Whole Language: Half Empty...?
Regie Routman's "Back to the Basics of Whole Language" (February 1997) is totally off base. Routman addressed only half of language arts—reading and writing. The average person uses writing skills roughly 11 percent of the time, reading roughly 16 percent of the time, speaking about 32 percent of the time, and listening a whopping 42 percent of the time. The real problem with the whole language approach is that it ignores the most important skills in the student's life: speaking and listening.
Routman also suggests that learning to speak takes no training. She has obviously confused speaking with talking. She would probably confuse hearing with listening and be blithely unaware of what she had missed. For more information about the real whole language, I strongly recommend that readers contact the Speech Communication Association at 5105 Backlick Rd., Bldg. E, Annandale, VA 22003.
—Arlie V. Daniel, Communication Department, East Central University, Ada, Oklahoma
...or Half Full?
Regie Routman's review of California's approach to language arts instruction reminded me of the summer four years ago when I participated with other teachers in a national humanities fellowship. I could hardly hold on to the Language Arts framework because so many teachers wanted copies. The framework was a beacon that emphasized how vital it is for teachers to read, talk, think, and write with students, and that even more important, students must read, write, talk, and think with one another. I was entering high school teaching after 10 years of college English instruction. For the first time in my career, I felt I had been invited to be inventive in engaging my students in reading, writing, talking, and thinking.
Routman touches on all of this and more, particularly the need to familiarize children with the language of stories. With California's current emphasis on skills instruction, who will volunteer to read to these children? I fear that reading will be an activity that merely crowds around the edges of a busy skill-filled day.
—Lynne Culp, University High School, Los Angeles
Don't Ignore Conflicts
Walter C. Parker's "The Art of Deliberation" and Mark Gerzon's "Teaching Democracy by Doing It! (February 1997) zeroed in on critical issues facing many educators today. Parents and family often believe it is the school's role to mediate difficult situations, even those outside the school setting. All too frequently, after a weekend fight or disagreement, instead of notifying the police department, parents wait until Monday morning and bring the problem to us. The school staff must sort out the situation, bring all the parties to the table, and try to find a solution.
Asked so frequently to serve as conflict mediators, 10 staff members and about 30 students have begun conflict resolution training. Participants attend 12 intensive sessions in which they focus on positive self-determination and other alternatives to violence and aggression. The intensive sessions include both discussion and role-playing.
My staff and I cannot ignore the daily conflicts and confrontations that are part of the lives of many of our students or pretend that conflict is external to the education process. To create and maintain a climate where teaching and learning can occur, we must help our students analyze and resolve differences without resorting to violence.
—Mary G. Bennett, Principal, Malcolm X Shabazz High School, Newark, New Jersey
