Dan,
DT>Robert Hillerich is a former elementary teacher, ...and presently 
DT>professor of education at Bowling Green State University in Ohio  
    And we all know about those professors living in ivory towers 
with hundreds of impractical ideas .
    
DT>To my knowledge he is not a strong advocate of Whole Language (at 
DT>least he doesn't mention it in his book _Teaching_ _Children_ 
DT>_to_ _Write_ _K-8._ )
    I like the guy already .
DT>From this research, teachers can establish the level at which their 
DT>children perform.
Up to this point, I liked the basics of his program.  I do not think 
we can allow teachers to determine individual levels of performance 
for children.  We nust have standards that we hold everyone 
accountable for or some teachers will lower standards for some 
children to levels so low that the children will never be able to 
succeed in school.  Making some allowance for individual differences 
is part of the instructional process, not part of the evaluation process.
DT>Further than that, it seems to me the practical 
DT>implication of such research is that teachers should be tolerant of the 
DT>spelling efforts of young children.
I can accept this, within limits.  We must still set standards and 
work to get all children to reach that level.
DT>Stress too early on correctness will only discourage writing or 
DT>encourage use of a limited number of words whose spellings are 
DT>known."    pp. 178-179
Here we part company.  Lack of rigor in the standards we apply to 
teaching children how to spell produces poor writers as the children 
mature.  It is much easier to lower standards in the interest of 
keeping children happy than it is to ask them to master more 
difficult tasks that will keep them on grade level.  I don't mean to 
imply that Kindergarten children should all be spelling difficult 
words, but a select spelling list made up of appropriate words does 
not seem unreasonable to me.
DT>This is a man who has written a book about teaching kids to write.  In 
DT>his book there is a heavy emphasis on instruction, though not the 
DT>traditional method.  He considers the traditional methods ineffective.
I'd like to know what he considers "tradtional methods" and why he 
believes they are ineffective.  At the beginning of this message you 
said, "DT>He is probably more of a traditionalist when it comes to spelling 
DT>instruction.  In his book he offers hundreds of activities to stimulate 
DT>writing and offers many word lists to "raise spelling achievement at 
DT>each grade level..."  This leaves me wondering what sorts of 
traditional spelling techniques he promotes and which he disparages.
Chuck
cbeams@dreamscape.com
http://www.dreamscape.com/cbeams
Chuck Beams
Fidonet - 1:2608/70
cbeams@future.dreamscape.com
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