What does it feel like to be the kid who can't read?

We've spent four seasons talking about reading—scores, science, instruction, dyslexia, teacher preparation, policy, and the systems that shape how children learn.

Now, we're going to listen.

Season 5 of My Child Can't Read: A Heartland Crisis turns the microphone toward the people who have lived the experience of struggling to read: students, former students, parents, educators, and others who remember what it felt like when learning became difficult, frustrating, or even a source of shame.

This season asks:

• What happens when learning becomes a place of shame?
• What happens when a child begins to believe that struggling to read means something is wrong with them?
• What happens when children are told to wait for the help they need?
• And what becomes possible when we finally listen to the voices of struggling readers?

This is a season about reading, yes.

But also about identity. About confidence. About shame. About systems. And about what becomes possible when people finally get what they need to learn.

Season 5, Episode 1: "When Learning Hurts" drops Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

From there, new Season 5 episodes will be released on the first Tuesday of every month.

Subscribe or follow My Child Can't Read: A Heartland Crisis wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss an episode.

Learn more about the Phillips Fundamental Learning Center in Wichita, Kansas and its work to help children learn to read:

https://funlearn.org

All kids reading. All kids succeeding.

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This podcast is produced by KB PODCASTS