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[quote=Anonymous][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]

Why do you need to make instructional decisions when you are teaching the very basics? I'm a parent - I'm very happy with the accountability in programs like Fundations. I know exactly what my kids are learning and how I can reinforce it at home -- isn't that what PPs are telling us we should be doing??? [/quote]

I’m not the PP I was responding to the person who was saying balanced literacy gave teachers no accountability. I’m saying I have no agency with the current phonics based instruction and therefore I can not now have accountability. If I am
Making no decisions logically I cannot be held accountable for decisions. Last year central office in my district gave us a list of kids who needed intervention. There were kids on the list who were reading after 3 months of kindergarten. There were kids not in the list who needed explicit integrated instruction. We had to fight to get the kids who needed help the help. But if you are right and I the person who knows the kids and sees them shouldn’t make instruction decision, then I have no accountability for what happens next. To be accountable for something you must have agency. With scripted phonics there isn’t agency so
I argue I have no accountability. [/quote]

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