Sold a Story 2: What Happened to Teaching

Emily Hanford (0:00)

In the 1960s, the federal government set out to answer a profound question. What are the best ways to teach?

SPEAKER_2 (0:10)

They evaluated different philosophies of education.

Emily Hanford (0:13)

The idea is, let's try to find out what works. The study involved hundreds of thousands of students and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

SPEAKER_3 (0:23)

The largest educational experiment, at least that we know of, in the history of the world.

Emily Hanford (0:29)

It took almost a decade. When it was over, one way of teaching stood out above the rest. We beat them in everything.

This way of teaching had kids doing basic algebra 7 plus r equals in preschool.

SPEAKER_4 (0:48)

Yo! 7 plus how many equal 11?

SPEAKER_2 (0:53)

Yeah, how'd you work that out? If I had had that type of teaching throughout my life, I don't know where it would have taken me.

Emily Hanford (1:14)

But a lot of people didn't like it.

SPEAKER_4 (1:17)

One educator is called the approach totalitarian, another horrible.

SPEAKER_3 (1:22)

There was a terrific backlash against the program.

SPEAKER_4 (1:25)

It was totally new and totally controversial. There's a wide range of people against it.

SPEAKER_3 (1:31)

It doesn't fit what they want education to be.

Emily Hanford (1:34)

And the critics won.

SPEAKER_3 (1:43)

It was like a baseball bat to the head.

Emily Hanford (1:45)

The study was buried. Most teachers have never heard of it. And the kind of teaching that works so well? Most schools don't do it.

My podcast, Sold a Story, investigates the science behind learning and what happens when deeply held beliefs clash with evidence. The first season of Sold a Story revealed why so many schools were struggling to teach kids how to read. And it sparked a wave of change across the country. And after the podcast came out, teachers were telling me, it's not just reading.

The majority of our kids are two to three grade levels behind. In the new season of Sold a Story, we go beyond reading. We look at teaching itself, and we dig into decades of research on what actually works. Sold a Story Season 2, What Happened to Teaching, coming October 15th to your favorite podcast app. And if you want to learn more about what we've uncovered, sign up for our newsletter at soldastory.org/email.

SPEAKER_5 (3:11)

One summer evening when she was 20 years old, something terrible happened to Vianna Luke. I can't figure it out, but I do know that it was a violation. Then people started asking questions.

SPEAKER_3 (3:23)

What a creep!

SPEAKER_4 (3:24)

Who else knows about this?

SPEAKER_5 (3:26)

From CBC's Personally, this is Agent Layla, the story of how a victim went undercover.

So bring it on, let's go. Let's get a confession. Available now on CBC Listen, or wherever you get your podcasts.