Comments on: Keillor on Reading First http://TeachEffectively.com/2008/01/31/keillor-readingfirst/ Evidence-based teaching methods for helping students who are at risk for school failure or who have disabilities. Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:32:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: More Stern on RF at Teach Effectively! http://TeachEffectively.com/2008/01/31/keillor-readingfirst/#comment-65391 More Stern on RF at Teach Effectively! Sat, 08 Mar 2008 16:04:50 +0000 http://TeachEffectively.com/2008/01/31/keillor-readingfirst/#comment-65391 [...] Keillor to which I referred in an earlier post on Teach Effectively; here’s a link to the earlier post on Reading First by Mr. [...] [...] Keillor to which I referred in an earlier post on Teach Effectively; here’s a link to the earlier post on Reading First by Mr. [...]

]]> By: Dave Ziffer http://TeachEffectively.com/2008/01/31/keillor-readingfirst/#comment-62662 Dave Ziffer Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:26:57 +0000 http://TeachEffectively.com/2008/01/31/keillor-readingfirst/#comment-62662 Dear Garrison: For many years I have enjoyed your radio shows and now I have especially enjoyed your column here regarding Reading First and phonics. It is refreshing to see someone cross political boundaries, from whichever side to the other, to stand up for what is obviously the truth. I am one of many parents in Illinois who fought the phonics/math battles when our kids were in public school during the 1990s. My wife and I surrendered early for the sake of our kids, pulled them out, home-schooled them, and then sent them to a high-standards prep school (Catholic, incidentally). In parallel with this I spent years participating in the "reading wars" and communicating with other parents about the travesties going on in the public schools. Eventually a friend and I put our assembled data on a site designed to inform parents about all this stuff, at www.illinoisloop.org. Like you I became incensed after reading the NAEP "report card" (of 1994) describing the inconceivable depth of our national reading disaster. Consequently I spent five years of my life producing a phonics-based after-school reading program that I had hoped would eventually become my career. It succeeded brilliantly in teaching about 500 kids to read, but fell victim to the 2001 recession and subsequent job shortage in the Chicago area. But I left the web site up at www.projectpro.com/icanread.htm. Maybe you will find some gems there; this site doesn't just complain about problems - it offers solid solutions. On behalf of the parents struggling against this arrogant and utterly unreformable system I thank you. I hope you find some solace in knowing that there are many others who share your view, and that you will perhaps find some items that interest you on www.illinoisloop.org (try the menu item Subjects->Reading for starters). Keep up the battle. Maybe enough of us all together can topple this monster. Dear Garrison: For many years I have enjoyed your radio shows and now I have especially enjoyed your column here regarding Reading First and phonics. It is refreshing to see someone cross political boundaries, from whichever side to the other, to stand up for what is obviously the truth.

I am one of many parents in Illinois who fought the phonics/math battles when our kids were in public school during the 1990s. My wife and I surrendered early for the sake of our kids, pulled them out, home-schooled them, and then sent them to a high-standards prep school (Catholic, incidentally). In parallel with this I spent years participating in the “reading wars” and communicating with other parents about the travesties going on in the public schools. Eventually a friend and I put our assembled data on a site designed to inform parents about all this stuff, at http://www.illinoisloop.org.

Like you I became incensed after reading the NAEP “report card” (of 1994) describing the inconceivable depth of our national reading disaster. Consequently I spent five years of my life producing a phonics-based after-school reading program that I had hoped would eventually become my career. It succeeded brilliantly in teaching about 500 kids to read, but fell victim to the 2001 recession and subsequent job shortage in the Chicago area. But I left the web site up at http://www.projectpro.com/icanread.htm. Maybe you will find some gems there; this site doesn’t just complain about problems - it offers solid solutions.

On behalf of the parents struggling against this arrogant and utterly unreformable system I thank you. I hope you find some solace in knowing that there are many others who share your view, and that you will perhaps find some items that interest you on http://www.illinoisloop.org (try the menu item Subjects->Reading for starters).

Keep up the battle. Maybe enough of us all together can topple this monster.

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