(The translation is probably imperfect, but the cognates stand out)

El Diario/La Prensa
February 17, 2003

Teaching Children on How to Read
A Perspective from the Classroom
Carmen Farina

During my 35 years teaching in the public schools, I've taught many lessons, but I've learned much.  As a teacher, principal and superintendent, I've seen how thousands of students learn to read.  With this experience I am convinced that the most important thing in a lesson plan is not to take a position in the debate over reading, but yes we can help the teachers so that they can help the children to read.

When Chancellor Klein announced the new curriculum, his selection of the phonics program--a curriculum that helps children to learn how the sounds are associated with the letters to produce words--he received abundant criticisms from the educational extremists.  Some said the Month by Month Phonics shouldn't be used and named other renowned programs.

The first time I learned about Month by Month Phonics, I was the principal of a school.  In evaluating the results of those studies I was left impressed and decided to introduce the program as part of the school lessons plan in my elementary school.  As a result, my school moved from 18th to third and afterwards first in the city.

Any investigator can indicate that there are many factors that contribute in the success of teaching Month by Month Phonics.  I am aware of that.  Our phonics program functions well because it was part of our lesson plan in which was included a lot of lessons, discussions on literature and lots of writing, as well as a lot of professional development that helped the teachers to demonstrate the success that good teachers use.

The National Lesson Panel, that produced the studies on reading, found that no specific phonics program did better than Month by Month Phonics.  The truth is, according to the panel, MBMP teaches phonics directly and systemically, and has a professional development program built into it.  Other studies have proved what I've observed as a principal, that a good teacher makes the MBMP work for the students.

It bothers me to hear the fanatics against MBMP say that the best and only way to teach low-income children and immigrant children how to read is not by using the rich opportunities provided by MBMP, but by hours and hours of writing practices.

I brought MBMP to District 15 because I wanted every child, without considering their backgrounds, to learn in the same manner the children of my elementary school learned to read, and to follow the recommendations of the National Lesson Panel, in which it said that the children deserve to be provided with books and history books in which they could learn how phonics helps them to learn to read.  I wanted a program that would include a love of learning.

Finally, I wanted a program that was sufficiently clear, that the teachers could follow, but that was also sufficiently flexible to permit that each student to explore his individuality.  Also, I knew that I had to continue in the tradition of professional development in which the MBMP essentially triumphed.

When I observed classes in low-income neighborhoods that triumphed with MBMP such as PS 172, in which Chancellor Klein announced the new curriculum to the city, I watched our model succeed.  I do not remember how many students form 1st grade I have known in the last 35 years, but I am assured that none have asked me my opinion over the debate raging on how to teach children how to read.  They only wanted to demonstrate to me how well they read and how much they like MBMP.

Carmen Farina is a superintendent of Community School District 15, and recently named as a superintendent of Region 8.