In a letter (March 15, 2022), Shelley Stagg Peterson was critical of the approach taken by the Right to Read Report of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. She mistakenly called their approach “blinkered.” She ignored the numerous discussions throughout the Report about the various processes involved in reading. Here is just one example from the Report, “A comprehensive approach to early literacy recognizes that instruction that focuses on word-reading skills, oral language development, vocabulary and knowledge development, and writing are all important components of literacy.”
She wrote, “Teaching phonics not the only answer.” The Report never said that it was the only answer and clearly stated that teaching phonological awareness and phonics is only one part of teaching reading.
She wrote, “Reading English is not phonetical; it is visual. If a child has a good visual memory, he or she will be able to read anything they can understand by the end of grade one.” In the English language (and all other alphabetic languages) letters have sounds. In English, one can sound out 85-90% of words by knowing the sounds of the letters. English has over 170,000 words. Should we memorize all these words and not use the powerful tool of sounding them out? It seems unnecessarily cruel to deny children access to good instruction in this valuable skill.

Linda Siegel, PhD
Professor Emerita, University of British Columbia
Author of Not Stupid, Not Lazy: Understanding Dyslexia and Other Learning Disabilities
Author of Not Stupid, Not Lazy: Understanding Dyslexia and Other Learning Disabilities