Mark Weakland via the Literacy Worldwide blog describes the difference between 'belief' and 'theory' - this is a very important issue when it comes to reading instruction:
Follow the Map!
BY MARK WEAKLAND
Jan 31, 2017
https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/ ... nt=Story-1
Powered by talk radio, internet misinformation, and unfair and unbalanced news reporting, the trend of making decisions based on beliefs and feelings rather than facts has been gathering steam for more than two decades. Now it is common to see people calling the theory of anthropogenic climate change a hoax, saying the theory of evolution is just a secularist’s whimsical idea, and, in the case of the aforementioned teachers, treating the theory of reading as a notion that one is free to believe or not.
Rather than allowing folks to dismiss our maps, which we have gained through great effort and are of immense value, we should be standing up for them. My new reading coach pep talk is “Use the map! Use the map!” Using and promoting the maps of reading and instructional theory are actions counteracting a backward slide into a dark place, where personal beliefs trump scientific enlightenment and critical thinking.
Do read the whole piece - this ties in with what we observe commonly in classrooms and via official guidance and via the internet - that, worryingly, so much information abounds when it comes to reading instruction - such that it cannot be guaranteed how, and what, your children are taught at school.
