Joe's been a little worried about me homeschooling, so I was pretty smug when I told him the news that our school district is facing some drama with illiteracy rates and a whistleblower got fired, is suing. Apparently the kids aren't being taught phonics, just to memorize words, and they often memorize what the teacher says instead of focusing on the word and associating it with its meaning. My baby is learning phonics :).