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[quote=Anonymous]To the Tucson poster, I can't say that's been our experience in DC.  Yes, there is some acceleration, but it's a balanced approach, it's not "drill and kill".  Yes, there are some math drills, but they are interspersed with many other techniques, and in some areas like math, frankly one cannot get away from drills, to improve the fundamentals.  Again, remember the 3 P rule for getting good at something.  Practice, practice, practice.  If students don't know their basic math facts and cannot pull them up quickly on command, then they will be struggling more and more as later work depends on mental math.  If they can't first and foremost recall basic rules like PEMDAS they will be getting subsequent problems wrong, and the only way to get there is through some practice.

But that said, it's not all rote memorization either, particularly in other areas like science.  There are labs, lectures, exercises, worksheets, critical thinking, exploration and application as well.  It's well in balance.  You can't just say "OK, kids, go explore" and turn them loose in the jungle without first having given them some good guidance, the tools needed like a map, GPS, machete, training on how to use the tools, et cetera - and also being there to find them and guide them back if they wander off the trail - and BASIS DC from all our experience thus far has been there to do that.  They DO do the lab exercises and activities to meaningfully understand science concepts, as an example - in talking to DS, there's a lot more going on in the BASIS science classroom than just what one sees with the flash cards and quizzes that he brings home.

The "Olga Block model" is NOT the "Chinese model" - but it also not out of thin air or a completely untested or unproven model - it is ultimately based on the European model, which has maturity and experience behind it - and we have seen no indication whatsoever of moving to a Chinese-style "drill and kill" approach.

Yes, it's a fast pace, and yes, the kids work hard.  No, it's not suited to every kid, no it's not suited to every student.  Lacking a soul?  Bitter teachers?  Haven't seen that either thus far - but I HAVE been to plenty of public schools that had their share of soullessness and bitter teachers.  But the beauty of having a diverse collection of charters, publics and privates is that you do have choice.  If it's not suited for your child, there are other schools to pick from.  Especially in DC where over 40% of students now are in charters.  It won't be the magic bullet for every child in DC, but I do think BASIS fills a vital educational gap in DC, and I do believe BASIS has a good, lasting role to serve for many families in DC.[/quote]

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