Emily Hanford is the Alexa App of Reading Instruction

We need good information to help us determine what is and isn’t real. And in order to make good educational decisions, we must be able to evaluate our sources of information. Our sources should be true. We cannot build truth based on untruths and semi-truths. Two half-truths do not make a whole truth. You cannot build a house on a foundation of sand. You cannot make good decisions about reading instruction based on inaccurate or incomplete information. Hence, we must be able to evaluate our sources to ensure we’re getting good information.
Having expertise in literacy is important for understanding reading instruction. You have the whole picture. You know what questions to ask, what data to collect, what to use to measure the data, how to collect the data, and how to interpret the data. With this expertise, you are able to connect the data-dots to create a robust theoretical picture. Without this expertise, you are like Emily Hanford connecting a few dots to create a weak theoretical picture.