EDG4376 Reflection #12

John Dewey and other Progressive Educators believed in whole language instruction, in which the student should be encouraged to follow his or her ways of thinking, which should always be regarded as valid by the teacher. Furthermore, this philosophy supports children in drawing conclusions about the world without necessarily needing to know the facts. In whole-language instruction, language is a natural phenomenon, where language development is an authentic, natural process. Researchers have found that children who develop literacy from a whole language program ultimately enjoy popular literature, hands-on learning, and peer interactions. On the other side of the spectrum, advocates of phonics instruction believe that acquisition of knowledge is an objective process, through which people perceive reality and learn from it. Therefore, students are taught the “basic facts” of reading; to sound each and every syllable out in order to make sense of a word. They focus on phonemic awareness, morphemes, phonemes, proper grammar, and unfamiliar vocabulary. There is a humongous controversy between advocates of whole language instruction and advocates of phonics instruction. Many people deem phonics and phonemic awareness as necessary, but boring. And others believe that whole language instruction doesn’t truly teach children the facts they need to know. This disagreement has been called “a broad, philosophic disagreement, with crucial educational implications.” Today, many educational administrators believe that a balanced approach to literacy development will serve as the cure all for this conflict. The balanced approach integrates whole language and phonics instruction, and is now commonplace in most schools.
This topic parallels the subject of emergent literacy vs. reading readiness. Up until the 1970s, most parents and educators believed in the reading readiness model. This philosophy holds differing viewpoints in itself; one in which children developed literacy skills due to biological maturation, and the other held that certain experiences could accelerate literacy. The nature vs. nuture debate was prevalent. But in the 1970s, educational researchers started focusing on the fact that children began showing signs of pretending to know how to read and write before they actually knew how, and the term emergent literacy came into play. School administrators challenged the traditional reading readiness model, and once again, questions concerning the best way to teach children literacy arose.