The reading wars are bizarre because the evidence behind how reading should be taught is so one-sided. Overwhelmingly it tells us that phonics must be explicitly and systematically taught within a literacy program that also develops language and reading habits.
Study after study shows that if phonics is not taught properly,student outcomes suffer across the board. Students with additional learning needs – particularly dyslexia – are further disadvantaged.
Study after study highlights the ineffectiveness of whole-of-language programs such as Reading Recovery – which is why it is no longer supported by the NSW government.
This does not mean that phonics and authentic literature experiences are mutually exclusive. But it does mean they need to be sequential. Children won’t learn to read simply by being read to,or with only incidental teaching of letters and sounds. Phonics is the foundation upon which future literacy skills are built.
It is a crying shame that parts of the education community are so blinded by ideology that they cannot bring themselves to accept the evidence in favour of phonics that is sitting in front of them. Most of our outstanding primary school teachers in NSW know full well the importance of phonics. Yet too many tell me they have not been provided with adequate training in their degrees to properly teach it.
Instead of getting involved in debates about discredited reading pedagogies,university education faculties should focus on giving teachers the tools that evidence tells us will make the biggest difference in the classroom. Vice-chancellors need to take a broom to these faculties and clear out the academics who reject evidence-based best practice. A faculty of medicine would not allow anti-vaxxers to teach medical students. Faculties of education should not allow phonics sceptics to teach primary teaching students.