Stop the Pendulum

This is a book about the struggles over reforming reading instruction and the corresponding effort to improve reading achievement in the United States over the last seven decades.

William D. Bursuck is Professor Emeritus of Specialized Education Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He obtained his Ph.D. in special education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Until his retirement in 2014, Dr. Bursuck was involved in preparing special and general education teachers to teach reading and other essential skills to students with special needs.

Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Teaching Reading 1955-1983: Instructional Disputes, Federal Involvement, and the Roots of Reform Chapter 3: Experiences: Teaching Reading in Urban and Rural Settings, 1968-1978 Chapter 4: Teaching Reading 1983-2008: Reading Policy Takes Center Stage Chapter 5: Experiences: A Thirty-Year Career in Teacher Education, 1983-2013 Chapter 6: Policy and the Personal: What We Learned from Seven Decades of Reading Instruction and Reform References About the Authors