In education, few topics have generated as much debate in recent years as how we teach children to read. Today, there is broad agreement on one important point: phonics instruction, teaching students how letters and sounds work together, is essential.
That’s progress. It means parents and educators are listening to research and grounding our work in what we know matters. But as with many things in education, when we work to correct one problem, we must be careful not to create another.
Recently, Mississippi has received national praise for improving literacy rates among elementary students. That progress is worth celebrating, for sure. But those gains do not always seem to carry forward as students get older, and that should lead us to ask an important question: are we giving students enough opportunity not just to practice reading skills, but to actually read?
A recent article published by Education Next, “The Cost of Over-Teaching Phonics,” raises an important and timely question: can we overdo phonics instruction? Drawing on the work of cognitive scientist Mark Seidenberg and others, the answer is yes.
Students do not need to master every sound pattern and exception before they begin to read successfully. Instead, they need enough foundational knowledge to reach what researchers sometimes call “escape velocity,” the point at which they can begin learning new words independently through reading itself.
And that’s where we must be careful. Children do not become strong readers by practicing reading skills alone. They become strong readers by actually reading…widely, deeply, and often. That means reading real books. Books that tell stories. Books that build knowledge. Books that challenge them to think, imagine, and make meaning. Books they choose and enjoy, as well as books that stretch them beyond their comfort zone.
If we truly want students to grow as readers, we must give them time to engage with authentic text, not just isolated words, decodable passages, or short excerpts designed to practice a specific skill. Reading is not a checklist of phonics rules. It is an act of thinking.
It is also a matter of stamina. Just as an athlete cannot build endurance without sustained effort, a reader cannot develop strength without extended time in text. Students need opportunities to read for longer periods, to stay with a story, to work through complex ideas, and to build the mental endurance required for college, careers, and life.
Too often, we underestimate this. When instructional time is dominated by fragmented skills practice, students may become proficient at short tasks but struggle when asked to read longer, more complex texts. They may decode accurately but lack the stamina to persist. They may complete assignments but never experience the joy of getting lost in a book. That is not the outcome we want.
We also know that growth as a reader depends on exposure to increasingly complex text. Students should not remain at the same level of reading difficulty year after year. They need to encounter richer vocabulary, more sophisticated sentence structures, and deeper ideas. That kind of growth does not happen by accident. It requires intentional time with challenging, meaningful text, and support from skilled teachers who guide students through it.
Our responsibility is not simply to prepare students to meet accountability standards, but to help them succeed in life. That means developing readers who can think critically, communicate effectively, and engage with the world around them.
Phonics plays a critical role in that journey. But it is not the destination. If we are not careful, an overemphasis on isolated skills can crowd out the very experiences that make reading powerful. Every minute spent drilling sound patterns is a minute not spent building knowledge, discussing ideas, or discovering a love of reading.
We need both! Strong, systematic phonics instruction, especially in the early grades, and classrooms where students read real books every day. Classrooms where they build stamina, grapple with complex text, and come to understand not just how to read, but why reading matters. Because in the end, our goal is not to produce students who are experts in phonics rules. Our goal is to produce students who pick up a book because they can, and because they want to.
Students who read to learn, read to think, and read to enjoy.
That is the kind of reader who is truly ready for what’s next.
Dr. Tyler Hansford is the Superintendent of the Union Public School District. He currently serves as President of the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents and Past-President of East MS Center for Educational Development. His research interest focuses on academic success in rural schools.
