Collaborative+Group+5

​Welcome Hi Sarah and Lauren, I'm in at last! Here is my contribution. Feel free to edit or add to it as you see fit. (Louise, 17/03/10) AGREE WITH KOHN

Welcome parents, and thank you for coming tonight. At Oakdowns School we are committed to implementing a literacy program based on whole language principles. The whole language approach ensures that your children are active participants in their learning. Children are immersed in a print rich environment, featuring a variety of texts that they can freely choose and explore. Motivation is kept high as students enter the world of real books, not boring readers that crush children’s enthusiasm for reading. Students are also given ample opportunities to read and write in a variety of contexts. Furthermore, spelling and grammar are not taught in isolation; instead these skills are taught in the context of students’ ongoing writing efforts thus ensuring their literacy learning is meaningful and linked to other aspects of the curriculum.

We know that you value reading and our aim is to support your efforts at home by ensuring that your children are engaged and nurtured in this vital aspect of their education.A leading educationalist,Alfie Kohn notes that the best teachers "work to create a long-term love of reading and critical thinking" (Kohn, 2000, p. 171). This is our goal here at Oakdowns Primary School. Thank you for listening.

Kohn, A. (2000). The schools our children deserve. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

DISAGREE WITH KOHN.

Literacy levels are at an all time low as educational fads such as 'whole language' have dominated classrooms in recent years.. Phonics is a tried and true method of teaching children how to read. But this isn't good enough for today’s experts' who confuse teachers and parents alike with their jargon. They sneer at the direct teaching and methods of the past, preferring the teacher to assume the role of a facilitator and insist that students can learn to read naturally by exposure to varied texts and guessing words; no need to teach them phonics, which, heaven forbid might stifle their creativity. Why do we tolerate this nonsense and the dictatorial power of educationalists who have sounded the death knell for true education in this country?

In order to read effectively children need excellent decoding skills. The best way to achieve this is by direct, intensive, sequential and explicit instruction. The National Inquiry into the Teaching of literacy (2005) concludes from extensive literacy research that "children must master the alphabetic code" (p. 37) and "they must be taught explicitly, systematically, early and well" (p. 37). It is time for parents to demand that traditional methods that served past generations so well, are implemented once again.

It is a sorry indictment of our educational system when those most disadvantaged are being deprived of the basic skills they need to be productive and successful members of society. The whole language ideology is devastating for families such as these for the simple reason that the so-called success of whole language depends on wide exposure to books and language in the home environment. Some of these children from low socio-economic areas come to school without the benefit of a rich language environment and education is not a high priority.. Success for these students is highly dependent on a direct instruction, sequential phonics program.

Literacy education in this country is in crisis. We must rally support for a return to traditional methods to ensure that our children obtain the essential skills to become effective literate citizens ready to participate fully in our society. The future success of this generation of children depends on it.

National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy. (2005). //The teaching of reading: Reports and recommendations.// Retrieved on March 15, 2010, from http://www.dest.gov.au/nitl/documents/report_recommendations.pdfom