Re: phonics politics
KEN GOODMAN (kgoodman who-is-at CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU)
Tue, 07 May 1996 11:01:53 -0700 (MST)
There are many fundamentalist Christians that are whole language
teachers- in fact there is a strong whole language movement in bible belt
Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. On the other hand I'm sure many in the
"gang of 40" Mass. linguists consider themselves liberal. But well before
Rudolf Flesch published "WHY Johnny Can't Read" the right wing was using
phonics as a device for politicizing worried working class and rural
parents.People who .themselves, have not had good experiences in school
are susceptible to the notion that teachers are not doing a good job
teaching their kids to read. The handbooks that the far right uses for
their candidates always uses phonics as a high priority.
But much of the attack on whole language from the far right relates to its
focus on classroom community, constructing meaning, making choices,
finding personal voices in writing, engaging in inquiry, respect for
language differences and reading all kinds of books (including some with
4 letter words and controversial content. Some have attacked the whole
idea of meaning construction as sacriligeous- only God can make meaning.
In this sense there certainly is a left right aspect to the issues. And
by keeping their most visible attack on teaching or not teaching phonics
the far right get the support of the political and academic left who
share a common disdain for teachers- "What do those dummies know?"
Ken Goodman