Phonics – once a might do, now a must do
On the 10th of this month (August, 2014), Adrian Piccoli, the minister for education in New South Wales, Australia, issued a media release to the effect that providers of teacher education courses in NSW, will risk losing their accreditation if they do not provide comprehensive instruction in phonics.
“Phonics is a key skill in the teaching of reading. We want to ensure it is treated as a ‘must do’ in teacher education courses,” Mr Piccoli said. “The clear verdict of international and national research supports the teaching of phonics.”
They also intend to provide online resources to support the teaching of phonics, as well as PD for teachers.
(http://www.dec.nsw.gov.au/about-us/news-at-det/media-releases1/phonics-once-a-might-do-now-a-must-do)
Britain is going even further. Next month it will become mandatory for schools in Britain to teach explicit, systematic, synthetic phonics – first, fast and only – as the method of initial reading instruction.
In both places it will be interesting to watch the progress. Will a legislative approach work? Will we see a rise in reading progress? Or will we be plunged into more struggles and “reading wars” that have no winners, only losers? Or will the phonics first approach be diluted?
The advantage of a phonics first approach is that most children learn to read more quickly and easily, especially boys and children from disadvantaged backgrounds. This leaves specialist staff more time to work with children who have particular problems.
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