November 6, 2025
As a kindergarten teacher, a big part of Violet Nye’s job is teaching kids how to read. But the way she teaches her students is very different from how she learned as a kid. She remembers being taught to memorize whole words.
Now, she’s steeped in the practice of teaching kids how to sound out words, while also building up their vocabulary and helping them lift words off the page to imagine whole new worlds from stories.
A new law aims to get more California teachers to teach reading the way Violet does. It comes after years of advocacy and debate and required a significant amount of compromise.
Guests:
- Violet Nye, Kindergarten teacher, San Juan Unified School District
- Diana Lambert, Reporter, EdSource
Read more from EdSource: New law changes how California kids learn to read
Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.
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