Deborah L. Wolter

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson In all three of my books, I felt that it was important to note who I am and the lenses through which I view my world. I am White. I communicate in English. I grew up and worked in a university town rich with diversity and […]

Schools are good at conveying that reading is important, but we forget that reading is also about pleasure, knowledge, and empowerment. Everyone, from the layperson to literacy researchers, fully agree that developing phonemic awareness and learning phonics are integral toward learning to read. However, dictating how children are to think or not think about their […]

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error by Kathryn Schulz How do we distinguish between science and pseudoscience? And why do we go through life assuming that we’re right about nearly everything? Both books are compelling reminders of the humility and compassion […]

Teachers often point out that a student or two, particularly those considered as “struggling,” “dyslexic,” or “learning disabled,” need to learn about vowels in order to read proficiently and write effectively. Indeed, vowels are an integral—and delightful—part of our languages. Young babies babble. Silly toddlers begin to rhyme potty words. Speakers who learn new languages […]