Funmurphys: the Blog

I fail to see what kids learning to read really has to do with liberalism or conservatism.
"whole learning" does NOT throw out phonics nor is it opposed to it. I have been a teacher of junior children for many years , and trained in reading recovery. I have seen children learn to read in many different ways. My eldest son looked at me with frustration and scorn when I asked him to 'sound it out' Just tell me what it says. He was perhaps a fortunate person who found learning to read easy. I don't recall HOW I learnt to read, but I do know it took me till I was an adult to come to grips with phonics lol - and I still don't get all those long and short oooooooos and ahhhhhhhs, but as a teacher I have come to terms with them. As to someones reference on coming across a reading and mispronouncing it -there are many instances in the English language where phonics lets us down on that.
I realise I am not expressing myself clearly and merely wish to point out that 'whole language' and 'phonics' are NOT at opposing poles of a scale and are not liberal or consertive. Whatever works for any individual engaged in the process of making sense of print is of paramount importance and the more we bring to this the better. The more we understand and make these things accessible is surely what is the fundamental point - not oppostition?????????????

Liberally conservative neice of Don Holdaway

I fail to see what kids learning to read really has to do with liberalism or conservatism.
"whole learning" does NOT throw out phonics nor is it opposed to it. I have been a teacher of junior children for many years , and trained in reading recovery. I have seen children learn to read in many different ways. My eldest son looked at me with frustration and scorn when I asked him to 'sound it out' Just tell me what it says. He was perhaps a fortunate person who found learning to read easy. I don't recall HOW I learnt to read, but I do know it took me till I was an adult to come to grips with phonics lol - and I still don't get all those long and short oooooooos and ahhhhhhhs, but as a teacher I have come to terms with them. As to someones reference on coming across a reading and mispronouncing it -there are many instances in the English language where phonics lets us down on that.
I realise I am not expressing myself clearly and merely wish to point out that 'whole language' and 'phonics' are NOT at opposing poles of a scale and are not liberal or consertive.I have also spent much of my teaching years working with children for whom english is a second language. With the help of phonics some have been able to sound out something like the word 'fence' but if you have no internal reference to what a fence is what use is that???-let alone when we move beyond nouns....... processes do not work in isolation. Whatever works for any individual engaged in the process of making sense of print is of paramount importance and the more we bring to this the better. The more we understand and make these things accessible is surely what is the fundamental point - not oppostition?????????????

Liberally conservative neice of Don Holdaway

I fail to see what kids learning to read really has to do with liberalism or conservatism.
"whole learning" does NOT throw out phonics nor is it opposed to it. I have been a teacher of junior children for many years , and trained in reading recovery. I have seen children learn to read in many different ways. My eldest son looked at me with frustration and scorn when I asked him to 'sound it out' Just tell me what it says. He was perhaps a fortunate person who found learning to read easy. I don't recall HOW I learnt to read, but I do know it took me till I was an adult to come to grips with phonics lol - and I still don't get all those long and short oooooooos and ahhhhhhhs, but as a teacher I have come to terms with them. As to someones reference on coming across a reading and mispronouncing it -there are many instances in the English language where phonics lets us down on that.
I realise I am not expressing myself clearly and merely wish to point out that 'whole language' and 'phonics' are NOT at opposing poles of a scale and are not liberal or consertive.I have also spent much of my teaching years working with children for whom english is a second language. With the help of phonics some have been able to sound out something like the word 'fence' but if you have no internal reference to what a fence is what use is that???-let alone when we move beyond nouns....... processes do not work in isolation. Whatever works for any individual engaged in the process of making sense of print is of paramount importance and the more we bring to this the better. The more we understand and make these things accessible is surely what is the fundamental point - not oppostition?????????????

Liberally conservative neice of Don Holdaway

Trish,

Thanks for commenting. Please try to comment on the appropriate post. And please note that Carl says he doesn't think either is inherently conservative and liberal, but that they got tagged (in the United States anyway) with those labels -- more grist for the political mill.