Frank Monaghan · Gordon Askew · The Future of Phonics in Education conference

Second half: the dog whistle politics of the anti-phonics lobby

The closing keynote talk at Thursday’s conference, ‘EAL: testing the limits of phonics’, given by Frank Monaghan, was nothing more nor less than a crude caricature of phonics. As a matter of fact, he never attempted to engage with the principles behind phonics teaching. Rather he posed as the scourge of educational psychologists, of the… Continue reading Second half: the dog whistle politics of the anti-phonics lobby

Gill Jones · Gordon Askew · The Future of Phonics in Education and Learning conference

A game of two halves: first half

Yesterday I attended ‘The Future of Phonics in Education and Learning’ conference in London, organised by ‘Inside Government’. Gordon Askew, literacy adviser and phonics expert, was one of the keynote speakers tasked with the job of providing guidance on the direction in which government is going to take phonics. Both of Askew’s talks set out… Continue reading A game of two halves: first half