This paper asserts that the basic skills, the three Rs, should be considered as a means to an end in education rather than the end in itself. According to the author, one of the most important basic skills is the skill of "basic crap detecting" advocated by Charles Weingartner. Students need to develop their own critical insights. Basic skill…

There is a vast difference between factual information and a sense of understanding that comes from the organization of knowledge in a way in which it can be used in decision processes. Recognition of interdependencies and interrelatedness leads to understanding and utilization. (JD)

A distinction can be made between the term "creativity" and creative thinking skills. Creativity typically refers to a talent for original and masterful production in the arts and sciences, and there is scant evidence that teachers have any influence on creativity of this kind. Creative thinking refers to a group of six thinking skills that if…

Giving children the opportunity to be creative requires allowing children to find and solve problems and communicate ideas in novel and appropriate ways. This paper presents 12 basic principles for teachers to follow when presenting art activities with children. These principles include: the process of creating a picture or project is more…

A philosophical orientation to teacher education would be a critical orientation, laying stress on the clarification of terminology, on the understanding of the logic of subject matter, and on a consideration of "what the known demands," or action deemed necessary from content knowledge. Fragmentation would be overcome, and a synthesis would be…