Whole Language, Phonics Not Mutually Exclusive

I was disappointed by your front-page article "A War of Words: Whole Language Under Siege" (March 20, 1996). You appear to be uninformed about the genesis, implementation, and status of whole language in California.

Nowhere in the California English-Language Arts Framework, first published in 1987, is there a vision for whole language. From the beginning, the frameworks have called for a balanced approach to the teaching of language arts, to include phonics "taught in meaningful contexts, kept simple, and completed in the early grades."

An additional bit of misinformation is the assertion that the state did an immediate about-face following the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. In 1994, the state published a smaller document, "The Framework in Focus," to address areas which continue to be of concern about the instruction of language arts in California (and I would guess in many other states and countries). This document clearly stated that the framework would continue to be the vision for the state. The document also addressed areas such as phonics, second language, grouping, and assessment that need...