For much of the history of education, these methods have been supported by opposing camps, and they have alternated being the dominant method. Teaching reading through phonics is a methodical approach of teaching the child the sounds of individual letters, then moving up to letter combinations, simple words, and finally more complex words. Educators generally agree that phonics is an important part of learning to read. Even a child with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, can learn to read using the phonics method. But as important as phonics is, a program that emphasizes phonics alone can alienate the child.
Whole language takes the approach of teaching reading in the context of literature.
A child learns to enjoy and appreciate reading by reading books and writing his own stories. Traditional whole language programs put an early emphasis on learning to recognize words, so that the child can make rapid early progress in reading, and experience for themselves the pleasure and pride of achievement in reading by themselves. But while some children thrive in whole language programs, others don't do as well. The other advantage of using both methods is that different children have different learning styles. Some children learn best initially by one method, while others favor the other method.