Author and article are idiot(ic). The relationship between “phonics” and “whole word” is the same as “crawling” and “walking”.....you have to go through the first to get to the second. You CANNOT START OFF TRYING TO WALK. Moving from “whole word” to “whole paragraph” to “whole page” (speed reading) is just a matter of practice. If you read enough, you will get there....dedicated training can speed things up quite a bit.
You get it.
I have followed many kinds of alternative education.
I have experience with different kinds of unschooling families. The kind who let children learn to read on their own, and the kind (like Waldorf / Steiner) who DISCOURAGE learning to read until age 7 or the first adult teeth in.
Kids crack the code when they do. With some unschooling families, some kids will not have even the desire to learn to read until 13-14 years old, but then, because they really want to read something, will learn it fast and fluently. The Steiner discouraging early reading DOES NOT WORK on kids like mine, who cracked the code anyway, without anyone teaching them. Yes, two of my kids learned reading on their own without any input from anyone, other than being read to a lot.
Fascinating subject. I do wish we insisted on kids reading well around age 12, so that kids who do need to wait until,they are 7 or 8 to start will be able to start the age of dilettantism (5-10) feeling confident instead of broken. I hate that about our current pushy, destructive education system. Play is a child’s work. Until age 10, children should be playing and trying activities. They need to be guided to try everything and see what sticks. When they get an interest they should be guided to go as far as they can with it.
My four year old girl plays dinosaur, and tells you that the Spinosauruses are fishing but prefer to eat a yummy Ouranosaurus, but they have to worry about the Rugops attacking. She is also learning to flip and skate. She knows letter sounds and she is starting to pick out words and write some words. No hurry. Every child should be allowed to learn at their own pace but the Education System won’t let them, and parents are forced to use it as their daycare so the kids’ individual needs and desires are ignored.