In this episode, Amanda shares a deeply personal story about her family's struggles with reading and the educational system. The narrative begins with Amanda recounting her own challenges in a special reading class in third grade, only to realize it was a lesser struggle compared to her sister's. Amanda's sister had significant difficulties with reading, eventually diagnosed with dyslexia, leading the family to invest in extensive phonics programs. Amanda describes the emotional and financial toll these struggles had on her family, including her sister's sense of isolation and the inadequacy of the school's support.

The story transitions to Amanda's experience as a teacher. She shares various strategies and observations throughout her teaching career to help struggling readers, highlighting systemic issues in education. Amanda details an innovative, self-created guided reading program, the obstacles she faced, and the mixed success. She acknowledges the significant gap in teaching reading effectively, pointing to a lack of proper training for teachers in phonics and reading interventions.

The episode concludes with Trina and Amanda discussing potential solutions, including the need for trained volunteers or retired teachers to provide targeted phonics instruction, and calls for systemic change to prioritize and compensate high-quality reading instruction in schools. The segment ends with a call to action for education reform to address reading challenges and support all students.

00:00 Introduction: A Personal Story of Struggling to Read
02:23 Family Challenges with Learning Disabilities
05:26 Sister's Journey: From Struggles to Success
07:14 Transition to Teaching: College and Early Career
08:45 First Teaching Job: Elementary School Experience
09:31 Innovative Teaching Methods and Challenges
11:04 The Importance of Reading Engagement
11:19 Charter School Experience and Student Challenges
12:00 Addressing Reading Struggles in the Classroom
13:08 The Need for Proper Teacher Training
15:50 Pilot Program for Reading Intervention
22:43 Reflections on Teaching and Reading Instruction
27:23 Conclusion: The Need for Empowering Teachers