New York Times Podcasts
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The Fight Over Phonics
Posted
June 6, 2023
Views
11,412
Likes
108
Comments
34
Engagement
1.24%
June 6, 2023
11,412
108
34
1.24%
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39:22Now PlayingAbout 50 years ago, the educator Lucy Calkins pioneered a technique called balanced literacy, which de-emphasized the use of phonics to teach reading. It was widely adopted in the United States, including in New York, the country’s largest public school system.
But doubts about the approach persisted, and now it seems that using balanced literacy has given a generation of American students the wrong tools.
Dana Goldstein, who covers family policy and demographics for The Times, discusses the story of balanced literacy and how Professor Calkins is trying to fix the problems that the technique created.
GuestDana Goldstein () , a national correspondent for The New York Times who writes about family policy and demographics.
Background reading:
• Lucy Calkins has rewritten her curriculum to include a fuller embrace of phonics. Critics may not be appeased. ()
• Fed up parents, civil rights activists, newly awakened educators and lawmakers are crusading for “the science of reading.” Can they get results? ()
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