Why Johnny Still Can't ReadRudolf Flesch's 1955 Why Johnny Can't Read examined the crisis in teaching reading as he saw it. His companion volume, Why Johnny Still Can't Read: A New Look at the Scandal of Our Schools, published in 1981, reiterates his concern with the contemporary methods of teaching reading in the elementary schools. He contrasts the use of phonics to teach reading with what he calls the "look and say" method of learning.