Today I’m grateful for phonics.

11.15.2022

---

I love phonics. A lot. Probably more than most people. Actually, I think it would be safe to take the ‘probably’ out of that last statement. I love phonics more than most people. Yep, that’s accurate. I’m guessing the average person in their everyday life doesn’t actually give phonics a second thought. I probably think about it enough for all of them.

For as much as I love phonics, the funny thing is I don’t remember learning how to read. I have a few vague memories of “mmmmm like Millie” from 1st grade and that’s about it. It wasn’t until I went back to school to become a teacher that I realized all the intricacies of the English language and all the things involved in learning to read. It’s like a giant code, with a ton of rules and patterns. I’ve always been a sucker for a good puzzle. And, it’s fascinating to me that millions and millions of people have learned how to read and write English and yet don’t remember the hows and whys about it.

I still remember when I, as an adult, learned that c and g typically say their soft sounds when followed by e, i, or y. Mind blown! And when someone taught me that the y at the end of ‘cry, try, fly, and my’ said the long i sound and the y at the end of ‘family, friendly, candy, and monopoly’ said the long e sound, not just by fluke but based on if the word had one syllable or multiple syllables and which syllable was stressed … well I pretty much had to pick my jaw up off the floor. I mean, there I was just going about my business reading words out there in the world and not realizing there was a science behind it all.

I can still picture the classroom I was sitting in when I realized how much I loved this stuff. I was getting my post-bac degree and teacher certification at Scottsdale Community College and I literally could not get enough of my reading foundations class. I was certain that I was in the right place and that teaching kids to read was what I was supposed to do.

Fast forward 18 years and I’m still geeking out about phonics. Teaching kids to read is one of my favorite parts of my job. There’s something pretty amazing about hearing a Kindergartener or first grader read to you at the end of the school year and remembering back to August when they didn’t know their letters or sounds. Knowing that I had something to do with getting them from point A to point B is probably one of the most rewarding parts of my career.

Tonight in my night class someone asked a question about hard g and soft g. I was cool when I answered the question, but inside I got all sentimental and reflective about being back in an SCC classroom and getting to teach other teachers and future teachers to love phonics like I do. Well, they might not end up loving it quite like I do – I know not everyone freaks out about this stuff – but I get to give them the tools to crack the code and to help their students do the same. That’s an opportunity I’m certainly grateful for.

As I drove home from night class tonight, thinking about orthographic mapping and high frequency words and the different types of syllables, I had a little debate going in my mind about whether or not a gratitude post about phonics would be too weird. But I am who I am. And who I am is a girl who unapologetically loves things like variant vowels and the roles and rules of silent e.

So today, I’m thankful for phonics. And if geeking out about phonics instruction is wrong, then I don’t want to be right.