Some clown in the 80s decided that learning to read by memorizing what words look like and guessing from context clues was superior to phonics - learning to associate sounds and letters, aka "sounding it out." It infested some parts of Canada, but I get the impression it was much more widespread and systemic in the states for longer.
I can't help but think it was one of those people who intentionally seek to hurt others while moshing or crowd surfing, but pretending they're oblivious to what they did.
Is he a mogul?