"This interview left me more frightened than frustrated." With these disturbing words, Dr. Kathleen Loftus (of EducationNews.org) summarized her response to an interview she held with Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.

In the interview, Dr. Loftus raised a range of concerns with Secretary Spellings such as the poor performance of US students relative to those in other nations, our failure to produce enough scientists, and the high drop out rate in high schools.

In answering these challenges, "The best she (Spellings) could come up with was something about how the traditional classroom structure has changed little in 50 years, but could then offer not one concrete suggestion as to how to make America's schools better, other than alluding to something about teachers needing to make the subject-matter more interesting. She failed to even acknowledge how today's students are a different breed, coming from far different circumstances with vastly different learning needs than their predecessors."

While the interview was muddled and disturbing, it still came across with a loud clear message. For Dr. Loftus, the message was frightening. For parents, it is a call to arms.

It sends a clear signal that parents who want their children to succeed must take responsibility to ensure that goal. That is the basic premise behind Phonics Plus Five. It is designed to give parents all the tools they need to foster success from the earliest years of life and so prevent the failure that is so devastating to a child's life.

When parents start the program, they often express surprise at the children's willingness to do the lessons. Accustomed to the fights over traditional school materials, the parents gird themselves for yet another set of battles. But Phonics Plus Five is designed to bring easy, steady mastery from the get-go. When this is combined with the children's deep motivation to succeed, the result is a cooperative, happy child who is a full partner in the teaching-learning experience.