Those “Dick and Jane” readers opened up reading for me that I soon became a voracious reader, much to my teacher’s consternation. I was always ahead of my classmates in the stories of their adventures as I went through 1st grade to sixth as the books “grew” as you went along. The education they gave was being able to read.
I had Dick and Jane about 60 years ago. Only recently I learned they were part of the “Look-Say” or “Whole-Word Method”, based on the idea that since adult readers read whole words at a time, that’s how we should teach children to read. Imagine having a college track coach try to teach a toddler to walk.
You folks above who did learn to read did so despite Dick and Jane, not because of it. You were obviously among the students to were able to infer enough rules of phonics on your own. But pity the children who never learned to read well and never learned to love reading. With all the research that shows that phonics is the best method, it is amazing there are still people who advocate Look-Say, though I’m told that phonics education is now predominant.
Frog-on-a-Log Premium Member about 11 years ago
Actually she’s got it backwards, the Dick and Jane series are spoofed on a regular basis.
celeconecca about 11 years ago
say what you will, but those books opened up whole new worlds for me!
cbrsarah about 11 years ago
Those “Dick and Jane” readers opened up reading for me that I soon became a voracious reader, much to my teacher’s consternation. I was always ahead of my classmates in the stories of their adventures as I went through 1st grade to sixth as the books “grew” as you went along. The education they gave was being able to read.
pschearer Premium Member about 11 years ago
I had Dick and Jane about 60 years ago. Only recently I learned they were part of the “Look-Say” or “Whole-Word Method”, based on the idea that since adult readers read whole words at a time, that’s how we should teach children to read. Imagine having a college track coach try to teach a toddler to walk.
You folks above who did learn to read did so despite Dick and Jane, not because of it. You were obviously among the students to were able to infer enough rules of phonics on your own. But pity the children who never learned to read well and never learned to love reading. With all the research that shows that phonics is the best method, it is amazing there are still people who advocate Look-Say, though I’m told that phonics education is now predominant.