Discusses the author's varied experiences in teaching reading, including teaching seventh grade pupils in the West Bank of Jordan, taking graduate courses in reading, and being an elementary school principal and a university professor. Suggests the need for a rational balance between whole language and phonics. (RS)

Experiences from the author's education in teaching, dating from 1949 through the acquisition of his ED.d. degree, are the subject of this paper. Included are a model for reading instruction at the elementary school level, a review of problems of teaching English as a second language to seventh-grade students in Jordan, and a list of the major…

Utilizes the experiences of seven elementary teachers to examine issues and attitudes concerning whole language learning. Although the seven teachers often feel alienated within their own profession, they remain adamant in their commitment. Discusses their conversion to whole language learning and the influence of the New Zealand school. (MJP)

To date there has been no research done on teacher education programs that use whole language as a vehicle for instilling reflective forms of pedagogy. This study is an initial effort to develop a research base in this area. The study examined the socialization process of teachers who adopted the teaching perspectives of the whole language…

Six student teachers who were committed to the tenets of whole language were studied to determine how they manifested their whole language perspectives in light of the enabling and constraining factors they faced in their specific field sites. Results indicated that the six student teachers were forced to alter their teaching behaviors…