The "Constant" Amidst a Sea of Change in Reading Curriculum

I've been thinking a lot lately about all of the changing tides that we experience in education on a monthly and yearly basis. It's very difficult to ever "hang your hat" on anything because of constantly changing legislation, research, and techniques. I am very proud to work for a company that has been rock solid in its stance on the best strategies for teaching reading for over 25 years. Flashback just 10 years ago and it was a battle to convince many educators that explicit phonics instruction (also known as structured literacy instruction) was an important part of any reading curriculum.

Fortunately, the pendulum has swung in the direction of proven teaching techniques for now, making that battle easier for the time being. It should be noted though that even when phonics was a byword in many schools we were advocating its use and publishing the same phonics reading program that we publish today. Reading Horizons has been a "constant" in the sea of change that we call "education reading programs" and techniques for teaching reading. Furthermore, I can promise you that we will still be teaching this way even if (and I hope this doesn't ever happen) the pendulum swings back the other way.

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Coursework said 13 years ago

As an elementary school teacher, I find that teaching methods change so quickly that the moment I have a firm handle on the method, a new approach has developed. I'm always hoping the new approach will be more effective and more efficient than the last. I'm usually happy with the new curriculum, simply because it teaches me new techniques and forces me to keep my methods fresh.

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