Why Basic Needs, like Literacy, Must Come Before Resilience Training — and What Schools Get Wrong

Psychologist, educator, and Raising Moxie® founder Dr. Karin Hodges joins FULCRUM’s Kareem Weaver and Parents for Reading Justice’s Brett Tingley in a thought-provoking episode, uncovering how failure to meet children's literacy needs is driving stress and anxiety. Dr. Hodges warns that as schools increasingly invest in social-emotional learning (SEL) curricula, many of these programs miss the mark by focusing on student characteristics rather than addressing systemic issues like illiteracy. She offers a stark critique of a system that too often shifts the burden to parents while absolving schools of their core obligation to teach literacy and calls for equipping adults with relational tools that foster resilience and confidence—what Dr. Hodges calls “skilling-up” the grown-ups. This episode tackles the harmful belief that some children are “hard to teach” based on their home life or community background and unpacks the dangers of coddling, the ethics of emotional regulation practices, and how “calm-down” strategies can backfire when they dismiss a child’s lived emotional experience.

Resources:

Raising Moxie Website:

https://www.raisingmoxie.com/

Dr. Hodge’s Resources List:

https://www.raisingmoxie.com/references

Dr. Hodge’s Facebook:

@Raising Moxie

Dr. Hodge’s X:

@RaisingMoxie

Dr. Hodge’s Instagram:

@raising_moxie

Dr. Hodge’s YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIGQrrt1ffZ0i0zdZDVo2Pw

Dr. Hodge’s LinkedIn:

@Karin Maria Hodges

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Parents for Reading Justice has teamed up with FULCRUM’s Kareem Weaver to bring you "Literacy Now, Together" — a podcast mini-series that takes a closer look at the reading crisis and explores real solutions with literacy leaders and families across the country.

Parents For Reading Justice is a nonprofit grassroots movement dedicated to ensuring every child learns to read by engaging parents and educators in adopting the science of teaching reading.

About Brett Tingley:

⁠https://parentsforreadingjustice.org/brett-tingley-bio⁠

About Kareem Weaver: ⁠

https://tinyurl.com/KareemWeaverBio⁠

About Parents for Reading Justice:

⁠https://linktr.ee/parentsforreadingjustice⁠

About FULCRUM:⁠

https://linktr.ee/fulcrumliteracy ⁠

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DISCLAIMER: All information in this video is presented as our shared experience only, with the intention of helping others to understand our efforts and experience. Nothing presented herein should be construed as offering legal advice. We encourage everyone to seek professional legal advice pertaining to their individual circumstances. We welcome you to share your experiences with us on all matters relating to dyslexia as we are continuously learning new information to help push our cause to help as many people with dyslexia as possible. Thank you for your continued support!