Caleb CrainJan 20, 2023

“For thirty years, very young children have gone to school and been told that reading is an exercise in seeking confirmation of what they already know—these children who are at the beginning of knowing anything at all. It’s as if we’ve been training them to be algorithms.”

Christine Smallwood on the crime of denying children phonics:

https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/02/09/misreading-the-cues-sold-a-story-emily-hanford/

Misreading the Cues | Christine Smallwood

One night, while searching in the woods for food, Frankenstein’s monster discovers a leather suitcase containing three books: The Sorrows of Young

The New York Review of Books
Show threadjrinnJan 20, 2023
@calebcrain where is this happening? My kids learned to read in school, and they followed the 3 stages mentioned. First, “sight words” to teach them to recognize a few words quickly. Then phonics to break down words. And finally, teach some of the words that don’t break down correctly to phonics. I think the author either misunderstood a curriculum, or found a place that is out of step with current teaching.
Show threadCaleb Crain

@jrinn Sounds like your child is fortunate. The NYRB article I linked to explains that Lucy Calkins's "balanced literacy approach" (non-phonics) was "mandated in most New York City elementary schools," and in 2020 was used by one in four elementary schools nationwide.

Other recent journalistic coverage:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/22/us/reading-teaching-curriculum-phonics.html

https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-education/the-rise-and-fall-of-vibes-based-literacy

Lucy Calkins Retreats on Phonics in Fight Over Reading Curriculum

Lucy Calkins, a leading literacy expert, has rewritten her curriculum to include a fuller embrace of phonics and the science of reading. Critics may not be appeased.

The New York Times
Jan 20, 2023 at 9:05pmWeb
Show threadjrinnJan 21, 2023
@calebcrain The first article was paywalled, so I could only read the beginning. That’s why I was suspicious. My kids aren’t really that lucky, it’s a pretty standard curriculum. I’m sorry to hear some kids aren’t getting it.