storytime

''Did the hobgoblin inhabit the distant dismal bogs?'' reads the sentence in our phonics book. Emilio, reading, stumbles over hobgoblin: ''Hhh...hob...hobble...hhh...hobblegob...hobgob...'' This is one of those rare occasions where I burst out laughing in front of my students. ''It's not you,'' I quickly reassure Emilio, ''these sentences are ridiculous.''

Need more proof?

''This pathetic ostrich is exotic but not splendid.''

''My despondent dentist consults with a skillful calligraphist about his dismal penmanship.''

I understand the point of phonics is to teach, well, phonics, not vocabulary. But when you are working with kids who speak functional English, who maybe understand one-in-four words I say and far less of the ones we read... well, it just gets a bit silly. I will not knock the program though, perhaps in the long run, it really helps. I only wish I could get a job writing sentences as ludicrous as that!