Lack of Reading Skills Destroys Young Lives

This article reflects on the failure of Australian education, particularly regarding literacy, drawing on Noel Pearson's lecture about the devastating consequences of illiteracy, especially for Indigenous Australians. The author, Greg Twemlow, connects Pearson's concerns to his own pedagogical model, a 3x3 matrix focusing on nine key skills for experiential learning, arguing that experiential learning, especially in phonics, is crucial to overcoming educational disadvantages. Twemlow describes his own journey in developing this model and its successful implementation in NSW schools. He advocates for a shift from traditional teaching methods towards experiential learning to prevent students from falling into a "skills swamp" of disadvantage and hopelessness. The article highlights the urgent need for educational reform to ensure all students develop foundational literacy skills. Read the article on Medium.About the Author - Greg Twemlow writes and teaches at the intersection of technology, education, and human judgment. He works with educators and businesses to make AI explainable and assessable in classrooms and boardrooms — to ensure AI users show their process and own their decisions. His cognition protocol, the Context & Critique Rule™, is built on a three-step process: Evidence → Cognition → Discernment — a bridge from what’s scattered to what’s chosen. Context & Critique → Accountable AI™. © 2025 Greg Twemlow. “Context & Critique → Accountable AI” and “Context & Critique Rule” are unregistered trademarks (™).