What if:

What if parents want to purchase America’s Phonics for home use? 

America’s Phonics is designed as a professional’s tool to provide a solid foundation in the English language. We recommend that parents who intend to serve as teachers, study the teachers manual thoroughly. This will provide the fundamentals important to effective use of the program and develop an appreciation for the required discipline and commitment both in schedule and in work habits. If parents and their child are ready to apply themselves, there is no reason why America’s Phonics should not be considered for home use. 

What if parents want America’s Phonics tutoring for their child as a supplement to present schooling? 

As with any serious study, the study of language requires concentration. The ability to maintain concentration varies and is easier when a person is rested. Some students may be able to apply themselves after school, but others may not. Depending on schedule options and priorities, it may be possible to have a tutoring session before the regular school day begins. If schedule problems can be managed, supplemental use of America’s Phonics may be a less disruptive way to improve language skills than private schooling. 

What if someone with a limited language skills wants to use America’s Phonics? 

Phonics adds a powerful additional dimension to language, but phonics requires learning some phonetic technicalities. Having this capability can be valuable as a base for a lifetime of progressively sophisticated use of language, but it may be better for a child with limited language skills to strive for more modest goals.  

What if potential users are indifferent or resistant towards America’s Phonics? 

Resistance to change is a fact of human behavior and we cannot expect teachers to embrace a program that requires a change in teaching style. Beyond that we need to recognize that education is expected to make existing knowledge available to students, and we want them in this role as opposed to being inventors, experimenters or generally, creators of new knowledge. So we have to accept their preference to deal with the “known.” 

What if foreign adults want to use America’s Phonics?

An important feature of America’s Phonics is in its instruction of standard English. A teacher of the program who has a regional accent can rely on the recorded, human voiced, hi-fidelity sounds. A person with a foreign accent can do the same. Persons with fairly good English skills could be trained in this country to provide instruction in their native land. The material for study was carefully created to be “blind” to race, religion, sex and time so there should be no complaint about prejudice. However, there is a certain amount of unavoidable Americana in the writing which we can hope to be welcomed as providing insight into America and Americans. 

What if teachers in a foreign elementary school want to use America’s Phonics? 

In addition to the thoughts as covered in the answer above, it would be best for foreign teachers of elementary students to have spent some time in America or even to have had part of their education here. This would be helpful in providing a context for some of the practice reading material so that foreign students do not completely miss the informational intent of what they are reading. 

What if America’s Phonics were offered for on-line instruction on the Internet? 

Clearly the technology exists to do so. It would be necessary to determine the patent, copyright and trademark implications around the world when doing so.  Innovation would be needed to find new ways to deal with the teacher training as that is now defined—presumably there is a way.  One appealing possibility to the authors and publisher is to offer America’s Phonics on the Internet without charge to handicapped children who find it impossible or difficult to attend school.