WHOLE LANGUAGE IN CONTEXT

Whole language is a response to the increased knowledge base about language, literacy, and learning. Whole language educators believe that teachers should have direct access to this knowledge base and be supported in their efforts to use it to inform instructional decisions. This response stands in contrast to more traditional responses in which university educators use the knowledge base to develop instructional innovations and then try to sell teachers these innovations/methods. Debates pro and con whole language are really debates about power and control, and a commitment to teaching as informed, reflective practice necessitates rethinking the roles of university and public school educators as well as reconceptualizing the relationship between them. (Author) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF READIN