Trust the "Experts?"

I've been watching some interesting debates on X (formerly known as Twitter) that relate to educational best practices. Maybe the algorithm has targeted me in a way that pushes me towards one side of the debate, but sometimes the most common-sense idea or practice is the right one. When I was a new teacher, I would often look at more senior teachers with disdain because they were unwilling to adapt and change with the times. I'm no longer in the classroom, but I can very much appreciate where they were coming from. 

There are so many theories on learning and different teaching methods that it's hard to sift through what is good and what is pure rubbish. At least, that's what I used to think. Anytime my district introduced a new program or we had new standards to align with based on what the state dictated, I went along with it because who was I to question the experts? Now that I work in the building with the experts...I can confidently say that most guidelines, standards, or rules are purely made up. You'll hear things like "research-based" or "data shows." Still, one thing I've learned about education is that it is nearly impossible to have good research or data in education because each student, teacher, classroom, school, district, state, and nation is completely different. 

 A podcast that came out a few years ago called "Sold a Story" gained a lot of popularity by diving into how the American education system teaches reading to elementary students. For years, universities and school districts had been sold on the idea of teaching reading using "balanced literacy" or the "Three-Cueing System" as opposed to learning phonics and other strategies in what is now called "The Science of Reading." The debate isn't completely over, but most would agree that the Science of Reading should be what is focused on in our schools. 

 But how did these other models of learning become so popular? Essentially, a few influential authors and companies were able to convince most states, universities, and school districts that their program was the best. The experts merely claimed they were experts, and people believed them because they were so convincing. This is upsetting on so many levels because it's hard to believe that a whole nation can be duped into something that seems so obvious. 

The most frustrating part for me is that I currently see the same thing happening in science and math instruction. A few charismatic people are pushing a specific way to teach backed by specific teaching practices to implement, but there is no evidence these practices work. I'm seeing this pushed down nationally by certain organizations and universities, but also by state content "experts." 

 The thing that irritates me the most is that I see it happening, but I don't know what to do to prevent it from being pushed across the state. How do I tell an "expert" that they are wrong? I've reached out to university professors to see what they are teaching and have reached out to "experts" that push against what I'm currently seeing. This podcast really got to me because everything they push makes so much sense, but I don't know how to share this with other "experts" when it essentially says everything they are doing is wrong.