Imbalanced Literacy
By Marcielle Brandler
I listened to the radio show, On Point aired by KPCC about a new fad called “Balanced Literacy.” Kids are taught a little bit of phonics, then they are expected to decode letters, combinations of letters, and pictures in books to decipher the meanings of the words. These “experts” insist that by mimicking the sounds of words, children automatically learn what a written word is, what it sounds like and means. A bird can mimic a sound and not know what it means.
This is similar to the fad that I was exposed to in the fifties. When I was three, I learned my ABC’s. Then, I was put into first grade at age four and was expected to read a Dick and Jane book. Because I had never seen a word before, I could not do it. My teacher had Group A for the good readers, Group B for the average readers, and Group C for the poor readers. I was the “dumbest kid” in Group C. I could not even read at that level.
My teacher told my mother, “Your daughter is retarded,” and my mother said, “Oh, that’s ridiculous,” and spent one hour, which I do remember, teaching me phonics.
I returned to class, and the teacher was astonished at how well I could read. She moved me to group B, then to Group A, and I became the best reader in the group. I loved English and Reading classes. I was very proficient at making sentence diagrams. When my teachers asked, “Who would like to diagram this sentence?” my hand always flew up. In fourth grade, I became an expert speller and wrote great little essays.
For people who think a partial education in phonics is sufficient, they are wrong. I have been teaching grade school, high school, college, and adult school, and all students anxious to learn the grammar and phonics I teach. When I begin a grammar lesson, the room goes very quiet and students take copious notes, especially older students who have experienced more of life and have struggled with language in their jobs.
Children from the ages of five to seven should be emersed in phonics. A letter is an unknown. Combinations of letters are unknowns that need to be made familiar. The “u” sounds, then the “ou” sounds, then the “aw” sounds, then the “au” sounds all have similar meanings. English is made up of at least six languages: English, Latin, Greek, French, Italian, German and more.
Plurals vary. You have one girl and two girls, but with the word “child,” you do not at “s” to make the plural. There are so many rules that kids and non-English speakers need to learn as they practice remedial reading. They need to build from the ground up, in order to master reading and writing skills. I notice that my college students don’t even know how to hold a pen properly.
It seems to me that “Balanced Literacy” is a lazy way to teach and that the shortcut is not working.
Professor Marcielle Brandler is the author of six books, an award-winning poet, film and tv producer and host. Featured in Who’s Who in the World for several years. Her articles and poems have appeared in journals since 1976. Her poems have been translated into Czech, French, Arabic, and Spanish, and published internationally. She teaches college English.
Her websites are: Marcielle Presents!, English with Marcielle,
and Happiness Gig.
Happiness Gig | Create Joy & Contentment (wordpress.com)
Her IMDb page is:
