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On Tue, 1 May 2001, Dawn Sardes wrote:

> I don't know why I'm even telling you all this, except to say that no single
> program "works" for every kid.  I have seen kids thrive on whole language and
> end up frustrated with phonics too.  Whole language does not mean (and never
> has meant) that basic skills such as phonetics are ignored.  Kids do not
> learn by osmosis.
>
I think this is the bottom line -- that no one program is perfect for
every learner. Personally, I prefer a blend or balance. My son got off
to a slow start due to a hearing problem. I placed him with the teachers
who were a little more structured including one who incorporated DISTAR
into a whole language program. He leaped ahead. My daughter, on the
other hand, really required no instruction and never really had any
phonics instruction at all because it was never needed. She broke
the code by herself after a lifetime (short as it was) immersed
in books and reading. The only thing I ever worried about was her
conventions -- a common concern among those who fuss over whole
language programs. But in reality, she progressed at just about the
same rate I did as a child. We pulled out all the letters and compositions
my mother saved from when I was a child and compared one rainy
afternoon. The similarities were remarkable. Today, at 15, my daughter
works as a writing intern for a major record company. I don't worry
about conventions anymore!

My only objections to "phonics" come when someone speaks of phonics
as the only instruction needed as if it were something that stands
alone by itself and is sufficient in doing so. There is much more
involved than that! Imagine the reader who can only decode and can
only decode using phonics.


==========================================================================
"Obscenity and hate speech alike only become free speech issues when their
foes turn from censure to censorship. When we decided to let a thousand
flowers bloom, we always knew that some of them would be weeds."
                -- Henry Louis Gates Jr., educator, c. 1990
=========================================================================
J. Rathbun, Library Teacher
Lincoln E.S., North Las Vegas
Email: jrathbun@orednet.org



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