DAY 14: Skinner Horror Files
THE BIG LIE EXPOSED
Direct from the horse’s mouth
“It is always to be kept in mind that these principles
are quite in contrast to “rote learning” or drill.
“In rote learning, many wrong responses are permitted to occur,
and the student eventually learns to develop his own prompts
often to a relatively unrelated series of stimuli.
“Programmed learning, on the other hand,
is designed to take advantage of the inherent organization of the subject matter
or of the behavior of the subject in relation to the subject matter
in shaping up the student’s learning.”
~Robert Glaser
The quotation above is proof positive. Parents and teachers have been misled — deliberately lied to — by the neoconservative leadership pushing the Skinner method and passage of the Reading Excellence Act. They have been told over a period of thirty years that Skinnerian Direct Instruction and Mastery Learning are merely rote learning or drill! I myself have had the experience of that excuse (lie) thrown in my face on numerous occasions. No wonder my book Back to Basics Reform or OBE Skinnerian International Curriculum was boycotted from 1985 to the present.
The neoconservative Right leadership, in bed with the hard Left globalists and the corporations, needs the Skinner method for the Soviet polytech workforce training; i.e., using our “trained” children to spin off profits for the global elite!
The statement by Professor Robert Glaser at the top of this post is evidence documenting that Skinnerian Direct Instruction/Mastery Learning is NOT simple rote learning. Glaser himself is very clear that the Skinner method denies the very freedom which comes with rote learning. Lest the skeptical reader thinks that this quote was taken out of context, read the following excerpt from Programmed Learning: Evolving Principles and Industrial Applications (1961), which included Glaser’s “Principles of Programming”:
Putting the Student on His Own
The next point is called “fading or vanishing.” Thus far it has been indicated that programming techniques utilize the principle of reinforcement, the principle of prompting. The next one we come to is the principle of fading or vanishing. This principle involves the gradual removal of prompts or cues, so that by the time the student has completed the lesson, he is responding only to the stimulus material which he will actually have available when he performs the “real task.” He is on his own, so to speak, and learning crutches have been eliminated. Fading can then be defined as the gradual withdrawal of stimulus support. The systematic progression of programmed learning is well set up to accomplish this. It is always to be kept in mind that these principles are quite in contrast to “rote learning” or drill. In rote learning, many wrong responses are permitted to occur, and the student eventually learns to develop his own prompts often to a relatively unrelated series of stimuli. Programmed learning, on the other hand, is designed to take advantage of the inherent organization of the subject matter or of the behavior of the subject in relation to the subject matter in shaping up the student’s learning. [bold added to text of paragraph]
Essential background on Professor Robert Glaser and his role in passage of the Reading Excellence Act which calls for the use of Skinnerian Direct Instruction and Mastery Learning can be found in the blog post “Your Child, the “Organism”: Day 10: Skinner Horror Files: More History You Aren’t Supposed to Know…” Read it to understand the significance of this man and his agenda.
This blog post is excerpted, updated and adapted for blog posting from Appendix III of my book the deliberate dumbing down of america, p. A‑16. Read it in its entirety for factual information, direct from the horses’ mouths, that tells the truth about the difference between rote learning and Skinnerian Programmed Instruction. (The quote under the image above comes from Glaser’s New York Times obituary.)
