The title of the article by Gerald G. Duffy and James V. Hoffman is "In pursuit of an illusion: The flawed search for a perfect method". Ryan, Marilyn and I agree with the writers that there is no one perfect method of teaching reading. Focusing on a single method leads to theoretical distortions and undesirable practices (Macginitie 1991). We all realize that children learn in different ways, therefore teachers must use a variety of strategies when teaching. Differentiating instruction is extremely important in order to address the needs of all students. No one program or method can work for all. In order to be knowledgeable of a variety of methods, teacher education must be ongoing.
The article by Jill Fitzgerald, "What is this thing called 'balance'?" addresses the question of what really constitutes a balanced approach to reading. Most important reason to thinking about balance as a philosophical outlook is that many teachers are trying to implement balanced approaches to reading. This means teachers, teacher educators, and principals need to know what it is so they can help implement it. We discussed how Benton Elementary more so fits Cunningham's definition of a balanced approach. Last year, we implemented guided reading school wide and every class has time for self selected reading choices by the students
Information from both articles enforces the importance of keeping up with current issues in education.
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