Parents have been shut out of a debate over language instruction in schools, says trustee Robert Vaughan.
Trustees this week voted against surveying parents over whether they prefer phonics or whole language instruction. But while Vaughan is angry over the board's refusal to ask parents for input, trustees added insult to injury by voting to refuse any discussion on the issue at a meeting earlier this week, he said.
"The hypocrisy is what gets me. You have a director (Darrel Skidmore) and a chairperson (Bill Brock) who say we are open, nothing is wrong with education, but when a simple motion to ask parents what they think is struck down with anger, it speaks to hypocrisy,", said Vaughan.
"When I make an attempt to bring phonics to the forefront, I am shut out. People should know attempts to make this public are being stifled."
NO DISCUSSION: At a stormy board meeting this week, Vaughan wanted to discuss the issue of whole language instruction which is taught in schools and phonics, which he advocates. However, trustee Peter Jaffe made a motion, which was passed, that there be no discussion. "The board of education likes to say everything is great with the school system, but they do not allow debate and discussion," said Vaughan.
"I am angry. I am not given a say. The trustees have stifled debate. All I wanted was to ask parents what they want."
Rob Alder was the lone trustee supporting Vaughan's call for a survey of parents, but does not see the board's position as hypocritical or stifling debate. There was extensive discussion on the issue at an earlier committee meeting and further discussion would have achieved little, he said.
WHY AGAIN: "It was debated last week, why debate it again? I can understand it," he said.
However, he questioned the board's sensitivity over "messy debates," agreeing it likes to put forward a more restrained image of proceedings. There is nothing wrong with heated public discussion, he said.
"An all-out, full debate tends to be sloppy and I don't have difficulty with that. We need to have a thick but sensitive skin," said Alder.
The issue arose when Vaughan questioned the board's policy on early literacy intervention, saying it does not emphasize phonics instruction. While whole language instruction uses the meaning of words to aid learning, phonics focuses on the sound of words.
"I fundamentally believe we should use an array of instructional approaches to teach our children how to read. But I also support a review to find out what public views are," said Alder.
He is not concerned about the motion's defeat, saying he is "comfortable" with the use of different language techniques and believes there is community support.
"I believe it is important to incorporate phonics into whole language instruction and we do that," he said.
The board has had good news in recent years as literacy tests show improvement in reading skills, supporting present teaching methods, he added.
In testing of Grades 3, 6 and 9 in the public school system, reading has improved over four years, especially for "at-risk" or troubled readers, said Steve Killop, who works in the board's research and assessment office.
National surveys have also indicated students today are more literate than their parents.
"We're moving in the right direction, reading proficiency is up," said Alder.
Lorayne Robertson, program supervisor in communications at the London board of education, described whole language as a combination approach to teaching.
It uses reading, writing and thinking as one approach, focusing on the story, the meaning and understanding of the story to help pupils decode and pronounce words.
For example, the word 'trough" spelled phonetically would read 'trof.' So the context of how that word is used in a story helps the meaning.
While phonics is also used in whole language instruction, the concern about using only a phonics approach is that laws of pronunciation do not apply to all words. For example, the word why has a long sounding I, but that only applies to 15 per cent of words.
"If you read English phonetically, it reads like the decoding section of a dictionary," said Robertson.
"The rules of phonics only apply in a certain per cent of cases."
Phonics is "pervasive" in teacher planning guides issued by the board and will also be used in early literacy intervention, she said.
"The sound system, the sound symbol system should be taught explicitly and early but can only be understood when applied in a meaningful way, Students need the context to make sense of sound symbol match," the document on literacy intervention states.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Page
last updated on April 28, 2002
