Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is taking a stand on how the federal government teaches kids to read, and he's not mincing words. In a Saturday post on X, Cruz declared, "America is facing a national literacy crisis, while federal dollars continue to flow to outdated methods that fall short in teaching children to read."

"That policy should end," he added, throwing his weight behind the bipartisan Improving America's Literacy Act. The bill aims to redirect education funding toward literacy programs that actually work, based on evidence rather than tradition.

Cruz says the legislation would focus on the "five pillars of the Science of Reading"—an approach built on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. For those unfamiliar, the Science of Reading isn't a fad; it's a decades-long body of research explaining how reading develops, why some kids struggle, and which teaching methods genuinely improve outcomes. The term has gained traction in recent years, sparking efforts to clarify what it really means in the classroom.

The senator's push comes as reading scores across the country continue to raise alarms. By tying federal dollars to proven methods, Cruz hopes to shift the conversation from what's comfortable to what's effective.

This isn't the only literacy battle Cruz is fighting. He's also been vocal about financial literacy, a topic that's getting fresh attention from some big names.

Investor Kevin O'Leary, for instance, is backing the Trump administration's child investment policy. He says the "Trump account" initiative could help solve America's financial literacy crisis by giving children a financial foundation from birth. The program would invest money for kids until they turn 18—something O'Leary calls "bipartisan, pro-family, pro-entrepreneur, and forward-looking."

Meanwhile, Google DeepMind CEO and Nobel laureate Demis Hassabis is singing the praises of a different kind of literacy. He says Richard Feynman's Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! was a major influence during his student years. Hassabis credits the book with capturing the sheer excitement of scientific discovery, and he cites thinkers like Alan Turing, Claude Shannon, and John von Neumann as inspirations behind his work in AI and computing.

So whether it's teaching kids to decode words or to navigate the complexities of money and science, the message is clear: how we teach matters. Cruz's bill is a bet that evidence-based methods can turn the tide on literacy—and he's hoping Congress is ready to read the writing on the wall.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by MarketDash editors.