Reply to Why are we still teaching reading the wrong way?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]Yes, but if I employ you with my tax dollars, I don't want your [b]anecdotal[/b] experience. Teach the way the experts say to teach.[/quote]

I am the teacher to whom you are responding.

How many subjects do you need in order for the observations to not be "anecdotal?"

I taught over 500 5-7 year olds to read.  During the time I taught, I experienced at least three different methods preferred and studied by "experts."  My conclusion: no one method is the best for all kids. A balanced approach is best.  And, yes, phonics and decoding is included in that balance.  But, if you think that method should be exclusively used, I strongly disagree. 
I assume that you are the parent of the dyslexic child who has spent lots of money on tutors.  I am glad your child is succeeding.  I'm sorry his teachers did not include decoding in their instruction, but decoding alone is not the best method.  And, I suspect that his tutoring includes instruction one-on-one and/or very small groups.  You do understand that you are offering "anecdotal" justification for your preferred method?
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This is the parent you're referring to.  I'm not the poster you're responding to.

I strongly advocate decoding as a basis for learning to read but care less about what else is also included.  The problem with making this a debate about decoding alone or decoding + other stuff is that you're ignoring that many students just aren't taught to read and they don't learn how to read until they are taught to decode.  I know more than the average parent and most of the early ES teachers I've talked to about reading acquisition and I understand what science backs up whole word and what backs up decoding.  The scientific studies don't actually disagree, they just show that students who pick up reading easily pick it up in a manner similar to "whole word".  The mind boggling situation is why we've tailored ES reading instruction to teach only the kids who learn to read easily and meanwhile teach the teachers to put off parents who are rightly concerned that their child may have a LD and delay evaluation.  I know a lot of parents whose kids have dyslexia and I have yet to hear a single story of a K or 1st grade teacher who listened to a parent's concerns, much less raised a flag themself.

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