favorite podcast platform to help others find the show

• Share this episode with a parent, teacher, or professor preparing future educators

• Tell us your story at: funlearn.org/subscribe

• Explore screening tools and resources at: funlearn.org

  Resources & Further Reading

• Alphabetic Phonics Curriculum (Multisensory Teaching Approach) 

• Children of the Code video series: What’s at Stake

• Dr. Reid Lyon, Keynote, Summit for Literacy (2024)

• LETRS Structured Literacy Training

• Phillips Fundamental Learning Center — Wichita, KS

• Reading in the Brain by Stanislas Dehaene (Viking, 2009)

• Sold a Story podcast — Emily Hanford & APM Reports

• Teaching Reading Is Rocket Science by Louisa Moats, AFT (2020)

• G. Reid Lyon, “Why Reading Is Not a Natural Process,” via Reading Rockets

 

 

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This podcast is produced by KB PODCASTS