A Thousand Rivers-

[mopinko]

WHAT THE MODERN WORLD HAS FORGOTTEN ABOUT CHILDREN AND LEARNING

The following statement somehow showed up on my Twitter feed the other day:

“Spontaneous reading happens for a few kids. The vast majority
need (and all can benefit from) explicit instruction in phonics.”
This 127-character edict issued, as it turned out, from a young woman who is the “author of the forthcoming book Brilliant: The Science of How We Get Smarter” and a “journalist, consultant and speaker who helps people understand how we learn and how we can do it better.”

It got under my skin, and not just because I personally had proven in the first grade that it is possible to be bad at phonics even if you already know how to read. It was her tone; that tone of sublime assurance on the point, which, further tweets revealed, is derived from “research” and “data” which demonstrate it to be true.

http://carolblack.org/a-thousand-rivers/#.V0uNIF00C48.facebook

really interesting read. really rang my bells. the son i homeschooled is getting a phd in theoretical math. the son i sent to school is sitting in my basement, unable to start his own life. damaged, angry and confused.

sigh. i hated sending them to school. it just got to be too much and my now ex husband was no help. when he took a promotion i didnt want him to take, i gave up.
oh how i regret that now.