OUR GOAL
To help every school
child in America gain an understanding of the English language by learning the
Classical Root words from which it has been constructed.WHO WE ARE
We are a group of retired
school teachers with a lot of years of experience teaching children to read
successfully - and like it! Sometimes it's easy; sometimes it's hard; but it's
NEVER impossible! We are dismayed at the constant arguments and theorizing
about teaching children to read.
Teaching PHONICS FIRST (very thorough
systematic phonics) is like loading a DOS (Disk Operating System) in your
computer so it can read the software you want to run. WHOLE LANGUAGE is like
trying to run a lot of software before you load the DOS and hoping your
computer will "get the hang of it in time".
LOTS OF LUCK!
But we aren't here to teach PHONICS.
There is a link to another web site,
The Riggs Institute.....
where you can learn about the most successful phonics system we've ever seen.
Fun, too! In fact it's a blast! Fun in a way that respects a child's
intelligence and doesn't try to distract him/her with cartoons and games - that
takes a child seriously as a person who is becoming an independent learner - a
life-long scholar. What we DO want
to share with you is what we have learned about teaching VOCABULARY. First, of
course a child must learn enough PHONICS to be able to figure out what words
printed on a page are saying to him. We'll give you some background on how the
English language developed and why you need to teach your children, your nieces
and nephews, your grandchildren (and if the neighbors are willing, the kids
next door) the LATIN and GREEK root words which have made English vocabulary
the largest and most expressive, the most verbally precise language in the
history of the world! WHAT A GIFT!!
We'll give you some lessons - a new one
each week - so you can teach your kids. Don't wait for the schools to do it.
They are busy with other things right now and very few of them will make time
or space in the curriculum for fringe benefits like FOUNDATIONAL LANGUAGE
study. Not to worry if you don't know any Latin or Greek- we'll teach you first
so you will know what you want the children to know. Then you have to teach it
until they have learned it. Never forget: YOU HAVEN'T TAUGHT UNTIL THE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED.
Teach until the children you love can read well enough
to learn on their
own for the rest of their livesto
learn how to earn a living for themselves and their familiesto learn how to be informed votersto discern truth and detect liesto live happy, productive, contributing
lives in a free society.Will you join us?