I found this podcast from this 
post:
I subbed today for a 7th and 8th grade teacher. I’m not exaggerating when I say at least 50% of the students were at a 2nd grade reading level. The students were to spend the class time filling out an “all about me” worksheet, what’s your name, favorite color, favorite food etc. I was asked 20 times today “what is this word?”. Movie. Excited. Trait. “How do I spell race car driver?”
I've only listened to one episode so far, but it's really well produced, seems well-researched and very well put together.
From what I gather so far, the ways that the American public school system "teaches" kids how to read is not only completely wrong, but actually saddles them bad habits which fundamentally hinder their reading comprehension.
A huge swath of American adults are functionally illiterate, and I think I'm starting to understand why.
The educated literate Americans are worse lol
They're more likely to support wars on the side of America and other weird shit
"U.S. adults with a bachelor’s or postgraduate degree are more likely than those with some college or less education to have positive views of NATO. For example, three-quarters of Americans with a postgraduate degree express a favorable view of NATO, compared with 56% of those with a high school education or less."
"Literacy was always the most basic tool of capitalist propaganda. If you are not literate, you cannot be fed capitalist propaganda" - Michael Parenti
https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1871/letters/71_07_27.htm
"The revolution that teaches children to read [so they can spell Slobonmi Krainee] has my support."