You hear about it everywhere.
Mothers discuss it with concern in the dentist's office.
Major news magazines run feature articles on it. Education colleges in major universities declare it an answer to the challenge of teaching reading, spelling, and writing. There are as many definitions of whole language as there are people involved in it. Those educators who are responsible for the thrust of the movement describe it as a teaching philosophy, rather than a method of teaching. As is true of most educational movements, the whole-language movement is a reaction to unsolved educational problems.