From ‘almost brainwashed’ to pioneer
LA GRANDE — A few years into her dream job as an elementary schoolteacher in her tiny hometown of North Powder (pop. 563), Ronda Fritz found herself disheartened. Not by the low pay or lack of resources at her tiny school.
Rather, Fritz blamed herself for failing each year to teach all of her students how to read. It was 1998, when reading scores in Oregon had already begun to slide. Despite her best efforts,…
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I graduated from Eastern Oregon University’s Master’s program in Teacher Education in 1994, where we were taught the Whole Language method. I didn’t believe in it, having grown up with phonics, spelling, and reading for comprehension, but there was nothing I could do about it. I felt unqualified to teach reading. My license was for elementary ed (K-8) as well as secondary math, but I hit the job market right when Measure 5 kicked in. I also neglected to learn how to coach football when I was a math major at the U of O. I ended up having to go in a different direction with my career. I’m glad that they’re finally seeing the error of their ways.