Nate

“…we cannot have a discussion about Direct Instruction as an instructional intervention without also grappling with the fact that pedagogies of compliance tend to be sold to schools serving our most vulnerable student populations.”

How about a little thread to provide some context for @larryferlazzo.bsky.social's cryptic comment here, shall we? It's a fairly low-level matter, but speaks to the ethical rot that permeates throughout Alpha School. And connects to Direct Instruction and @ehanford.bsky.social's podcast. THREAD:

It just so happens that my first full-time teaching job was at a school that used Direct Instruction for reading. This post is about my experience with it, why I found it problematic, and a lingering equity issue. (s/o @larryferlazzo.bsky.social for the opportunity to reflect in writing.)

In rural Arkansas, where I spent my first 8 years of teaching, it was often the opposite. The school district was one of the largest employers; families were, for the most part, very respectful of teachers. Nate is right: class dynamics has to be a lens we hold in this conversation

Banning trans kids from sports is fucked up. And you better believe there are terrible people and parents who see "Fairness in youth sports" as a much bigger battlefield that will include girls who are too tall, black kids who are too fast, etc etc

This whole post is great — including the reminder that “Direct Instruction” is not synonymous with “direct instruction” — but this part is so essential to interpreting educational research that it’s irresponsible not to acknowledge it when discussing implications (ie context matters!!!):

So glad you mention that because it’s the missing equity discussion in this whole scripting discourse: *Who* do we want a pedagogy of compliance for? And why? And why do some of our more conservative figures in society want anything but that for their children? Some uncomfortable truths there…

When worlds collide: the private school in this *Iowa GOP candidate's complicated relationship w/ the Kochs* story was started because traditional public schools are too directed, too focused on memorization instead of a *hero's journey* that lets kids direct their own learning

This begs a bigger question (extending beyond education) of how people in the U.S. uncritically conflate partisan affiliation with ideological beliefs. Ideological beliefs about teaching, learning, structure, and funding criss-cross partisan lines. We need to get better at interrogating that.

I think that’s my deepest fear. They’ll make teaching so unappealing that it’ll only attract those who want/need scripts. It’s the classic neoliberal shuffle: Starve institutions of support, access, prestige etc. then use the inevitable gaps as justification to control/eventually privatize.

On our way to the Valks watch party today at Chase, my son asked, “Are we going to the court for the Valkyries or the other team?” Said “other team” is the Golden State Warriors. There’s a whole generation of kids that’ll grow up with the W being normal instead of a novelty, which is incredible.

What bothers me most about this is the idea that it’s either rigidly implemented scripts or totally unstructured instructional improv. We can’t have a serious discourse about anything like this.

Also worth noting: Many admin and decision-makers were not in the classroom this decade and don‘t have the lived experience of how taxing this has been to consistently have to change EVERYTHING so frequently about how you teach.

This whole thread is incredible— beginning with Alpha School and arriving at “humane education”—but this excerpt from the linked essay is absolutely vital for us as educators to actively embrace. We can’t stop at just “containing the wolves”; we need an affirmative vision for what we want instead.

Can you believe teachers in the 60s thought DI was a crank idea when it came completely untested from a guy like Zig who demanded total fidelity to a scripted program he wrote himself? Yeah, I can actually. Not that hard at all.

The Venn diagram between consultants peddling “knowledge rich curriculum & Direct Instruction” and consultants grifting for Alpha School is just a self-congratulatory circle of delusion. “Alpha School Learning Scientist”??? Do these people have no shame???

“…one thing that I'm seeing is that we're using HQIM, but the conversation is still surface level…no point in using sophisticated scaffolds for shallow thinking.” Mitchell Brookins was PREACHING on this episode! Feels relevant to the recent discourse … 😏

For context—I’m less annoyed with the curriculum writers & more annoyed with people who argue that building curriculum is too hard and/or complex for mere teachers to do & that we should “leave it to the pros” without saying what gives someone the credibility, epistemic/disciplinary authority, etc.

If you want to read a masterclass on building a positive classroom culture, read this latest piece by @marcusluther.bsky.social. The students’ comments alone are proof that his class is an incredible place to learn and be in community with others. #TeacherSky #EduSky

What is the world coming to? The Wall Street Journal just did an astonishingly good article on dangerous stroads and the failure of urban planning to create safe streets. www.wsj.com/us-news/the-...

You can put teachers on a script, but students will never be scripted

The other major equity issue that people in favor of scripts never clearly address is this: What happens to the kids who refuse the script or, for whatever reason, can’t keep up? Some people’s responses to that have been more of a mask off moment than an explanation…

Winning feels good. Channeled my inner Rihanna for some celebration shenanigans. 💰🍾✊🏾 Run me my coins, @washingtonpost.com!

This is another element of this discourse that isn’t quite said enough: After a certain age (and I do agree that it’s 6th grade), a commitment to scripted teaching is a commitment to remedial education. We have to reckon with who we’re choosing that for and what underlying biases drive that choice.

The other thing about this false dichotomy here: I’d be ok with scripts-as-training wheels — to give a person a feel for the rhythm of a lesson. But scripts-as-teacher proofing is abdicating the responsibly to train teachers in how to competently adapt, accommodate, and respond. We can do better. 🤷🏾‍♂️

Full chapter here:  www.researchgate.net/profile/Jack...

Barack Obama just delivered a blistering rebuke of Trump's actions against Ilhan Omar. This is worth reading in full.

My 1st grade son came home early this school year lamenting that his school no longer gives first graders chromebooks at all. He then said — on his own! — “Well, I guess I can’t really write that much yet so it doesn’t matter.” I was just sat there with an evil smile nodding along.

you have to watch every second. i…wow.

This is exactly the right approach — openly mock the bigots as small-minded and cowardly and weak and proudly embrace diversity as a sign of our strength and success

There’s a really interesting meta-discourse about education journalism between Hanford’s podcast(s) and NHJ’s recent article. The flaw is similar: they both flattened highly complex issues in education. Upside: there’s an opportunity for more robust discourse moving forward including Ts voices.

“Whatever people's feelings about DI, it was difficult to argue with the fact that it raised test scores…As a method of last resort, it endures.” I’m quoting loosely, but that’s a solid summation of DI from a perfectly paired text. A lot to unpack there, but he does so brilliantly and fairly.