Phono-Graphix in Britain

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In oral evidence given to the Select Committee of the House of Commons, Dr. Kevan Collins, National Director of the Primary National Strategy, spoke out on behalf of children and against ‘synthetic phonics’ proponents who would keep books from children until after they’d received explicit drills in the sound symbol code. In a synthetic phonics classroom children are given no books until they have demonstrated code knowledge; and then they are given only readers with controlled text.

In testimony to the Select Committee hearing such arguements in consideration of possibly changes to Britain’s National Literacy Strategy Collins said, "Controlling the reading environment of a child is a tricky business because there might be the odd book that you have control over but the truth is that children are active readers right across the curriculum and throughout their lives,and what you have to do is give them strategies that allow them to be engaged and positive about that approach and not think, ‘I can only read when I read these little books and everything else I cannot read’."

Although the developers of Phono-Graphix do not necessarily agree with Dr. Collins on all matters pertaining to literacy acquisition, we strongly support his position on the matter of allowing school children free exposure to books. The sort of rigid thinking that drives phonics proponents to keep books out of the hands of school children is what led Carmen and Geoffrey McGuinness to ask, "Why give a failed method another try?" in there best selling book ‘Reading Reflex’ and departed entirely from the phonics box with the development of highly effective instructional practices like ‘Buddy Reading’ that turn books into tools for teaching the code.

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