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Bryan Orton

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Bryan Orton

You can't standardize

your way to wisdom.

You can't test your

way to love.

------

The Wrong Lane: Six Literacies School Never Taught You (But Life Demands) — a new book by Bryan Orton, drawn from thirty years teaching the students the system gave up on.

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The Book

We spend years getting kids ready for a test.

Far too little getting them ready for the life

that comes after.

The six literacies school was never designed to teach:

Build them, and you can thrive

anywhere. Miss them, and no degree

can fill the gap.

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About Bryan

Bryan Orton has spent thirty years teaching the students the system gave up on — in federal corrections, alternative education, and traditional high schools. He writes and speaks about education, identity, and becoming more than you were told you could be. He holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from Pacific University and was mentored by Hall of Fame speaker Jim Cathcart. He lives in Silver Lake, Oregon. The Wrong Lane is his first book.

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I was a D-track kid.

In Gresham, Oregon, that meant the slow lane — the place the system quietly moved you when you couldn't keep up. By ninth grade I was reading at a second-grade level. Everyone, including me, had decided what that meant about who I was.

Then two teachers refused to accept the label the system had stuck on me. One handed me the sports page because I loved basketball, and love gave me a reason to read. The other sat me down at a computer, evening after evening, and taught me to write one word at a time. They didn't lecture me. They sat with me. And somewhere in there, the story I'd been living inside — slow, behind, not enough — cracked open.

I became a teacher because of them. For three decades I've stood in front of the students everyone else had written off, and watched the same thing happen again and again: a person discovers the lane they were put in was never their destiny.

The Wrong Lane is the book I wish someone had handed me at eighteen — everything school was supposed to teach about how a life actually works, and didn't.

Foreword by Dr. Richard Jensen.

A Word from Bryan

Before you decide — let me tell you who this is for. 

 Praise for The Wrong Lane

I was deeply honored when Bryan asked me to review his book. The short is that this book is amazing. Reading about Bryan's journey has been invigorating. His story is truly unique; most students with his circumstances don't achieve as much as Bryan has accomplished. His forthright approach conveys a level of care, wisdom, and authenticity that can only be achieved by someone who has painstakingly walked the talk for decades. The Six Literacies, or lack thereof, have been present in classrooms throughout my career, and until now, I have been unable to directly identify them. For the outside observer, the frogs on the log is the perfect description of our Education system. Always deciding, always collecting data, always planning, but rarely ever doing. Bryan identifies each of these concepts and shares a story that demonstrates each of them in practice. I’ve been to too many Professional Developments that lack any sort of actionable material that can be used today. Bryan gives you a curriculum that can be started today, and it requires nothing more than a pencil, a notebook, and a library card. 

The words of encouragement in the epilogue is a reminder of why the late nights grading, the extra costs for materials, the stash of snacks, the extra school supplies, and the creative lesson plans are worth it and why they matter. The budget cuts, increasing class sizes, changed assignments, and layoffs have taken a major toll. Thousands of excellent young educators have ended their careers prematurely because of a deeply flawed system. Our children deserve better. Hopefully, this book will become a catalyst and mark an inflection point in education toward a better tomorrow.

Rob Patterson
Master of Arts in Education 
Licensed Teacher since 2021

Anyone who understands systems knows that they need constant overhauling to stay on track and to get better. The school system needs to become user friendly by teaching in ways that the students can can see are useful now and later. Bryan Orton's book is filled with ideas that could eventually overhaul and improve the whole system! Read it and you can start using many of the ideas right away! 


Dr. Richard Jensen

I really enjoyed reading the book The Wrong Lane by Bryan Orton. It was so well written. He put so much thought and information into it, with his over 30 years of experience. He has so many brilliant ideas, that were so interesting. His ideas could really help many school systems. This is a great book for parents, teachers, administrators and anyone who wants kids to learn in a good environment, to improve schools and also life in general. I was really impressed with the book and would recommend it to anyone who wants a good read.    


Debbie Ferschweiler

Buckle up your seat belts for you are about to be taken on a journey from understanding how being mislabeled in elementary school brought the author to construct a solution to what’s wrong with our public school system and it’s curriculum. Bryan Orton spins a true story about overcoming obstacles in learning and realizing that what students really need is teachers they can trust. As he navigates life and school Bryan is introduced to many influential mentors and students along the way. He conveys stories about his 30 year journey as a teacher that really makes his book a fascinating read. To top it off he crafts 6 literacy’s that school should be teaching but don’t. Enjoy!

Daniel Kerpan
Smart Reading volunteer 

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FEATURED ENDORSEMENT

“Great speed in The Wrong Lane will not win the race. Safe driving in that lane also leads to disaster.

Our education system has been choosing the Wrong Lane for decades and Bryan Orton has been inside the system identifying the changes that can make it work for everyone. Bryan is a respected colleague whom I admire. His personal story will inspire you and his wisdom can direct you to acquire the “literacies” that school never taught.”

JIM CATHCART, CSP, CPAE

• Author of The Acorn Principle

• Founder of The Oaks Roundtable

• Professional Expert

• Hall of Fame Speaker

• Bestselling Author

• cathcart.com

For Media and Podcasts

Bryan is available for podcast interviews, press, and speaking. He's a natural in conversation — three decades teaching the hardest rooms in America, and a story that starts with a kid who couldn't read.

What Bryan can talk about:

• Why schools sort students into lanes — and what that sorting costs them for the rest of their lives

• The six literacies that actually determine how a life goes

• What he learned teaching GED to men in federal prison

• How the labels we're handed as children quietly run our adult lives

• What every parent should understand about how their child is being "tracked"

• The case for a different curriculum — from a teacher who's seen test scores miss the point

• The Self-Mastery Triangle: one practical tool anyone can start using right away

Email Bryan

Contact

For interviews, speaking, podcast appearances, or anything else — reach Bryan directly:

[email protected]

Better Solution - a better way to become better.

The Wrong Lane is published by Janell Rae Press. • © 2026 Bryan Orton