direct instruction

Jay Lemke (JLLBC who-is-at CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU)
Tue, 30 Apr 96 23:54:24 EDT

A good time to use 'direct instruction' is when someone has
_asked_ you to explain something to them. Assuming their question
has arisen out of some agenda of their own, they are then in a
position to _appropriate and transform_ what you say for their
own purposes.

Perhaps our elaborate efforts to avoid direct instruction come in
part from the fact that it is not a very effective way to
_impose_ learning on people. (Or rather, not if you don't want to
have to break the illusion concealing power relations in our
polite middle-class fashion.)

When I ask somebody a question I want 'direct instruction', not
some perverse game of trying to get me to think for myself -- I
am already thinking for myself, and that is why I asked the
question!

JAY.

PS. After writing this, read Phil Agre's story about his
rebellion against constructivist math lessons. No, Phil, I don't
think things have changed too much. The real lesson is the same
whether in traditional math and science classes or constructivist
ones: "You're stupid!"

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JAY LEMKE.
City University of New York.
BITNET: JLLBC who-is-at CUNYVM
INTERNET: JLLBC who-is-at CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU