The Quiet Rebel

Anna Gertrude Ingham of Yorkton was the subject of a cable television documentary called The Quiet Rebel in 1993, which told the story of why and how she developed a revolutionary program for teaching grade 1 kids to read.

Why a rebel? Her methods did not always meet with the approval of education authorities, but she persisted because it worked, the kids liked it because it was fun, and the parent had high praise for it because many of their children in grade 1 were reading after only a few months of school.

We talk with Shirley George, her daughter and collaborator. Shirley was involved in producing the book called The Blended Sound-Sight Method of Learning which was published in 1967, and worked with her mother in conducting workshops for teachers in western Canada. We talk about her mother, about the Blended Sound-Sight program which which she herself taught in Edmonton for several decades, and about teaching it to other teachers.

The website ClassicalEducationBooks.ca states the following about the book:

The field-tested methods of The Blended Sound-Sight Program of Learning were developed by Anna Ingham and the countless teachers she has trained for nearly 70 years, including her nephew, Dr. James B. Webster, founder of the Structure and Style® method of teaching writing. Birthed in a one-room, multi-age, multi-ability schoolroom, this book shows how teachers can create an environment where students take ownership of their own education and progress individually, while celebrating accomplishments communally.

Provides a solid sequential and incremental approach to language skill acquisition
Embeds a wide variety of accepted pedagogical skills into every day instruction
Provides frequent check points for comprehension and skill mastery
Has enough flexibility to allow for various learning styles
Can be easily adapted for students with learning challenges and/or language learners

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