Education GroupDebunksMethod
Of Teaching in Flesch's Book
By A. ROBERT SMITH
Mail Tribune Correspondent
Washington The National
Education Association has set
out to debunk the book, "Why
Johnny Can't Read," the con
troversial attack on some teach
ing methods which has stirred
up arguments over the issue
in many American comrrjuni
ties. i
In its monthly magazine, NEA
Journal, the association of teach
ers strikes back at the book's
author, Rudolf Flesch, with an
analysis of his contentions call
ed "Why Can't Rudy Read?"
Flesch contended in his book
that Johnny can't read because
teachers today don't use phon
ics, a system of sounding out
J'he letters in each word which
Flesch thinks is superior. Stu
dents, today look at words and
phrases, which is called the
word method or the look-and-say
technique of learning to read.
Different Methods Specified
Modern educators, according
to NEA, specify that different
methods should be used with
different children in order to
-.get best results "and phonics
continues to be a part of the
educational arsenal."
"Most of (Flesch's) book is
simply personal opinion (unsup
ported by any objective . evi
dence), quotations out of con
text, accounts of Flesch's limited
personal -observations, and some
amusing (though occasionally vi
cious) rhetoric," said NEA.
The authors of the NEA re
buttal went back and reviewed
the evidence on which Flesch
based his findings in favor of
phonics. Here is what they
found:
1. Flesch reported that a New
Hampshire teacher wrote a pa
per in 1016 called "Phonics or
No Phonics?" in which she
found the "the non-phonic chil
dren read with more expression
and interest, but the phonic
children were more careful and
more accurate in reading the
words on the page."
NEA dug up the same report
and found it reported: "The
Phonic classes so concentrated
upon letter sounds that the at
tention was diverted from the
sense of the paragraph to word
pronounciation. This brought
about lack of interest and fa
tigue" and destroyed the pleasure
which the story should yield.
The reading was generally less
smooth, slower and the idea
confused."
Phonics Group Score Higher
2. Flesch said in his book
that two scholars in "An Experi
mental Study of the Value of
Phonetics" reported that they
experimented with 100 pupils
in the first and second grades,
giving 50 phonics and the other
50 none. He claimed the result
was that the phonics group scor
ed three points higher than the
non-phonics.
NEA found that the same re
port drew this conclusion: "Chil
dren with no phonetic training
make smoother and better oral
readers in the lower grades."
It added that "much of the
phonetic training now given
should be deferred till the sec
ond and third grades. It appears
that work in meaningful exer
cises which are planned to in
crease comprehension and to
teach discrimintaion of words
is more important than pho
netics." 3. Flesch reported that "The
Newark Phonics Experiment" of
II ) t. JMH -nil 'H,
Dr. Herlock
As We Live
By ELIZABETH HILLOCK. PH.D.
Personality Patterns
Are Not To Be Outgrown
People do not "outgrow" per
sonality traits.
(Q) "I have been going steady
with Joe for
nearly a year.
He is a fine
young man.
i tei lous, de
pendable and
devoted to
me. He will
c e rtainly be
a good pro
vider, but
there is one
thing about
him that disturbs me. He is
always fussing about little
things. He makes such an
issue of them that he gets
both of us upset. For example,
if the curtains in the living
room of my parents' home
are not just so, he will work
on them until they are to his
liking, even if it makes us
late for a movie. Ori if he
thinks something costs too
much he will insist upon go
ing from one store to another,
pricing the same articles to
see, if he can get a bargain.
"I tell him little things like
this are not worth all the
time, effort and" thought he
puts into them. But he can't
see it my way and the more
I talk, the more set he is in
this pettiness of his. Will he
get over it, if I marry him.
or will he get worse?"
M.L.T.
(A) The fact that Joe can't
or won't see things your way
now would certainly suggest he
has no desire to try to overcome
his pettiness, even when he
knows it annoys and upsets you.
That is part of his personality
pattern and he certainly will
not outgrow it even after mar
riage. It is obvious you and Joe
differ about what is important
and worthwhile. This is just
beginning to show now as your
courtship progresses. You can
be sure there would be more
and more pettiness for you to
cope with after marrying him.
No one is perfect. You must
weigh the good against the bad
and see which come out on top.
If you think you can overlook
his faults then you could safely
consider marrying him.
Copyright 1955,
General Features Corp.)
1923 which tested 1.000 school
children "concluded that the re
sults favored instruction in
phonics."
Of Value Later
NEA said this is the actual
conclusion of that test by its
authors: "The results clearly in
dicate the teaching of phonics
functions very little or not at
all with beginners in reading
during the first five months.. It
begins to be of some value dur
ing the second five months, but
is of greater value in the second
grade."
Citing other instances in his
book, "Why Johnny Can't
Read," NEA matched them with
similar refutations and pointed
out that Flesch concluded his
arguments by writing "After all
this, you possibly expect me
now to recite the evidence in
favor of the word method. But,
as I said at the beginning of
this chapter, there is none."
"Certainly," concluded NEA,
"there is nothing to suggest that
Flesch is intellectually dishon
est; nothing to suggest he wants
to misinform . and confuse. It
must be that he truly can't
read."
Sfafe Employees
Pick New Directors
Pendleton U.PJ Oregon
State Employees association
ended its three-day meeting here
Saturday with the election and
installation of a new board of
directors.
The final session also adopted
a budget of $64,860 based on a
membership increase of 3900
during the next year. An addi
tional S5000 was voted for a re
volving fund to back a new auto
insurance program OSEA ap
proved Friday..
Elected president was. Eugene
Schmidt of Portland. Other offi
cers were Mark Sayre, Mon
mouth, vice-president, and Ger
trude Chamberlin, secretary
treasurer. Board members are Edwin A.
Bamfield, Salem; Cal Hobson,
Salem; Dr. Lloyd LeMaster, Cor
vallis; William G. Hughes, Sa
lem; Don E. Barnick, Portland,
and Ross Newcomb, Corvallis.
New York '(U.R) Robert E.
Sherwood, 59 - year - old play
wright and biographer, was in
"fair" condition today, a hospi
tal spokesman said. Sherwood,
former speech writer for the
late President Roosevelt, suf
fered a moderate coronary
thrombosis Friday.
Monday, Wovmber 14, 1955
MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL- TRIBUNETHRU
Father of S-D Day
Thinks Campaign Will
Cut Traffic Mishaps
Sacramento, Calif. U.P.)
The man who first thought of
having a nationwide "Safe Driv
ing Day" believes motorists will
score at least a 25 per cent re
duction in traffic accidents
when they concentrate on safe
driving for the second time this
Dec. 1.
On Dec. 15 last year, the first
Safe-Driving day, there were 18
per cent fewer accidents involv
ing personal injury or death
than there were on the same day
the previous year.
A. J. Veglia, of Sacramento,
father of "S-D Day," believes
American motorists will do bet
ter this year because the many
organizations plugging the pro
gram have had more time for
preparations.
Billboards Going Up
Thousands of billboards ad
vertising the safety campaign
are being erected. Television
stars have promised to remind
viewers of the special day.
Veglia is chairman of the ex
ecutive committee of President
Eisenhower's Action Committee
on Highway Safety. He got the
idea for S-D day while lying in
a hospital bed recovering from
injuries received in an auto ac
cident. "Surveys showed that up to
96.5 per cent of those questioned
knew the meaning of safe-driving
day last Dec. 15," Veglia
said. "A high percentage of
those questioned said they made
at least one change in their driv
ing practices because of the
day." t .
Many cities have adopted new
enforcement procedures as a di
rect or indirect result of the pro
gram. Veglia's home town of
Sacramento recently inaugurat
ed the use of radar in checking
speeders. '
"A year ago people in Sacra
mento wouldn't have accepted
radar speed detection," Veglia
said.
As the supervisor of registra
tion of California's 6,500,000
motor vehicles, Veglia believes
the answer to cutting the high
way death toll lies in the three
big Es of highway safety engi
neering, education and enforcement.
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