[NLA] reading instruction and policy advocacy

[Eileen Eckert]

Thanks, Tom Zurinskas, for your NRP summary. I'm responding to your 
statement, "I hope the NLA rallies behind the National Reading Panel." 
Relating this discussion to policy issues, what does it mean to rally behind 
the NRP? Is that like saying, "Please mandate that everyone do what I think 
is right, even if they're not convinced by my arguments, even if what 
they're already doing works"?

Tom, you haven't convinced me that your blanket statement, phonics is best, 
is true. Rather than rallying behind the NRP, I think we should be 
advocating for local control of methodological decisions. Accountability can 
come from answering the question: How do you know that what you are doing 
works? rather than from answering the question: How did you comply with the 
requirement to teach phonemic awareness?

By the way, I'm not against teaching phonemic awareness. I believe it is 
<part> of learning to read for most people. However, also consider these two 
anecdotes.

First, my seven-year-old daughter's only schooling in reading (or any other 
subject) has been in Spanish. She has had some informal phonemic instruction 
in English from me, but nothing systematic. She reads well above "grade 
level" in Spanish <and> English (in fact, she reads somewhat better in 
English, and she does not sound out words using the Spanish phonemes). She 
is being raised in a very "print rich" bilingual environment. Whatever you 
say about the lack of methodologically rigorous research, you cannot 
convince me the evidence of my eyes and ears is wrong. Instilling a love of 
reading helps people become better readers.

Second, consider the following exchange between my niece and nephew. Luke: 
What are those books you're talking about? Would I like them?
Shannon: You wouldn't like them, they have too many big words.
Luke: I can read big words, I just don't understand them.

My point: The case for phonics vs. whole language (or for the proper 
balance) has not yet been made conclusively. Policymakers should leave the 
decision about reading instruction to local programs, and support further 
development of local-level expertise to evaluate the research and make the 
best judgment about how to teach.

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