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10. If research is so clear why do the schools continue teaching reading incorrectly without any legal action taken on the part of the parent or even the tax payer? I think it is unfair to expect the entire institution of education and all the professionals who comprise it to respond to one book. It's easy to blame the field of education for the literacy problem, but not very helpful. Individual teachers are doing what they've been trained to do. Individual schools are running per procedure and policy. The literacy problem is much deeper than all that. It is about basic error in the way we think of reading and spelling. Read America's goal is to see children, parents, teachers, reading specialists, school administrators, school system officials, university professors, department of education officials, governors and presidents understanding the nature of the code through perfect methodology. Our war plan involves moving in exactly that order listed above. We're just now making our way to school systems. Paradigm shifts take time. They also require that the new paradigm is absolutely correct and that those forwarding it are absolutely determined not to move even one inch off course. Geoff and I believe that phonics is the problem. As long as phonics is the alternative to meaning based systems like whole language, the pendulum will keep swinging. The following is an article from our parenTeacher magazine that describes our overall concerns on this topic. _________________________________________________________ As this article is being written on April 20th, 1998, the Reading Excellence Act awaits a vote from the United States Senate. What are the goals and purposes of this bill? How will the bill affect teachers of reading? According to a summary written by John Boehner (8th District, Ohio) the necessity of the Reading Excellence Act is clear. Boehner says, "Fewer than 10% of teachers actually have been taught to teach reading." Boehner goes on to suggest that "fad methods" must be replaced by "reliable and replicable Phonics methods". And Boehner assures the reader that "95% of the funds proposed in this legislation are driven to the classroom." Are these goals and purposes of the Reading Excellence Act in line with what Americans believe to be true of the literacy problem in American schools? In order to find out the answer to this question, ParenTeacher Magazine conducted a brief survey of 68 parents and 49 primary teachers. The results of that survey are printed in the column to the right of this article. If this survey is representative of the parents and teachers across the nation, the vast percentage disagree with these goals and purposes and do not believe that their students and children will be helped by this controversial legislation. How will the day to day proceedings of primary and special education classrooms be affected if this legislation passes? According to a statement issued by the National Council of Teachers of English, "The bill includes phrases such as 'reliable and replicable' which mask favoritism toward particular, commercial reading programs such as Distar and Open Court." Classroom and special education teachers, well versed in particular methods they have had success with, may soon find themselves required to use other, more "favored" methods. According to Jimmy Kilpatrick, an educational consultant supporting the bill, "Programs will be affected. Research will be tied into the grants." What of new programs that don't yet have reliable and replicable research? "It's a closed knit system with these grants." said Kilpatrick. What is the mechanism that would allow for such a "closed knit" system? According to Reid Lyon, division director of the NICHD (National Institute of Health and Child Development), in a recent interview granted to the American Psychological Society Observer, "We have tried to create a research program that overcomes a lot of the frankly substandard research that has been carried out in these more education related areas." Does Lyon believe that educators are unable to conduct anything but "substandard" research? In his June 10th, 1997 address to Congress, Lyon said, "Unfortunately several recent studies and surveys of teacher knowledge about reading development indicate that many teachers are under prepared to teach reading." About teacher training Lyon said, "... we find consistently that they are method driven rather than conceptually prepared to teach the range of skills required to learn to read." Currently, the funding for "reliable and replicable" research is coming almost exclusively out of Lyon's agency. There are two problems with this: 1. the committees that determine who gets the funding are made up of the very people competing for the grant money 2. researchers not in alignment with their agenda are excluded from the committee. And just what is their agenda? In his June 10th, congressional report, Lyon mentioned Phonics by name more than twenty times, Lyon argues that Phonics is a necessary component to any effective reading program. Will an agency that carries such an agenda be fair about dispersing research money so that methods can be reliable and replicable? In his report to Congress, Lyon referenced eighteen NICHD approved and funded studies around the nation. With the exception of those involved in investigation of brain based dyslexia, each is investigating Phonics programs. One such study, in the Houston schools, is investigating the efficacy of the Open Court Phonics program. The first results of the study were published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. Many of the people who review for that journal are also competing for NICHD grant money. Does this kind of special placement stand up to the high standards implied by the words "reliable and replicable"? These and other questions should be answered before the United States Senate even considers passing anything as controlling as the Reading Excellence Act. But pass it will, according to lobbyists in attendance and offering status reports to anxious researchers at a recent reading research conference in Texas. What can classroom teachers do who want to be more than just technicians at the mercy of publishers, researchers and federal agencies with their own possibly dubious agenda? Some leaders in the field of reading offer advice. "Talk to your legislators, and write letters to the editor on important educational issues," offers Dr. Kenneth Goodman, Professor of Language and Reading, University of Arizona. "My concern is that the best teachers will leave the classroom when faced with unreasonable controls." Dr. Diane McGuinness, author of Why Our Children Can't Read, offers this advice, "Even the best Phonics programs have a fail rate of 30%. Ensure that what they're telling you to do is both reliable and replicable before you commit your students to it." How can a classroom teacher assure that methods are "reliable and replicable"? "Organize networks of people to help in your quest. District and university statisticians, curriculum specialists, teachers with many years of experience with many different methods, can all be recruited into networks to guide you in your quest to bring the best programs to your students," says Dr. McGuinness. Paula Gilgen, a curriculum specialist at Lake County School District in Florida said, "We offer workshops to teachers. They're professionals. They pick and choose what makes sense to them." The advice from the editors of ParenTeacher Magazine? Don't let the researchers, publishers, and legislators take your profession away from you. Petition for college course changes that will prepare you to know when you're being fed an agenda geared for special interest rather than for your students. There are a few basic principles that 30 years of research (NICHD and many, many others) have shown to be the issues surrounding reading success. Follow these, and you'll follow your students down the path to reading success. What can classroom teachers do who want to be more than just technicians at the mercy of publishers, researchers and federal agencies with their own possibly dubious agenda? Some leaders in the field of reading offer advice. "Talk to your legislators, and write letters to the editor on important educational issues," offers Dr. Kenneth Goodman, Professor of Language and Reading, University of Arizona. "My concern is that the best teachers will leave the classroom when faced with unreasonable controls." Dr. Diane McGuinness, author of Why Our Children Can't Read, offers this advice, "Even the best Phonics programs have a fail rate of 30%. Ensure that what they're telling you to do is both reliable and replicable before you commit your students to it." How can a classroom teacher assure that methods are "reliable and replicable"? "Organize networks of people to help in your quest. District and university statisticians, curriculum specialists, teachers with many years of experience with many different methods, can all be recruited into networks to guide you in your quest to bring the best programs to your students," says Dr. McGuinness. Paula Gilgen, a curriculum specialist at Lake County School District in Florida said, "We offer workshops to teachers. They're professionals. They pick and choose what makes sense to them." The advice from the editors of ParenTeacher Magazine? Don't let the researchers, publishers, and legislators take your profession away from you. Petition for college course changes that will prepare you to know when you're being fed an agenda geared for special interest rather than for your students. There are a few basic principles that 30 years of research (NICHD and many, many others) have shown to be the issues surrounding reading success. Follow these, and you'll follow your students down the path to reading success. _________________________________________________________ The editors of ParenTeacher Magazine conducted the following survey and got these results... Do you agree or disagree with these statements in John Boehner's summary of why the Reading Excellence Act should be passed? "Fewer than 10% of teachers have been taught to teach reading?" Replacing "fad" methods with "reliable and replicable Phonics methods" will ensure that children not fail to learn to read. Do you believe the Reading Excellence Act will impact what teachers do in their classrooms? Here are some other questions that all teachers and parents should ask themselves....
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