New Year's Greetings from John

As I sit on my deck looking out at the Pacific Ocean on the morning of a new year, I let the quiet settle, and with it I sense a change that has been building and moving forward. It is the kind of awareness that comes from watching understanding take shape over time, as one year gives way to the next with continuity and purpose, carrying momentum without fanfare.

As 2026 opens, I feel a quiet lift, and the image it brings to mind is of a kite finding its wind. You feel the breeze first, and then it draws upward on its own, until it finds its balance and holds. That is how this moment feels to me, a sense that what has been forming in literacy is beginning to sustain itself.

This feeling reflects where literacy instruction has been heading. Throughout 2025, evidence continued to strengthen, bringing more science into our understanding of what truly supports learning. Across many studies, a consistent conclusion emerged: one-to-one instruction produces the strongest reading outcomes, especially when it is driven by the oral language vocabulary a child already possesses. When learning begins from what is already understood, progress can be transformative.

In December 2025, that understanding moved into clearer focus with the publication of a peer-reviewed paper in The Educational Therapist. Re-examining Foundational Literacy Instruction in the United States: A Case for Linguistic Phonics, by Dr. Svetlana Cvetkovic, PhD and her co-author, brings together findings from linguistics, cognitive science, and speech-language research, showing that reading success grows strongest, with reduced cognitive strain, when instruction starts from spoken language and then connects to written form where meaning is already understood. This clarity helps explain why, within one-to-one instruction, reading strength can develop so naturally and so quickly.

This is where the question of 2026 begins to take shape. Evidence and clarity have brought us far, yet the work ahead must also find ways to reach more children, in more settings, and in more lives. Teachers bring care and commitment into their classrooms every day, families work closely alongside them, and tutors offer added encouragement, even while time and energy place real limits on what any one person can do.

The bridge I see here is technology. I remember well when technology first appeared as a distant glimmer, little understood yet full of possibility. At its core, it learns through pattern recognition, much as the human brain does, detecting relationships and modeling change. Seen this way, its role in learning begins to make sense, not as a replacement for instruction, but as support for recognizing and reinforcing the many patterns within reading and literacy.

I understand why caution exists here, especially with technology, because learning carries trust, and trust is always earned slowly. Yet the same care that has guided progress in literacy can guide how these capabilities are explored and understood. When approached with restraint and purpose, this alignment offers a way to support reading instruction in forms that respect teachers, families, and, most importantly, the individual learner.

At this stage in my life, I am 88. I have seen much, I have lived the consequences of low literacy without placing blame, and I have witnessed what becomes possible when insight, care, and the right tools come together over time. That perspective gives me confidence that what is emerging now is real.

As we move through 2026, I feel confidence in the road ahead. It feels less like standing on one side calling for change, and more like crossing a bridge that has been carefully built. The work continues, guided by curiosity and care, and the direction feels steady enough to carry what has already begun toward lasting literacy success for all.

God bless,

John Corcoran

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