VOL. III. JANUARY, 1905. No. 4 PHONICS FOR ALL GRADES BASED ON THE SYLLABUS ON READING Prepared by the Following Committee of Principals: OSCAR BIRNBAUM, P. S. 2. MARY L. BRADY, P. S. 177, P. D With an Introduction by, JULIA RICHMAN, District Superintendent, New York. THE VALUE OF PHONICS. So long as teachers fail to realize that the means employed to reach an end, and the end itself are two separate factors in education, just so long will their teaching be unsuccessful. Much time and effort are now being expended in the desire to conform to the requirements of the new course of study as laid down under the captions "Sounds of Letters," in IA and "Phonic Exercises" in higher grades. The question to ask ourselves at this point is, "Is this expenditure economically made"? Thrift in financial affairs demands a fair return for an investment of money; thrift in pedagogic affairs demands a fair return for an investment of time and effort. When I invest a dollar or a hundred dollars, I have in mind a definite purpose and a definite idea of what I am entitled to receive from the holder of my investment, as the result of such investment. When I invest an hour or a hundred hours, an effort or a hundred efforts in class work, I must have in mind a definite purpose and a definite idea of what I am entitled to receive from the children as the result of such investment. What is the aim of all instruction in phonics? Primarily, to teach children how to recognize new words; secondarily to teach spelling, and interwoven with both, the power to articulate and enunciate with clearness and clean-cut accuracy. "Phonic Exercises" per se have about as much educational value, as has "Ana, mana, mona, mi." They bear, and must be made to bear, the same relation to reading and speaking, that the addition and multiplication tables bear to mathematics. Until teachers recognize this principle in teaching phonics, "they labor in vain." The report upon the proper grading of the work in phonics, to which these few words are to serve as an introduction, was made by a committee of principals in the schools under my charge, and was adopted at a conference of all the principals of these two districts, after many weeks of thought and experiment on the subject. The grading was made in line with the needs of this section of the city. Any other grading based on good judg |