There was a man who, worked tirelessly to remediate the instructional reading crisis in the USA, his official name was The Right Honorable Robert W. Sweet, Jr., however, we all knew him as Bob Sweet.
His resume follows:
As Founder and President of The National Right to Read Foundation from 1993 until the present, Bob has testified before Congress, state legislative education committees, local school boards, and parent groups promoting reading instructional programs based on valid, empirical, scientific evidence.
As a teacher, textbook salesman and consultant for two major publishing companies, McGraw Hill and Holt, Rinehart and Wilson for nearly 20 years, he provided teacher training in reading and math, and visited thousands of classrooms all across New England. He served as a member of the Board of Education in his local community for six years and advised the New Hampshire Governor and State Board of Education Chairman on education policy.
During his more than 20 years of federal service he has written legislation that has been implemented at both the state and federal level, and has initiated or assisted in the preparation and/or distribution of some of the most significant reports on reading instruction in the United States: Becoming a Nation of Readers, Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning About Print, The Report of the National Reading Panel, Reading First, Early Reading First, Bilingual Education, Special Education, The Institute for Education Sciences Act, The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, Retarding America The Imprisonment of Potential, and The National Adult Literacy Survey.
Bob has traveled extensively across the United States and visited many elementary schools to observe classroom instruction in reading that exemplified evidence based instruction. From 1994 through 2016 The National Right to Read Foundation has recognized a “Teacher of the Year” who exhibited the most evidence-based practices in teaching all students to read proficiently. It has been Bob’s objective and mission to provide the opportunity for ALL students to learn to read proficiently, no matter what their age, ethnicity, or economic status. He has been unwavering in his commitment to the use of direct, systematic, and intensive teaching of the five components of reading instruction that decades of scientific research have proven to work: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, fluency, and comprehension. The National Right to Read Foundation is dedicated to these objectives with just as much passion and commitment as when it was founded more than 20 years ago.
With such an impressive resume, you’d think that pride would abound, yet, I can say, that humility was truly the symbol of this man’s life and walk. Wherever Bob went, he brought with him, a joy of living and a true love for Our Lord Jesus Christ. Bob’s hope and motivation came from his deep faith and love for all God’s children. Every child was to Bob a precious gift who deserved the right to learn to read.
I was blessed and humbled to have been able to know Bob and befriend him. We were both passionately aflame with the love of teaching and the miracle of what good instructional curriculum can do for children, rich or poor.
Bob’s heart was big! He had a huge family with children and grandchildren whom he loved dearly. He enjoyed a network of phonics friends throughout the United States and he loved teachers to the core. I think he often thought of them so highly that he accredited their work in the classroom above his own contributions!
I cannot say enough about this friend, this humble man. He drove 10 hours from Virginia to Brooklyn, NY and back to visit my classroom in 2015. I tried to make a video of his visit. It is attached here.
What’s not on this video remains in my heart and memory. I saw Bob light up in my classroom. He loved my kindergarteners and they reciprocated. He sprang into action helping them with reading and writing while witnessing incredible progress.
Shortly after his visit to my classroom Bob was diagnosed with cancer. He fought tremendously through a few renditions of this cancer. He was always the optimist, giving God the glory for his recovery and even in his suffering. Bob never gave up. His hope was in Our Lord Jesus Christ, (the hope that springs eternal), which finally ushered him into eternity.
I considered Bob a soldier, a comfort and a warrior. A Commander General in the battle we hold here in the USA for reading and children; his absence will leave a gaping whole in our fight. I can only pray that another such warrior is raised up to stand on his shoulders because honestly, we desperately need men like Bob Sweet.
As I say good-bye to this humble servant, I know he will be sorely missed here in the USA. I, personally, will surely miss this pillar of righteousness and humility.
Until we meet again, in glory, I say, good-bye dear one.
My heart is truly broken by this loss.
Bob Sweet’s Obituary can be found here: Bob Sweet Heritage Cares
