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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Relevant quote from Steve Dykstra, PhD. Psychologist:

"The entire design of instruction under Whole Language and its close relative, Balanced Literacy, ensured that adults would succeed even if children did not. The vague role of the instructor means that so long as they provide enough books and opportunities, they have succeeded. If the child fails to read, the fault is with the child who didn't try hard enough, the family that didn't read to the child, the community that didn't fund the school, or society that couldn't eradicate poverty. The responsibility, and solution, lies elsewhere, never with the instruction.

A fundamental difference between Structured Literacy and Whole Language is where the responsibility falls when things go wrong. That shift in thinking and behavior can be very challenging, and feel like an attack."[/quote]

That is fascinating to me as a teacher because no Balanced literacy gave teachers more leeway to fail and we were very definitely held accountable. That was the entire point of the testing movement.

The phonics programs are entirely scripted and delivered whole group.  I taught Kindergarten with an entirely scripted Fundations like program, and read aloud literacy last year. Our small groups were also mostly scripted with room to substitute different letters children were working on during a lesson. I had no agency in what I was saying as I was teaching. How do I bear responsibility/accountability for success or failure when I made no instructional decisions?

[/quote]

I would think part of Fundations training should be how to recognize those kids for whom it's not enough and they need more repetition of Fundations lessons or full Wilson. There would be a process to identify those kids and get that help. That might not all be in your control, but that's what I'd expect from a structured phonics program.

If you're not able to make any instructional decisions, that's a bad system. I think teachers have been put in a terrible position under balanced literacy and now phonics if you are not being given all the tools you need.[/quote]

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