In her April 23 column Joan Beck states, ”Teaching children to read is simply showing them how to decode the written symbols . . . ”
This position ignores the connection between language and communication. Children enter school with a functional understanding that words and phrases have meaning; if they want something, they ask for it. Phonics instruction fragments words and phrases into isolated sounds which have no meaning; thus, reading loses its purpose as a means of communication.
Additionally, according to the Commission on Reading (1984), ”short, familiar words can be read as fast as single letters,” ”meaningful context speeds up word identification,” and 1st graders instructed with explicit phonics ”make more nonsense errors.”
Phonics, as the primary focus of instruction, is on the decline. In its place, programs focusing on whole language-which integrates oral and written language, literature and each child`s own experiences-are being implemented, the benefit being the emphasis placed on the relationship between reader and text. As a future educator, I look to these as opportunities for successful and meaningful emergent reading experiences.
