Hancock, L. & Wingert, P. (1996, May 13). If you can read this... Newsweek, p. 75.

OVERVIEW

Controversy over reading techniques has ensued for hundreds of years. In the 1800s, educator Horace Mann suggested that the characters of the alphabet were " ‘bloodless, ghostly apparitions.’ " Yet, phonics, which uses the sounds of the alphabet to teach reading, prevailed until the 1930s. At that time, the Scott Foresman company published the familiar "Dick and Jane" stories. These stories aimed to teach reading through learning easy words, thus avoiding rote drills of sounds.

A COMPARISON

THE DEBATE

Slowly, school systems across the country changed their teaching philosophy from phonetic to "whole language." Since the shift from phonics to whole language learning, school districts nationwide have witnessed a significant drop in reading scores. The authors note: "Phonics was once blamed for turning schoolchildren into repeat-after-me robots. But now, alarmed by low reading scores, state after state is trying to return to phonics." Phonics proponents have revitalized the teaching method.

State and national bills are attempting to return phonics education to the classroom. One bill would require textbooks to "include lessons on spelling and alphabet sounds." Another encourages the teaching of alphabet sounds. Some bills compromise by urging a "mix of both decoding words and reading literature."

Whole-language advocates maintain that reading is most effectively learned by soaking one in real reading and writing experiences: "The theory is that children can figure out what words mean by seeing them in context. Children are encouraged to skip unfamiliar words. Overall understanding, not word-by-word accuracy, is the goal." Proponents view the ebbing tide against whole language as a political scheme to "narrow the scope of public education."

Most research strongly supports phonics. Data suggest that many new readers may discern words contextually, but most need help learning the "shapes and sounds of English."

Many schools are successfully melding phonics and whole language in reading. One Niskayuna (NY) school, Rosendale Elementary, created a system for uniting the teaching methods. The school found that, within two years of implementation, the number of children requiring remedial reading had plummeted. Teachers at Rosendale claim that children more confidently and enthusiastically read literary works when they are better skilled phonetically.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. Were you taught through phonics, whole language, or a combination of the two? How did the method through which you were taught affect your success and attitude toward reading?
2. Which way is the most effective? How do you read today? Do you try to sound out words that you do not know? Do you try to figure them out within the context of the sentence?

IMPLICATIONS

• You probably work with students who have difficulty reading. They may be embarrassed, particularly if they are older. It is possible that the way that they were taught was ineffective for them. Consider utilizing the alternate method to help a young person learn to read.
• Remember that students learn in different ways. Keep this in mind when trying to teach or work with them.
• Encourage young people in their reading habits. Help them to appreciate the power of the written word.

Kathryn Q. Powers cCYS