This Tuesday, a reading volunteer and I had a conversation about the podcast by Emily Sanford, SOLD A STORY. She was wondering if not enough phonics is the reason that her college students were lagging.
I think it is much more complicated than that.
First, what I think most kids need to deal with learning the eccentricities of English is curiosity. They need to wonder what is going on in the story and how the words get you there. Then they need to wonder how words work. More than that, teachers also need to be curious about how words work and have a lot of knowledge about how words are put together that could help answer and extend kids’ questions. My thought is that teachers should know a lot of “phonics” and experiment with how to make their students themselves take ownership at whatever level is helpful to each of them.
I am not fond of the “science of reading”. (Other countries read the current research differently.) It turns out all the important things about early reading are hard to test. Also it is very difficult to turn scientific research into teaching that matters. Different curriculums following the “science of reading” make different decisions about what is important in the pacing and content. Following the “science of reading” often means that poor kids get boring basal readers (Stedman kindergarten) or digital programs which means more early screens.
I have read a lot of Marie Clay, Calkins, and Fountas and Pinnell. Their programs contributed hugely to the quality of life of students in elementary schools. I see nothing to gain by villainizing them. These curricula are all porous. Administrators and teachers could easily decide that kids need more or less and add and subtract to what is taught. Emily Sanford seems particularly interested in villainizing these four women because they made money. I cannot help wondering if these women would have been criticized for making money if they were men in another profession- say sports.