In Defense of Good Teaching

Is whole language the cause of the problems that beset our schools? Is the debate between whole language and phonics a cover-up for control of what and how students learn? Is it appropriate that legislators, lobbyists, textbook publishers, and private interest groups evaluate and promote research on teaching and learning? Is Christian fundamentalism being exploited by political and economic groups? Is the attack on whole language supported by research that is valid? Is the issue of teaching reading now so polarized that even a balanced approach is no longer acceptable in some schools? These questions have come out of the reading wars. And teachers now must be articulate and knowledgeable defendants of their own positions in the debate if they are to retain control of their profession. In Defense of Good Teaching is the whole language community's first concerted response to its attackers, reveals some disturbing truths in the reading wars: deliberate misrepresentation of ideas, about the role of the press, conflicting political agendas played out in our schools, teachers and administrators marginalized for their beliefs, and commercial interests dressed up as scientific research. This is an alarming and enlightening book and, as the dispute broadens to affect teaching of math and bilingual education, it is an important book. It will be invaluable to teachers who want the means and strategies to respond to criticism, to analyze arguments and to defend their position. More is at stake than whole language.