- Mary Pat Lease of Iowa City taught in public and private schools in the areas of: Title 1, Special Education, learning disabilities, and early childhood.
I have some concerns regarding Senate File 2195, in which Iowa senators weigh changes to teaching language.
Reading wars have been going on for generations, in which one approach or another becomes the fad of the year. In some years it was sight reading or whole language. In other years, it was a phonics-based approach. Currently the “science of reading” has determined that teaching methods should incorporate phonics, “fluency” in speaking, vocabulary and comprehension.
There is little disagreement that these elements provide critical components to the teaching of reading. The danger lies in assuming that a one-size-fits-all approach meets the needs of all children. Not all children learn the same way. Multiple methods should be available in a teacher’s toolbox and applied as needed. Many students may gain comprehension and fluency based on meaning drawn from context, structure, and syntax, visual cues and pictures, or memory as well. This should not be an either/or proposition.