Whole language vs. Phonics (ding-ding), that was a mess. I remember as an undergraduate having a professor strongly pushing whole-language instruction. I also remember receiving whole-language instruction in school. It was a just as big a struggle to understand in the second grade why we did reading the way we did as it was as a Junior in college. There is so much data out there that promotes a blending of the two philosophies; the whole argument kind of reminds me of the Budweiser’s commercial- taste great, less filling! Where is the problem? Do both.
I think the reading instruction has improved since I was in school; I truly see kids reading more, having more opportunities to read, and having more reading materials to read. I recall in elementary school if you had a book late you got a late fee of a dime a week or something like that; and if you could not pay the money, you could not check out a book. Needless to say, I didn’t spend much time in our school library checking out books.
The standards, communities, and society may change, but our philosophies, if grounded in truly rigorous and substantiated research, should not.
