I find it so frustrating that so many schools won't teach phonics, even though it's been proven to be the most basic way to teach reading. After all, reading is simply deciphering a code, in letters, and that's what phonics is.

Anyway, the education schools don't believe in phonics because it's boring and it could turn kids off. So they try all these other things that don't work. And then, when kids don't read, they turn around and say it's not their fault. Some kids won't ever read.

Even though a century ago everybody who was taught to did, more or less.

Here's a classic quote from an education textbook used in teacher training:

'Saying that we are determined to teach every child to read does not mean that we will teach every child to read....The best we can do ... is ... to ensure that, if not every child lives up to our hopes, there is a minimum of guilt and anguish on the part of teachers, students, and parents. (p.441) Smith, F. (1992). Learning to read: the never-ending debate. Phi Delta Kappan, 74, 432-441.

So don't expect every kid to read! That's ridiculous.

We, who teach at home, know that every child can read, though they will do it on their own developmental schedule. Some read at 4. Some at 8. In the end it doesn't matter much. But they should all learn to decipher the code. Too bad schools can't figure that out. The number of kids I know in school who can't read is just sad.

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Posted by tiarali79

AMEN! When I was studying education I was so brainwashed against phonics, but once I realised my own child would be learning to read in a school, I started to do some real research... in the end that was one of our reasons to homeschool.

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Posted by boysrus

That was very interesting! Thank you for sharing it. Blessings, Dee

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