Posted on 09/26/2013 1:23:55 PM PDT by BruceDeitrickPrice
In the antebellum South, it was illegal to teach slaves to to read lest they get “dangerous ideas.”
In the the liberal plantation that the USA is rapidly becoming, organized education will prevent everyone from learning to read lest they get “dangerous ideas.”
I agree with much of the article but all of us use some “sight word” methods. There, their, and they’re are all sounded out about the same but we use a whole word approach to ID the meaning.
Agree. But the issue is more complex than stated here.
A large number of children, probably a considerable majority, will learn to read with ease regardless of what method is used. I personally don’t remember how I learned, since I cannot remember not knowing how to read. Mom took a picture of me when I’d just turned 3 absorbed in a “real” book. So the method used in schools was just irrelevant to me. The other second graders were reading Dick and Jane. I was reading Lord of the Rings.
The problem is that there is a considerable subset of children that can learn to read well if given appropriate instruction via phonics, as people have learned to read for thousands of years, but not if forced to learn via “modern” methods.
But, as the article says, phonics isn’t modern, or sexy, or innovative, or something. So large numbers of children must be sacrificed so these evil idiots can pat each other on the back.
So, instead of learning ABC’s and learning how words are constructed of sounds; the kids have to learn the entire word by sight?
Untrue. Large numbers do.
Acceptable as hyperbole, though.
I clearly remember learning to read in 1st grade with Dick and Jane in 1956-57. (First word on the first page of the book was "Look!")
Of course, we also had a phonics workbook as part of the instruction.
I will be the first to admit that I have many flaws, but being unable to read is certainly not one of them.
I have talked to several college presidents about this.
Better tools, better results.
No darn Ebonics.
Why make learning to read so troublesome? With the aid of a colorful alphabet book, a grandfather who helped me learn the associated sounds, and access to books plus an occasional prompt from that grandfather, I became a competent reader before entering first grade, and then was introduced to Dick and Jane and Spot, at 5 yrs, 9 mos. And I am just an ordinary schmoe.
My three children likewise became competent readers before entering first grade, because their mother (and occasionally moi) regularly read to them, colorful word/picture books were readily available to them, and they could practice their skill by reading the sides of cereal boxes at breakfast. And they were not distracted by TV cartoon junk.
This article is SPOT ON!
I’m not totally sure how I learned to read myself. My parents said when I was little I used to “read” the children’s books they read to me and they just figured I had memorized them - until one day I read one of my cousin’s comic books. I was about four at the time.
What I do know is that I was about the only one in my kindergarten class who already knew how to read.
Ping
BookMark
Yer a racist and a homophobe. /S
I beg to differ. "Sight words" do not build a proper foundation for understanding new words. They also hinder development of speed reading or even just proficiently fast reading.
(I know that last bit sounds counter-intuitive because speed readers read entire words or even sentences at once. However, I am one, and a good foundation regarding how words are formed from letters is critical to developing speed reading skills.)
JMHO, of course.
Me, too. Before first grade, my parents had taught me how to read, add, subtract, multiply, divide, and understand basic science. Didn't you find school incredibly boring until at least high school? Maybe college? I sure did.
BTW, they used a technique a lot like phonics (but without the workbooks) to teach me to read...
How silly - it’s no harder than learning to read Chinese.
Used Bob Books with my kids. Absolutely the best phonics based reading program. The "books" are pamphlets that initially focus on one vowel pronunciation and a few consonants. They have funny plots and are so short attention span is not a problem. They gradually ramp up the complexity so it's easy for the kids to advance.
So, even if you are trapped with a teacher who insists on using "modern" methods and your kid is falling behind, a few minutes with Bob each night is the cure.
My son was reading before he went to kindergarten. They tried to teach him to read with phonics. Didn't work because he already knew how to read.
If you want your child to read, and read well, before he/she starts school here is what needs to be done.
Read to your child every night before bedtime. There are books available that have stories for every day of the year.
If you do that, I guarantee that your child will be reading to you before he/she starts school.
I and my wife did that, and it works. Plus, an unbreakable bond is developed between you and your child.
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