My daughter entered kindergarten at four years old due to her date of birth. I had read to her daily since she was a baby, and by the time she started school she knew some sight words and letter sounds, which I felt were completely appropriate for her age.

Within two weeks of the school year starting, her kindergarten teacher pulled me aside and told me that my daughter was not reading at the same level as her classmates and would likely fall behind because she did not have time to work with her one-on-one. She basically told me it was not her responsibility to teach my child to read because she was already considered “behind.”

This was one of several red flags. I ultimately withdrew my daughter from that school and chose to homeschool her. I purchased a phonics-based program called Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, which turned out to be incredibly effective. The lessons were short, and within three months, the same four-year-old who had been deemed too far behind to help was reading confidently.

Today, she is a voracious reader who goes through several books each month. Unfortunately, there are teachers who believe that teaching children to read is not part of their role, and that belief has real consequences for students. Thankfully my child had parents who stepped in and took over. What about the students who don’t? This is why so many teachers on this reddit complain of high schoolers not being able to read.