BOB MOYLAN spoke of Spelling... to CHARLES BEAMS on 09-28-96
BM>Charles Beams On (17 Sep 96) was overheard to say to Dan Triplett
BM> CB> DT>Your view that children will learn spelling habits that
BM> CB> cannot be broken or will be difficult to correct is not
BM> CB> supported by the experience of most early childhood teachers
BM> CB> (K-2).
BM> CB> But my view *is* supported by virtually every intermediate
BM> CB> teacher (4-6) teacher that I know.
BM> Hey... many 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade teachers are disgusted with it
BM> too, why wait until the 4th grade..it's too late then.  They can't
BM> read for content and can't write very much independently.
There is no clear evidence that either you or Charles can offer that 
would indicated that approximated spelling (which is a developmental 
cognitive trait standing on equal footing with all other developmental 
traits) teaches improper spelling habits.  Intermediate teachers 
apparently don't fully understand the special considerations in early 
childhood education. Early childhood educators have often been at odds 
with upper grade teachers who often lay blame on the lower grade levels 
for what they perceive as children entering their grade level lacking in 
certain skill. What Charles has stated here is no doubt stated 
sincerely. However, approximated spelling has _nothing_ to do with poor 
spelling habits.  Poor teaching may be a factor; and other factors are 
certainly present. But approximated spelling comes from the child and is 
NOT taught.    
    ~~~~~~
No where is it suggested in any early childhood literature that a 
teacher should wait until 4th grade to teach spelling.  Such an idea is 
complete and utter nonsense.  No where is it suggested that we should 
wait until 3rd grade or even second grade.  Children should learn 
_about_ spelling (and do) beginning with their names.  As children begin 
to write they can begin learning about spelling (I am already teaching 
my children in kindergarten about spellings -- we discuss words, we 
spell predictable words, we make beginning sounds, we find things that 
begin with the same letter (and/or sound) as a given word, and the list 
goes on).  Do you have any practical experience in these matters?  I 
have talked to many first-grade teachers and they see approximated 
spelling all the time. They see it because their first-grade students in 
their classrooms cannot spell every single word they have in the 
vocabulary.  
These same teachers _do_ teach spelling and have spelling lists, wall 
charts, word banks, dictionaries, and a whole host of other spelling 
aids.
The blame for poor spelling habits in some elementary school children 
cannot possibly be accounted for by one single factor.  What are the 
_many_ possible contributing factors (including teacher incompetence) 
that you can think of? It seems to me to be unproductive to blame a 
natural developmental characteristic (such as approximated spelling) 
when we should be considering many other factors. One factor that seems 
to stick out here (in my view) is teachers who approach whole language 
with very limited understanding of what WL is all about.  One does not 
quit teaching in a whole language classroom.  I think that this is what 
you and Charles (and others who oppose WL ideas) are really speaking up 
against.  
We should be about the business of teaching children the necessary 
skills required for "reading, writing, and rithmatic."  I would argue 
that there are probably teachers who take the concepts of WL (such as 
approximated spelling) to a ridiculous extreme and expect children to 
pick things us by osmosis.  If you were to read the WL literature you 
would see exactly what a WL classroom looks like.  You would find many 
(some?) of the practices mentioned in a WL classroom practices very 
similar to what has been practiced in more traditional classrooms.     
I probably teach _more_ about language conventions than most traditional 
teachers in early childhood Ed.  A WL teacher is constantly teaching 
concepts in the context of what we are doing at the moment.  If I read a 
big book for example, I am teaching about left to right movement.  I may 
even pause at a word (which I know some children will recognize) and ask 
them to read it.  I write with my kids in both dictating their words and 
modeling writing for them.  I point out words in the text that they will 
know.  I have them predict what I will write next.  I am constantly in 
the "teaching mode" and take advantage of the many teachable moments 
that are presented to me.  In WL everything is connected.  In the 
traditional classrooms content is separated, taught in isolation, and 
then put back together.  
I have before me a book titled _Good_ _Schools_ _For_ _Young_ _Children_
with a printing date of 1963.  In this book there is a section on 
writing and language arts.  It is a pre-school text book and it 
discusses the reasons for writing in the primary level - beginning in 
pre-school.  When a teacher allows for early writing, approximated 
writings (scribbles a.k.a. gibberish, random letters, approximated 
spellings, etc..) happen.  
There is an appropriate time (like first-grade for sure) when there 
should begin a focus on correct spelling of some words.  As children 
progress in their spelling skills, the focus should grow.  
  
Dan  
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