Building Lifelong Readers: How Families and Schools Can Instill the Joy of Reading
Reading is not a natural ability—it must be intentionally taught, cultivated, and modeled. In this episode, host Davies Owens is joined by educator and reading specialist Dorrie McKoy—who also happens to be his sister—to explore why so many children struggle with reading today and how classical Christian schools and families can work together to reverse this trend.
Dorrie unpacks the science behind how children learn to read, discusses the “reading wars” between phonics-based and whole-language methods, and shares practical tips for parents at any stage—from toddlers to teens. Whether it’s how to evaluate your school’s curriculum, how to build a home library filled with true, good, and beautiful books, or how to avoid the pitfalls of graphic novels and screen-based reading, this episode offers timeless strategies to raise strong, thoughtful, and joyful readers.
🎧 Tune in to discover:
- Why phonemic awareness and phonics still matter
- How classical schools can avoid “sawdust” reading without lowering standards
- What parents can do—starting today—to cultivate a culture of reading at home
Dorrie McKoy, a native Atlantan, graduated from Gordon College with a B.S. in Elementary Education and has a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of New England. Dorrie is also Orton-Gillingham trained and is a phonics junkie. She has taught in private Christian schools for twenty years, half of those years in Classical Christian schools. She has a deep desire to instill a lifelong love of reading good books in all her students. Sharing the world through books can open doors of wonder, empathy and understanding far greater than most adventures in day-to-day life. Dorrie has been married almost thirty years to her best friend, Herb. They have a son who is a Cobb County Firefighter/EMT. When Dorrie is not at school you will find her playing with her cats (Gordo and Cooper), reading, cooking, gardening, or taking a walk with her husband.
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