HOW JOHNNY SHOULD READ

A WAR IS ON BETWEEN SUPPORTERS OF PHONICS AND THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN THE WHOLE-LANGUAGE METHOD OF LEARNING TO READ; CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE--THE NATION'S SCHOOLCHILDREN

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The fashionable word in the reading controversy right now is "balance." It would be tragic if the shift to phonics went to extremes and if the genuine contributions of whole language were abandoned, so this embrace of moderation is welcome. However, balance can mean many things. Even whole-language teachers now maintain that their approach is balanced, because, after all, they do address phonics, albeit in an ad hoc fashion. There are elements of phonics instruction, though, that cannot be diluted; it must be systematic and explicit, if the full benefit is to be derived from it. To deprive children of that benefit is destructive. As one of Carol Avery's fourth-graders said to her, "Writing and reading give you a life."

--With reporting by S.C. Gwynne/Austin

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