Reply #6: No one method works for all kids. The whole language approach does [View All]

[yellowcanine]

work for many kids. It worked for both my kids and they are both excellent readers and national merit finalists. We also read to both kids from day one until well after they were able to read on their own. We also did not enroll either one of them in a pre-school or kindergarten that emphasized learning to read. Our youngest daughter's first grade teacher was appalled that our daughter and several of her cohorts from the same kindergarten did not know how to read - guess what, by Christmas that group of kids was at the top of the 1st grade class in reading. What is critical, imo, is getting kids ready to read by reading to them and teaching them organizational and classification skills in pre-school and kindergarten. The kindergarten my kids went to had games where the children had to put things into groups, find the object that didn't "fit", etc. These were mostly "free play" games. Something about practicing these skills seems to translate over to reading and math. Pushing kids to learn to read and do math before they are ready just frustrates them and teaches them that math and reading are chores to be done rather than something that is enjoyable. There is nothing bogus about looking at pictures and telling what story they tell. This helps kids to begin to connect the symbols on the page with the story in the pictures. Nearly any reading program will work if there is a competent teacher who can give enough individual attention to the kids that have more difficulty and also identify the best way to teach reading to that kid. Any teacher who just relies on what is in the program - phonics or otherwise, is not going to be successful with the kids who are having difficulty. 75% doesn't impress me - there is no reason why nearly 100 % of kids can't be reading at or above grade level by third grade. Also, most successful reading programs employ a mix of techiques - look/say, phonics, and whole language. Also kids can teach each other a lot when it comes to reading or anything else. That is my biggest problem with homeschooling or tutoring if it is simply an adult/child interaction. Homeschooling and tutoring are not panaceas - there are good teachers and bad teachers and it will work better for some kids than others.