This is a war that must be won because egos are at stake. It's not about the kids - even though many say it is about the kids. In my humble opinion, these education gurus, reporters, and even some teachers and parents aren't actually in it for the kids. It's about them being right. To be fair, we all want to be right, but when it comes to our kids, we need to consider their individual needs. Instead, some are saying it must be phonics. That is the cure for all of our reading problems in this country.
I am a teacher. I'm not an educational guru with scientific research under my belt. I'm not a reporter with access to professors, parents, educational experts, doctors, and school district administration. I'm just a teacher, but I do have 20+ years of teaching experience working with KIDS, which should count for something.
With that being said, I truly believe this whole reading war is a joke. I'm tired of arguing with people about it because I don't care about being "right." I care about helping each of my students, wherever they are in their reading when they come to me at the beginning of 8th grade. Some kids need lots of phonics, some need some, and some need very little. We need to meet kids where they are.
Let me tell you a story about two sisters, two-and-a-half years apart - my sister and me (I'm the oldest). From what my parents tell me, reading came easily to me. I didn't need reading instruction because my brain just read automatically. I don't remember receiving phonics instruction, even though many folks my age say they received phonics as children. I just read, and read, and read.
Reading was easy for me. Because reading was easy for me, I read books, which helped me to grow in my reading skills and continue to love reading. Practicing reading helped me get better at reading. I didn't need teachers' help.
My sister, on the other hand, did not grow to love reading right away. Reading was hard for her from day one. She always had to work extra hard at school, and she did well in school because my parents gave her the support she needed. In tenth grade, my parents decided to have my sister tested. Turns out she was dyslexic. My sister needed support with reading, but she hadn't received it during her educational career. Her high school didn't help her either. They put her in a resource study hall, which she didn't need. Instead, she should have had teachers who taught her with an Orton-Gillingham program to help her brain with reading. My parents pulled her out of the resource study hall because it was a waste of her time, and instead they hired a tutor for her.
Both of us are avid readers now, and the point I'm trying to make is that we all need different instruction to get us where we need to be. But . . . my sister didn't only need phonics. She needed to read on her own as well, which she did, which helped her to get better at reading even if she wasn't getting the help she needed at school. Yes, she has dyslexia, but she still learned to read. She didn't have phonics, but she still learned to read. I'm not saying that kids don't need phonics. My sister definitely needed it, and as a teacher I have kids who need phonics - even in 8th grade, but it is not the end-all-be-all.
Following the Reading War on Twitter and on Facebook wears me out. I'm not on one side or the other because I believe kids need a mixture of both phonics and reading time based on their individual needs. Here's the deal, though, a kid can decode and still not be able to comprehend what they are reading.
There are so many variables to reading, but education gurus and news reporters sometimes forget that. There are many variables that affect reading that have nothing to do with actual reading, like being hungry, mental health, health issues, poverty, homelessness, etc. But teach them phonics and they will learn how to read proficiently. Ummmm . . . nope. Ever heard of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs?
Now, while I cannot solve this issue on a large-scale, I do believe I can have an impact in my classroom, which is the only thing I can control. I believe in reading, lots and lots of reading. How will my students ever get better at reading if they don't have lots and lots of time to practice? Stealing from Donalynn Miller or Kylene Beers (can't remember who it was who said this), kids in band practice their instruments to get better, kids in sports practice to get better. If they are not proficient at their instrument or sport, we say practice. Heck, even in math they practice math. We need to allow our kids to do that with reading as well.
I've also recently started Readers Workshop in my classroom. Kids read a lot with Readers Workshop, and I can get around to kids and support them one-on-one. A Twitter follower reminded me of Kylene Beers book When Kids Can't Read, What Teachers Can Do. I'm pulling this book out when I get to school tomorrow and looking for strategies to help my kids improve their reading. It's not a quick and simple process. It takes time. What works for one kid might not work for another kid, but I am determined to give my students time to read - to practice this skill, to talk with one another about what they are reading, to write about their reading.
In the end, there is not quick fix for teaching kids to read. I wish there were, truly, but in the end, it takes time, knowledge, and dedication from teachers to help each child grow as a reader, whether they are like me when I learned to read or like my sister when she learned to read. I'm not taking a side. I'm doing what is best for my students.
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