
“Beware the Either/Ors” is as important a consideration for school reform as “What will best help students learn?”
Last week, Annie Murphy Paul’s blog Why Kids Should Learn Cursive (and Math Facts, and Word Roots) got a lot of attention. She cites some excellent reasons and points to
…a raft of recent studies supporting the effectiveness of “old school” methods like memorizing math facts, reading aloud, practicing handwriting, and teaching argumentation (activities that once went by the names drill, recitation, penmanship and rhetoric). While the education world is all abuzz about so-called “21st-century skills” like collaboration, problem solving, and critical thinking, this research suggests that we might do well to add a strong dose of the 19th-century to our children’s schooling.
Note she says Add these old methods rather than use Only the old methods.
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