My Philosophy of Education - Reading and Language Arts

When choosing your curriculum do you teach every subject with Christ and His Gospel in mind?  Why is teaching our children to read important?  Do we merely want them to know how to read for the sake of reading, or is there a greater purpose for reading?

In the next part of my Philosophy of Education paper I address the subjects of reading and language arts and how I view these subjects in light of a Biblical Worldview.

*I highly recommend the resources I cite in this section.

Reading. The very first thing that must be taught correctly to children is how to read by enabling them to “develop a phonetic reflex – the ability to automatically associate letters with sounds” (Blumenfeld, 1997, p.16).  Samuel Blumenfeld created the Alpha-Phonics method of teaching children to read by encouraging children to develop a phonetic reflex which in turn allows the child to enjoy reading by reading easily, accurately, and fluently (1997).  He stresses that each child is different and the appropriate time to begin instruction in this area will vary from child to child, and that the very first step is teaching the child the alphabet letters, then the letter sounds, and letter combinations as simply and directly as possible (Blumenfeld, 1997).  Blumenfeld also warns against what he calls “The Dr. Seuss Trap”, where a child is taught to read before learning the alphabet letters and their appropriate sounds.  The Dr. Seuss method teaches the child to develop a sight vocabulary before ever being taught to read using the “whole-word”, “whole-language” or “look-say” method (Blumenfeld, 1997).  This method was developed in order to throw out the phonetic reading method during the Dewey revolt in the 1920s (Blumenfeld, 1997).  Dr. Suess candidly admits during an interview in Arizona magazine in 1981 that “killing phonics was one of the greatest causes of illiteracy in the country” (Blumenfeld, 1997, p.19).  His book The Cat in the Hat was born out of this new movement of sight vocabulary.  Thus the method that I use to teach reading closely relates to Blumenfeld’s methods of teaching a child to read by first developing the phonetic reflex which involves explaining that words are made up of letters and each letter stands for a sound, and that sounding out each letter creates the words.  Given the particular worldview that I subscribe to reading is of paramount importance as it will equip my children to read the Bible for the purpose of learning why they and the entire world exist.

Language Arts.  Language is also a fundamental subject that must be taught properly because the words we speak most certainly have meaning and whether we agree or not transmit information that is expected to be understood.  The method by which each person teaches language arts will also vary depending on their worldview.  John Locke once said “He who defines the terms, rules the world”; this statement is most definitely true today.  One of the theories that has permeated through modern education is postmodernism, which begins with the presupposition that language is incapable of rendering truths about the world objectively, which would require transcendent truths (Wayne, 2000).  In a Biblical worldview, encouragement and instruction in the proper and clear use of language in its written and verbal form reflects the nature of God, as He chooses His words carefully (Wayne, 2000).  One facet of language arts is the written word which is intended to “inform, convince, persuade, encourage or challenge others”, and to write without an intended message is pointless (Wayne, 2000, p.69).  The art of expression through writing is an invaluable tool that will most certainly benefit a child’s future, and as a Christian the ability to communicate ideas effectively can impact the world.  The foundation or purpose for which I believe teaching children to effectively communicate through the written or spoken word comes from 1 Peter 3:15-16; “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame”.  To achieve this goal, grammar, logic, and rhetoric must be taught.  This allows the student to eliminate fallacies, understand where their convictions come from, and to effectively defend his beliefs (Wayne, 2000). 

One way, that I am convinced, will greatly benefit my children in regards to effective communication with the written word is handwriting skills.  While most communication is done using computers and cell phones, the ability to write thoughts fluently on paper has in many cases become a lost art.  Francis Bacon wrote centuries ago: “Reading maketh a full man…and writing an exact man” (Blumenfeld, 1997, p.24).  Reading and writing are two sides of the same coin, and writing, especially in cursive, forces the child to think clearly about what message they are intending to convey to the audience.  The process of teaching a child to write begins with instruction on how to hold the writing utensil properly.  Throughout the education system today proper penmanship and writing skills have been under-emphasized due to technology and the assumption that the aforementioned skills are obsolete or archaic forms of communication.  The major problem I believe this poses to children and generations to come is that the future is often unpredictable, and while teaching children to use certain technologies is beneficial, the skill of penmanship can remain with the child for their entire life, even in the world of ever changing technology.  We cannot know the exact demands that our children will meet in the future, and we should be careful not to deprive them of this beneficial skill simply because information technology continues to advance.  Cursive writing specifically aids in teaching the child how to read because cursive letters are distinctively different from one another as opposed to letters written in print.  This forces the child to write from left to right in order to join the letters together in proper sequence (Blumenfeld, 1997).  This form of writing allows the child to learn spatial discipline and gives them greater control over how the letters are formed and spaced (Blumenfeld, 1997).  Cursive writing also teaches the child to spell correctly because they learn spelling patterns through repeating certain hand movements, this is the same technique seen with a pianist or typist.  Each child is different and the time in which a child is ready to learn cursive will vary, but I believe this skill should be taught around the first grade level, and taught before print.  In the 1930s cursive was the first form of handwriting taught and began in the first grade in all schools, however, with the progressive agenda’s implementation of curriculum that was more focused on social skills, cursive writing fell by the wayside (Blumenfeld, 1997).  Homechooling allows for me to put an emphasis on writing skills which develop optimal academic and intellectual skills.  

Blumenfeld, S. (1997). Homeschooling: a parents guide to teaching children. Replica Books, NJ:

 Bridgewater.

 Wayne, I. (2000). Homeschooling from a biblical worldview. Wisdom’s Gate, MI: Covert.