Reminds we of the columnist Carl Rowan years ago. When an issue first arose in the news it was usually obvious that he had no opinion one way or the other at first. Once other liberals explained what the liberal position was, in their columns and on TV, he always fought like hell for it. Unless other liberals laid out the party line for him, he never had a clue on which way to go on an issue.
I think the reason liberals prefer whole language over phonics is simple.... With phonics there is always a right and wrong way to spell or pronounce a word (OK maybe a handful of exceptions). In the Whole Language approach, their is no clear right or wrong. It is the home of creative spelling.
As a junior high language teacher in AZ, I wasn't allowed to correct spelling errors in my students' work because it would stifle creativity and negatively affect their self-esteem. What a crock.
"It's a mystery to me why liberals don't like phonics."
It is because liberalism is a mental disorder.
You have heard how blacks not wanting to be too white will harrass black classmates who complete homework and get good grades. Do you think this is only a black problem?
How are liberals who clearly don't want children to learn to read different from the blacks who don't want other blacks to achieve?
I don't see any difference except for the race and social class of the offender.
Liberals know it is a competitive world in which they are losers. They are so bitter an adult liberal will try to prevent a little child from acquiring the tools to be a winner (reading).
It is the, "I can't have it so I don't want anyone else to have it," syndrome, taken to the extreme.