PARENTS WANT BASICS TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS

Are Cape Girardeau's students hooked on phonics or whole language?

That is one of the questions parents would like answered before the school board develops its five-year strategic plan.

About 25 people attended Thursday's last meeting in a three-part series emphasizing educational directions. The next meeting, at which buildings will be discussed, will be at 9 a.m. Saturday at Washington School.

Elementary students are taught whole language now but some parents disagree with the concept of reading isolation.

Phonics emphasizes sounding out word syllables and whole language concentrates on word context within a sentence.

"There's no comparison on how well students read," said Nancy Gunning, who uses phonics in her classroom in Southern Illinois.

Her son is a first-grade student in Cape Girardeau and has tried to learn whole language here.

"Words are sent home to memorize, and there's no skill except memorization," she said.

In conjunction with a return to phonics, parents also want to get back to the basics of education -- reading, writing and arithmetic.

But they aren't forgetting that computers are important to the future. Computer technology and improvements were another major concern.

Holly Reece said she has already noticed a lack in hands-on computer education since she moved to Cape Girardeau three weeks ago.

"We moved from an area where they passed the bond issue you need here," she said, adding that there is a need for a full-day kindergarten program and more computers for the students.

Each suggestion and concern voiced at the meeting is recorded and ranked by the participants. Vision 2000 volunteers will tabulate the lists and provide a report to the Vision Planning Committee and school board. The lists will represent the feelings of the people, said moderator Robert Foster, a member of the committee.

"What comes out of the group will make up the plan for the future," he said, adding that the committee is getting a good sample of the community.

The 15 additional meetings will focus on topics like school buildings and finances. Each meeting is coordinated by the Vision Planning Committee and Vision 2000 volunteers.