Why Johnny Can't Read

Why Johnny Can't Read

Author	Rudolf Flesch
Subject	Literacy, American education
Publisher	Harper and Brothers
Publication date	1955
Pages	222

Why Johnny Can't Read—And What You Can Do About It is a 1955 book-length exposé of American reading education by Rudolf Flesch. It was an immediate bestseller for 37 weeks and became an educational cause célèbre. In the book, the author concluded that the "(look-say)" method (memorization of whole words by sight) was ineffective because it lacked proper phonics training. Additionally, Flesch was critical of the simple stories and limited text and vocabulary of the Dick and Jane style readers that taught students to read by memorization of words. Flesch also believed that the look-say method did not properly prepare students to read more complex materials in later grade levels.

See also

• Basal reader
• Dumbing Us Down
• Phonics
• Primer (textbook)
• Reading
• Reading education in the United States#History
• Why Johnny Can't Add

Bibliography

• Hall, Robert A. (1956). "Review of Why Johnny Can't Read—And What You Can Do about It". Language. 32 (2): 310–313. doi:10.2307/411011. ISSN 0097-8507. JSTOR 411011.

Further reading

• "Education: Why Johnny Can't Read". Time. March 14, 1955. ISSN 0040-781X.
• Friedman, Ian C. (2004). Education Reform. New York, NY: Facts On File. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-8160-4962-2. OCLC 248886041.
• Golub, Adam (2015). "Solving the School Crisis in Popular Culture: Why Johnny Cant Read Turns 60". Ethos Review. 2 (1).
• Robinson, Helen M. (1955). "Review of Why Johnny Can't Read-And What You Can Do about It". The Elementary School Journal. 56 (2): 9192. doi:10.1086/459420. ISSN 0013-5984. JSTOR 999438.