Needless to say, I taught my children using phonics and they became superior readers. My best guess is that the people who Gates relied on to help him set up the educational part of his foundation were of the same bent as my friend who thought she was an expert in teaching reading to children. You don't need phonics Mr. Gates.
“Needless to say, I taught my children using phonics and they became superior readers.”
I’d wager that they have good problem solving skills too.
Phonics is a method that promotes ‘self-teaching’ as a useful side effect. When a child runs into a word they haven’t seen, they break the word down into smaller components, make the sound, then reassemble the components to pronounce the word.
The same methodology can be applied to anything really. If you get one of the ‘dreaded’ word problems in math, you apply the same thought process.
Of course, independence is something that schools don’t want these days. They want a one-size fits all approach to teaching. That is the main reason why our schools are failing.
Every time I bring this up, I am reminded that I don’t have a teaching degree and I’m not qualified to make such statements. I do have an MSEE, but I suppose that’s worthless when it comes to teaching a 2nd grader fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic. There must be some kind of magic involved with those 18 credits teachers are required to earn here in Pennsylvania to get a teaching degree.
Others who have unsuccessfully attempted to tackle education problems include leaders with experience in the military, religion, and business fields.
Perhaps you have the proper model - teaching your children at home in the most effective way they can learn.
re: “She went into a tirade about how inferior phonics was.”
This is fascinating to me. People in ed schools learn almost nothing, but what they do learn is destructive.