Why Johnny (and the rest of us) Can't Read

History of Reading in America: Rudolf Flesch and his Famous Essay

Jul 31, 2024

Hello beautiful humans! It has been a MINUTE since I chatted with y’all about the history of reading in America. The last time I broached this subject was back in May when I gave you a rundown on the classic Dick and Jane.

See Jane Run. See Dick Run. Run Run Run.

Alexis Davis

May 29, 2024

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Dick and Jane were very of their era, a whole-milk and classic coca-cola vibe. But we all know what the 1950’s led to my friends, and that was a bunch of free loving hippies. I can’t help myself: when I think of what shifted from the 1950s to the 1970s in kid-lit I want to place a Dick and Jane illustration right next to a Dr. Suess illustration and let the images do the talking.

A big part of the shift from Dick and Jane’s penny loafers and puppies to Dr. Suess’ Sneeds and Sneetches was born in the expose written by Rudolf Flesch in 1955 titled Why Johnny Can’t Read: And What You Can Do About It.

Rudolf (in the) Flesch…Sorry guys, I had to do it.

Rudolf Flesch was born in Austria, educated at the University of Vienna, then fled the Nazis and moved to America where he earned his PhD in Library Sciences from Columbia University. His doctorate project devised a measuring system (The Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test) to determine the difficulty level of a piece of writing. The scales were so effective they are still in use and are even written into programs for plugins like Grammarly, which I am most definitely currently using to hold my hand while I write this article. I find it a bit mind-blowing that, in a way, Mr. Flesch is giving me advice.

By the mid-1950s Flesch was already a best-selling author, having written five books about becoming a better writer. (Guys, should I be reading these?!?) When a good friend of his asked for reading help for his child, Flesch noted that the child didn’t have any learning disabilities but instead was unable to read because he was a product of the American school system. (Not helping stymie my back-to-school anxiety Rudy).

In his resulting book, Flesch threw both Dick and Jane and the entire look-say (or whole word) reading system under that big yellow school bus and ruthlessly ran the whole crew down. And when I say ruthlessly, I mean he said Dick and Jane were “horrible, stupid, emasculated, pointless” creations. Ouch.

Flesch argued that what “Johnny” was missing was phonics, a practice that was used all over Europe and was, in his opinion, why other countries were so much more literate than America. He also (problematically IMO) compared look-say reading to character-based languages like Chinese, inadvertently suggesting that character-based languages do not produce prolific readers. (I wonder how literate Chinese schoolchildren were in comparison to the rest of the nations referenced in his study). I don’t think this harm was intentional or even realized. His intended argument was that in order to properly learn to read in English, one should first have a phonetic understanding of the language.

Did all the schools jump on the phonics bandwagon? Heck no! Flesch’s expose was met with a lot of resistance and backlash. Potentially because he used some pretty harsh and direct (he was always arguing for simple and direct language) to make his point.

The reaction from the educational world was to start the International Reading Association (later called the International Literacy Association) as a devoted resource for teachers and educators to look at the latest research and discussion around literacy and the art of learning how to read. Ironically, the first president of the association was William S. Gray, who you may remember was the author of the Dick and Jane series (bold retaliation move Gray), so you can imagine how well the association heeded Flesch’s advice.

Despite not being fully accepted, Flesch continued to argue for the return of phonics for the rest of his life. Although his book did not immediately inspire a full reworking of the American school system, it did spark the question: what method are we using to teach kids how to read, and is it working? What are we going to do about it?

Enter great scientists like Jeanne Chall who I wrote about here and who spearheaded excellent research and studies on how we learn to read.

Another unexpected outcome of Flesch’s book was a Times review of Why Johnny Can’t Read which jumped on the bus running down Dick and Jane, wondering why the series couldn’t at least be illustrated by creatives like Dr Suess. Houghton Mifflin’s head of the educational department caught on and asked Suess to write a book that appealed to first graders using a limited and preapproved word list. How this differs from Look-Say reading is still a bit lost on me, but regardless, The Cat in the Hat was born from the public slaughter of Dick and Jane.

This is terrifying. Let’s all agree to never watch this film.

If you get curious (you know I am) you can still buy Why Johnny Can’t Read: and What You Can Do About It and read for yourself what Rudolf Flesch was saying.

Thanks for being here for another segment of reading history! I hope you learned something new and had a good time. I know I did.

FROM THE STAX

THE BOOK HOG by Greg Pizzoli

The book hog loves loves loves books! He loves to check them out, to take them home, to smell them, to feel them, everything about them. Only one problem: he can’t read them. Not until a kindly librarian saves the day.

Greg Pizzoli is a surefire winner. His characters are loveable, his stories are simple and silly, and his art is eye-catching. We ARE the book hogs at the library, taking home way more books than we can carry in hopes that someday we will all know how to read.

THE BOOKSHOP MICE by Robert Starling

After Astrid tells her classmates about her moustronaut mom and the wild adventures she goes on with her dad, and her classmates have a hard time believing her. So she brings them home to show her friends how impossible adventures are achieved: through the pages of books of course!

Sharing the message that books can take you anywhere, plus cute little fuzzy mice on the page, this book is almost as magical as one of those storybooks that can and do take you to faraway lands and exciting adventures. But, a peek into the world of a bookshop mouse is cute nonetheless.

FRANKLIN AND LUNA AND THE BOOK OF FAIRY TALES by Jen Campbell

Franklin and Luna are back for more book-centric folly. In this tale, they are throwing Franklin a birthday party. When they stop by a lovely (and magical) bookstore the crew literally (get it?) fall into the pages of a book of fairy tales and are stuck with no way out. The pair make friends along the way who, of course, all get to tumble out of the book in the end and join them at the party.

If your family has read some classic fairy tales then you will love to discover and discuss the updated take on the classics in this story within a story. I find the rhyme schema a little clunky at times and can’t decide if I love this or dislike it, but I know that I do love the paintings on the pages as well as the special friendship between Franklin and Luna.

NO CATS IN THE LIBRARY by Lauren Emmons

Clarisse the cat loves books! She may not be able to read, but the pictures are pure joy. One day she discovers the library, where no cats are allowed. Clarisse sneaks in and makes a new friend who wants to read with her, which may just be the secret key that unlocks the library door for one very special cat.

Allergies aside, I love that this book suggests reading to a cat. This is a great way to take the pressure off the moment and let your kid read to someone or something who won’t interrupt, make corrections, or get involved. A cat like Clarisse is a perfect reading companion for a beginner reader to build confidence and enjoyment around the art of reading. We will be using stuffies and imaginary cats at our house, thank you very much. *ACHOO*

AN EXCESSIVE ALPHABET by Judi Barrett Illustrated by Ron Barrett

Avalanches of A’s, Boatloads of B’s, Flocks of F’s, and so on. Each letter is positively packed on the page alongside so many alliterative items for finding and naming that your child is not only getting a good look at the letter over and over again, but can practice hearing the sound (or sounds) the letter makes as they find, point out, and say each exciting and sometimes preposterous thing.

A visually stimulating (“it’s gonna poke the reader in the eyeballs” anyone?) book chock-full of alphabet fun, this one is phonics basics to the t. Practice letter recognition alongside letter sounds all day long.

CHATS

I remember reading an essay in college that was a pre-internet memeification of Flesch’s book titled “Why Johnny Can’t Dissent” by Thomas Frank and it blew my little collegiate mind. It argued that nobody can truly dissent because, by the time dissent has grown to a level of the public following, it is no longer an act of dissent but an act of joining the herd and being just like everyone else. We are all little lemmings, jumping off the cliff right after the lemming in front of us.

Thanks for that article, sexy professor. I’ll never forget it (read: you). And thanks, Rudolf Flesch for writing the OG article that sparked it all.

Have you read any essays in your life that stuck with you forever?
What are your favorite kids’ books about books (meta)?
Have you ever watched that Cat in the Hat movie and is as terrifying as it looks?

Thanks for being here (if you made it here) and happy reading y’all!

“We have not been able to get the science past the schoolhouse door” - Mark Seidenberg cognitive scientist, professor at the University of Wisconsin, and author of Language at the Speed of Sight