"New Math", a trend in the Sixties, was joined by an 'Old Reading' push for phonics, 1st introduced in the 1880’s. Out with the old - in with the ... older! Sputnik launched, and the Look-Say / Whole Language method of reading came under scrutiny and soon schools across the U.S. were immersed in phonetic reading lessons, the likes of which hadn't been in public education favor for over 30 years. Again, we witnessed a push to teach in a different way, seemingly sans planning, training, research or a shared vision with teachers, students or parents. For two decades the public schools pushed for phonemic awareness, practically demonizing whole language approaches for literacy. Then, just as suddenly as it had become the favored method of decoding, phonics disappeared - and whole language was back. No "Dick and Jane" novels, mind you, but Basal Readers hit the scene as the 'it' books for America. I was fortunate, I believe, to have grown up in a whole language household. I was read to daily, and books were my constant companions. No one ever had me sound out works; it was, "Look-Say" all the way. I listened and watched as my parents read me stories; Winnie the Pooh, Kipling's Just So stories and some Robert Louis Stevenson poetry. Their dedication and enthusiasm for literature enticed me into committing the random letters on the page into meaningful words. TaDa – another avid reader was born!
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