You wrote this some time ago and Ruth responded.  I have some 
information to add to this idea of WL failing in California.  The 
information came from a listserv I frequent and is in response to a 
question I had posted.  It is as follows below your quote....
RL>CB>"But whole language, which sounds so promising when described by
RL>  >its proponents, has proved to be a near-disaster when applied
RL>  >to--and by--real people.  In the eight years since whole language
RL>  >first appeared in the state's grade schools, California's
RL>  >fourth-grade reading scores have plummeted to near the bottom
RL>  >nationally, according to the National Assessment of Educational
RL>  >Progress (NAEP).  Indeed, California's fourth graders are now such
RL>  >poor readers that only the children in Louisiana and Guam--both
RL>  >hampered by pitifully backward education systems--get worse
RL>  >reading scores." 
Return-path: owner-tawl@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
Reply-To: Teachers Applying Whole Language 
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 18:06:42 -0800
I said....
>
>Regarding California dumping whole language.  I heard today that one
>reason that California's test scores dropped is because California had
>the highest class sizes in the nation!  I also heard that the state has
>passed a law that limits class size to around 22.  I attended a reading
>workshop today and asked some other questions about California's whole
>language woes.  It would appear that what California was really doing 
was
>delivering a poorly designed curriculum that was anything but whole
>language.
>
>Anybody know more or is my information incorrect?
>
>Dan
Dan,
Your information is "roughly" correct.  I teach in San Jose, California.
California does have the largest class sizes in the nation, I believe, 
or close to it.  K-3 class sizes top out at 32 in my district, and 
grades 4-6 at 34.  It is very seldom that classes are not at the 
maximum.  In addition, California has probably the most diverse 
population in the nation.  In my 1-2-3 multi age classroom last year, I 
had students whose first languages were Vietnamese (2), Chinese (2), 
Spanish (3), Italian (1), Tagalog (1), Korean (1), and Assyrian (2).  
Some of these students were still struggling with oral communication in 
English, but we were required to include them in our standardized 
testing in the spring. California tests 14% of their limited English 
proficient students; no other state in the United States tests more than 
9% of their limited English students.  (By the way, in addition to these 
literacy challenges, California has the lowest student/computer ratio in 
the nation, even where I live, in "Silicon Valley," right down the road 
from IBM and across town from Apple headquarters.)
Recently, a bill was passed in the state legislature providing money for
school districts who lower class sizes in first, second, and third 
grade.  The amount of money provided is not enough to cover teachers' 
salaries, and many schools in California are already overcrowded, but 
districts all over the state are scrambling to lower class sizes, 
especially in first grade (the legislation states that districts must 
start with first grade.)  In order to receive the money, class sizes 
must be no lower than 20 students by Feb. 16, 1997.  Unfortunately, this 
means that the state needs about 20,000 new teachers, and most schools 
do not have extra classrooms.  Schools trying to order portables are 
being told that they cannot get them until the 1997-98 school year.  
Some schools are clearing out computer labs and cafeterias in order to 
make classroom space.
As far as state curriculum goes, I can only speak through my own
experience.  I know of very few teachers who could be said to be
effectively following whole language philosophy in their classrooms (I
believe that my partner and I do so, and yes, phonics is a part of it).
Most teachers I know think that because they are using a "basal" reader
with "literature" in it that they are doing "whole language," even 
though little in their classroom reading / language arts program has 
changed. I don't think that the state curriculum was poorly designed as 
much as it was poorly implemented by a populace of teachers who were not 
believers in whole language theory, who resisted change, and who never 
received the kind of training they needed in order to make the necessary 
paradigm shift.
It's a lot of variables, for which whole language is taking the blame.
Renee Goularte
Blossom Valley School
San Jose, CA
CMPQwk 1.42 445p
I can't even *find* amok, let alone run one.
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