Describes the ways key issues in whole-language implementation were handled in Tennessee's pilot program. Offers a framework for encouraging teachers to look closely at the advantages of whole language without squeezing them between a rock and a hard place. (RS)

The Whole Language Pilot Project in Tennessee was designed to respect teachers' judgments, to assume that their current practices are effective given the circumstances in which they work, and to offer whole language principles and practices as alternatives for teachers' consideration. The major vehicle for helping teachers understand whole…