Re: the g-of-40 note

Russ Hunt (HUNT who-is-at academic.stu.StThomasU.ca)
Fri, 17 May 1996 08:11:59 AST

I first saw this missive on the Writing Across the Curriculum list,
where a discussion had begun about connections or parallels between
WAC and Whole Language. Leslie Perelman posted it there, and prefaced
it with this cover letter. I installed both of them on my web site,
because I thought they posed issues (many of which have been pointed
out on XMCA) that needed to be confronted. I think Perelman's letter
is evidence of the way many people read and responded to the original
letter.

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Whole language and WAC are not the same thing. Acquisition of
reading by 6-year olds is cognitively quite different than acquitiion
of pramatic language skills by college students.

Below is a copy of letter sent to the Massachusetts Commiissoner of
Education by forty eminent linguists in Massachusetts, including
several of my colleagues here at MIT. The letter points out that
several of the fundamental assumptions of whole language (as regards
reading acqusition by young children) are demonstratively wrong.

Things are not changing back in primary reading they are going
forward.

We need to in our professional discussions to refrain from "right"
baiting. Many of the signers of the letter below have been active in
radical politics for decades and many of them worked closely on
language projects with the Sandanista government in Nicaragua during
the 80's.

Les Perelman, Associate Dean and Coordinator of the Writing
Requirement, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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Also, the cover letter I got was a bit longer than the one Mike
posted. It included an assertion (true, for all I know) that the
letter had its intended effect among Massachusetts government
officials. Here it is:

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NOTE: This letter is a communication by Massachusetts residents to
Massachusetts officials. It was not intended for distribution
outside our area. We do not authorize distribution or quotation by
organizations or groups. Individuals who choose to make copies for
others should include this notice at the top. Also note that our
letter commented on an early first draft of the Massachusetts
Curriculum Framework. This draft has been revised in light of our
comments and those of others, and is currently undergoing further
revisions. We are entirely satisfied that our views as expressed in
this letter have been listened to seriously.

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-- Russ
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Russell A. Hunt __|~_)_ __)_|~_ Department of English
St. Thomas University )_ __)_|_)__ __) PHONE: (506) 363-3891
Fredericton, New Brunswick | )____) | FAX: (506) 450-9615
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