Tip Sheet for Interviewers

Don McCabe is the author of Sequential Spelling, Let’s Write Right, Improving Reading and Spelling Via Keyboarding, To Teach a Dyslexic, The Patterns of English Spelling, as well as 20+ more books published by AVKO.

Possible Questions to Ask:

• As a nationally known author of phonic spelling books, what made you decide to write a book about your own dyslexia?
   
• What is dyslexia?
   
• Many experts think we should be identifying dyslexics through testing at an early age? Do you agree? If so, how and when?
   
• You have stated that the Universities and Colleges of Education should accept a good deal of the blame for the lack of progress in reading and spelling in the public schools systems. Why is that?
   
• The NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) has approximated that 2 million children are being educated at home since the 2007 school year. Is this a significant trend and what do you think it means?
   
• The Washington Times article called “Reading Comes First” by Geoffrey Cronin, chair and CEO of Edvocacy Research, revealed the statistic that in 2002, fewer than one-third of fourth graders could read at grade level. What do you believe to be the root cause for this national disgrace?
   
• Researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center published their findings in the November 2006 issue of The Journal of Learning Disabilities. They found that “poor readers were three times more likely than typical readers to consider or attempt suicide and six times more likely to drop out of school.” How do poor reading skills affect self-esteem?
   
• Common sense tells us that delayed development of reading skills affects vocabulary growth. Which strategy is really a viable avenue for early readers to achieve fluid reading skills?
   
• Why isn’t phonics taught in our public schools today?