After 7 years toiling on my Ph.D., trying to figure out why children are not learning and teachers are getting paid more, I think I have come up with the best way of teaching children. I put them in a room with a Classic Literary Work, Homer’s Odyssey or Iliad and I say, “Read these words.” And, amazingly, they begin to read through osmosis.

If the preceding paragraph sounds exactly how teachers expect children to learn, you are right. Actually, I have recently read Ziggy’s book on academic child abuse and I viewed your 20th annual Eugene Conference on DI and am sold on the idea. It is possible that my teachers in primary school used these techniques. I remember learning this way, but today kids seem to learn through discovery…gimme a break. To make a long story short, I would like to find out more about the opportunity to attend one of your training sessions and / or find a school where Direct Instruction is being implemented here in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Thank you and Committed to teaching excellence,
Jaime David Dudash

You’ve got to be taught to guess and to pray
To God that your memory will know what to say,
‘Cause plain English is taught like Egyptian these days,
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught that each word is unique,
And not cry while they hide all the patterns you seek,
In meaningless worksheets with instructions in Greek, You’ve got to be carefully taught.

[chorus] You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
While professors tell parents it’s “phonics” you hate,
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught not to be at your ease,
By whole language teachers with master’s degrees,
Who make every lesson an agonized tease,
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught to pretend you can read
The Big Book she holds as she meets every need
Of the two kids in class who can actually read,
You’ve got to be carefully taught.
[chorus]