"Let Them Eat Sight-Words"

CanadaFreePress ^ | Feb. 15, 2012 | Bruce Deitrick Price

[BruceDeitrickPrice]

Marie Antoinette, on hearing that French peasants had no bread to eat, suggested, “Let them eat cake.”

This quip perfectly captured the haughty indifference which many people attributed to the French monarchy. A few years later, she was punished for her hauteur: execution by guillotine.

The famous quote was probably never uttered. Real or not, it’s a handy symbol for an arrogant elite, indifferent to the suffering of the people.

When you read in the newspaper that the US has 50 million functional illiterates, the disdainful queen should flash into your mind.

During the 1920’s, the American population was moving toward universal literacy. By 1940’s, that success was a thing of the past. More than 1,000,000 young men could not read well enough to enter the military. What happened?

Circa 1931, the Education Establishment enforced a new instructional method called Look-say, and later known as Whole Word, Sight Words, and many other aliases.

This method (no surprise to teachers of phonics) has been a painful catastrophe. Theory says that children can memorize 25,000, 50,000, or even 100,000 English words as graphic designs. Oh, really?? Most people can’t reach 1,000, and that requires a major struggle over many years.

It’s striking that so-called literacy professionals, in the face of manifest failure, pushed this dubious gimmick for so long. Clearly, they are well barricaded in ivory towers. “Eh bien, paysans, mangez les sight-words!”...

[900 WORD ARTICLE; HOW IT ENDS]

"...focus on early literacy. When children are three or four, teach them the alphabet, the sounds, the blends, and so on. These kids will be protected against the craziness that many schools insist on perpetuating.

CODA: I’m hopeful that a quiet rebellion will form around the banner Early Literacy At Home. For more on this important topic, see “54: Preemptive Reading” on Improve-Education.org."

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[rawcatslyentist]

How are kids supposed to know what a word sounds like when they wont teach them what the letters sound like to begin with?

Intentional communist sabotage!

Moses and Jesus are illegal, Snoop Dawg and cop killer are 24/7, and we wonder why they behave like they do???

[Reddy]

Not using phonics to teach children to read and write English is insane.

Definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.

[Ole Okie]

Look-say.

An educational disaster.

[goodwithagun]

I am a public school teacher. I teach 11th grade American literature and 12th grade British literature. I can say that this article is very true. Children who learn sight words or use the see-and-say method do not know how to read. Sure, it gets students through fourth or fifth grade successfully, but they can't function at higher levels without phonics training. Our school system uses a Title I program called Success for All (SFA), which claims that phonics is part of the learning system. Since reading WHY JOHNNY STILL CAN'T READ (sorry don't know how to do italics) I have learned why this is a lie. It is quite frightening to hear 12th graders read, mispronounce words, and then not even recognize that what was read makes absolutely no sense.

[goodwithagun]

I am a public school teacher. I teach 11th grade American literature and 12th grade British literature. I can say that this article is very true. Children who learn sight words or use the see-and-say method do not know how to read. Sure, it gets students through fourth or fifth grade successfully, but they can't function at higher levels without phonics training. Our school system uses a Title I program called Success for All (SFA), which claims that phonics is part of the learning system. Since reading WHY JOHNNY STILL CAN'T READ (sorry don't know how to do italics) I have learned why this is a lie. It is quite frightening to hear 12th graders read, mispronounce words, and then not even recognize that what was read makes absolutely no sense.

[goodwithagun]

I hope the new servers eliminate the chronic double posts.

[Hotdog]

I don’t disagree with your reasoning...phonics is a good tool but from my prospective I can’t use it simply because I have a 70% hearing loss since birth...I’ve learned to sight read and memorize words for over 55 years...my handicap and I accept it...however, having said that you need to know that though my names not Johnny...I read 2 books a week on average and must have over 3000 books in my library.
I’m also an engineer (non degree) and teach and do consulting work. Again, I’m not saying phonics isn’t good...but lots of “johnny’s” can read with out it...having said that...how do you teach some to spell and pronounce “phonics” using phonics...just wondering...

[Oshkalaboomboom]

When my younger brother was in grammar school they taught him to read using a new program called the Initial Teaching Alphabet. Instead of normal letters they had a bunch of different symbols, each representing a different sound. Supposedly once you learned these sounds you would have the tools to know every word in the English language. They even learned to read from ITA books instead of regular ones.

My brother could read an ITA book perfectly. The only problem was that in the real world there were no ITA books and he had major problems in the transition from ITA to normal. It took him many years to catch up and recover from the damage done to him by this experiment in modern learning.

[Eva]

Oh for Pete’s sake, I have never heard of anyone being taught sight reading that wasn’t followed up with phonics.

Now, what you might be seeing are students with mild dyslexia, who simply cannot learn phonics without great difficulty.

Most of the best students and fastest readers are sight readers.

[ari-freedom]

My niece is in 2nd grade and can now read on an 8th grade level. Her secret? I gave my sister Sig Engelmann’s “Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons” and she followed it.

[Kenny Bunk]

Eva, here's the old-time deal.

(1) You learn to read by the Phonics method. McGuffey, for instance.

(2)After you master that and read a few hundred real books, you are then a sight reader.

The Ed Gurus merely tried to get the children to sight reading faster by eliminating phonics. You know what? In highly literate households where kids pick up reading on their own when they are 3 or 4, it sometimes works.

It does not work all that well for your ordinary happy-go-lucky 6-year old male first grader. I tutor maths at the Community College and these youngsters, while perfectly "nice" people are astoundingly illiterate and have absolutely none of the Western Canon under control at age 20 or so. Nada. Zip. Nuthin'. Can you spell, "Obama Voter?" Forever.

PS: If I see one more tattoo, or piercing, just send the cops to pick me up before I hurt someone. WTF? Over.

[ari-freedom]

“how do you teach some to spell and pronounce “phonics” using phonics...just wondering...”

‘ph’ is taught as ‘f’
For example: PHone, PHoto, soPHistry, PHarmacy, etc

[codder too]

Look say an educational DELIBERATE disaster. See Charlotte Iserbyt’s book, THE DELIBERATE DUMBING DOWN OF AMERICA . and see who did this and why. Available on line and from Amazon in a new updated edition. Watch her hour long Alex Jones interview. The truth will set you free.

[ari-freedom]

“(2)After you master that and read a few hundred real books, you are then a sight reader. “

That’s the other part of the equation. After my niece learned how to read, we gave her a ton of books. She reads every night before she goes to sleep. When I was over to babysit, I gave her the Book of Esther and she read the entire book before it was time to turn off the lights.

[Straight Vermonter]

My four year old has been taught entirely with phonetics yet he can read all of the Dolch words through third grade. < /proud dad>

[Hotdog]

Got it...I’m still having trouble with too, to and two...love the English language...I remember going to a plant in Nottingham, England...arrived there at 8:00am their time and had jet lag big time. The plant manager came to greet me and responded by saying “He couldn’t wait to have intercourse with me”
I damn near ran from that place (intercourse to them means to have conversation)

[wtd]

This classic 1986 speech by renowned educator and author Samuel L. Blumenfeld discusses this very subject. The video is one hour and 42 minutes in length and is as fresh today as it was decades ago.

[codder too]

Gave our grandson Hooked Onthe Phonicsat age 4. Be could read AND spell before starting school. Once you have the phonics programed in the brain it cannot be undone and ADD ADHD is not a problem for these kids. Our grandson read the Easter story to me from a children’s book. The ONLY word missprounced was disciples. He chose a short i rather than long. I said the word and the next night he ‘knew’ word and will for the rest of his life. Phonics is the greatest gift a child can be given for a lifetime of learning and enjoyment.

[Lazamataz]

Marie Antoinette, on hearing that French peasants had no bread to eat, suggested, “Let them eat cake."

This quote has been falsely attributed to Antionette for a loooong time.

It's the old-time version of liberal smear jobs in the current media.