A Friendly Lift

"Listen, Mom!"

       There is no one best way to teach children to read. A friendly, personal lift over a rough spot is a safe, general rule for parent and teacher to follow. 

       As methods of teaching reading have changed, parents yes, and teachers, have become cautious, even afraid, lest they do the wrong thing. Especially with reference to beginning reading has this wave of doubt as to procedure and hesitancy in helping children prevailed. It is essential that children are not confused by two sets of instructions, one from school, the other from home, especially if the instructions are contradictory. For example, at school a teacher suggested to her children, "If you come to a word you don't know, ask me." She had not taught her pupils letters but had helped them listen to stories, look at stories in books, recognize some of the words, and try to read a passage by themselves or with her assistance if needed.

       One of these youngsters went home with a pre-primer and fairly burst into the house to demonstrate his new-found success in reading. He had scarcely spoken before he came to a halt. "What is this word?" he asked, holding the book for his mother to see, as he was accustomed to do in school. "Spell it out," his mother answered. The child didn't know what she meant, and the mother wondered how a teacher expected a child to read when he wasn't even able to spell the words. Obviously, home and school need to come together sufficiently to understand basic ways in which both work with a given child. In this case, a simple note to parents might have sufficed: "When your child begins to read and asks you what a word is, tell him. If he forgets it and asks again, tell him again. Eventually, he will learn." 

Reading WARS! Phonics vs. Whole Word?

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