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Phonics

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Whole language reading is somewhat akin to teaching a parrot to say "Polly want a cracker." Even if a scholar's parrot talks Greek if may never learn a new word independently and say, "Polly want a cookie." Do we want parrots or people?

Let's first acknowledge that whole language has some limited merit. There are words that don't fit phonics rules and must be learned by sight recognition. Whole language also may train for greater reading speed (not to be confused with comprehension). Stopping to "sound out" a word phonetically is like getting a bit of strawberry stuck in your straw when drinking a malt. If you insist on using the straw, you cannot continue until the obstruction is cleared.

So why still choose phonics? Whole language champions are effectively asking readers to memorize the dictionary. That begs the question: "How do you read a dictionary in order to learn to read?" At some point, in order to recognize words, symbols (either whole words or groupings of letters) must confirmed with another sensory stimulus - usually sound. The reader must mentally connect the sound of the word CAT with the assembly of letters C-A-T. Whole language requires an external source to provide the sounding for each new word that is learned. The sounding rules of phonics enable the reader to provide their own internal sounding which, in turn, enabling them to master new words independently.

This ability to master new words independently leads to the main advantage of phonics. Readers who stop and think through phonics rules and independently reason their way to understand newly encountered words are people who can think through the rules of society and reason their way to better lives. This is fundamental to our development as people. Will you settle for a system that turns out parrots or ask for a system that develops people?

Learn more about this author, Donald Moore.
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