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Is RUSD really doing anything "new"?
Posted by: B-Wi on August 11, 2009 at 12:46PM CST
While reading the latest RUSD story (about closing the achievement gap), the phrase Direct Instruction kind of jumped out at me.

Direct Instruction is rich in structure and drilling and content, and is the opposite of the favored methods of today's high-paid education gurus, and contradicts the popular theories that are taught to new teachers in our universities.

For those of us in the over-40 club, this isn't anything new at all - it's how we learned way back in the good old days.

Remember reciting the multiplication tables, flashcards, timed tests, spelling bees? I know my kids have had very little "teacher-directed" activities such as these - most of their homework is very student-oriented and very "touchy-feely" as in "How did that book make you feel, Janey"?

I'm really kind of excited that it appears that RUSD may be looking to change the way it delivers the curriculum, but it's not really anything new, is it?

 
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Posted by: frugalhousewife on August 13, 2009 8:22AM CST
I think your right. It isn't new. Shaw has been researching schools all around the country that are improving test scores. He is implementing what they are doing that is working. Guess, we had it right back then. Before all the psychiatrists and social workers started messing with education. Bring back phonics, flash cards, memorization of multiplication facts, all of it. Why does a third grader need a calculator on the school supply list? They are letting them use them on tests and with regular work. They do not have to know their math facts anymore. I can tell when I need change from a young person, they have not been taught to do math.

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