Talk:The three Rs

Latest comment: 1 year ago by AllGloryToTheHypnotoad in topic This needs to be fixed.

The third "R" edit

I believe the THIRD "R" should be "recycle". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 164.76.134.94 (talkcontribs) 07:13, August 15, 2007

I always thought that the 3r were rote, reading and Reckoning Bihco (talk) 19:53, 5 December 2008 (UTC)Reply
According to Mortimer J. Adler, in his book, "How to Read a Book" (1940), the third "r" is "reckoning".— Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.84.56.233 (talkcontribs) October 29, 2017 (UTC)
Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic are the 3 Rs according to 20th Century educators in the UK. [1]Dyolf87 (talk) 17:30, 6 November 2020 (UTC)Reply
Hmmm...
  • "I believe" flouts WP:V, WP:RS, WP:NOR, etc.
  • re Adler, I can only see a snippet here, but he does write "I meant ..." there. Apparently, he didn't mean that as an assertion re the meaning taken more generally.
  • re (a)rithmetic, counting google responses seems to favor that.
There is WP:DUE; that says, "all significant viewpoints [...] in proportion to the prominence of each viewpoint in the published, reliable sources". Wtmitchell (talk) (earlier Boracay Bill) 15:04, 3 August 2021 (UTC)Reply

Basic skills Link edit

basic skills is currently linking to Direct Instruction. This does not seem right to me. I am going to change the link back to Basic skills Dbiel (Talk) 00:11, 27 September 2007 (UTC)Reply

Weasel Words edit

I removed a weasel words tag. Is there any section specifically that you think might have weasel words? --Xer0 05:46, 9 November 2007 (UTC)Reply

Overly negative tone? edit

The longest section in this article slams the three Rs as "dated and obsolete." What about some discussion of the importance of mastering basic skills as a necessary groundwork to higher-level skills? How do students who can't read, write, and do arithmetic learn higher math or develop the critical reading skills necessary for evaluating history textbooks? Am I in error in believing that the expression "3 Rs" refers to the necessity of teaching basic literacy and numeracy as a groundwork, rather than to the exclusion of everything else? I really don't get it, and I'm a social democratic musician and college professor, so it's not like I believe in a narrow, reactionary approach to education. Ikan Kekek (talk) 09:05, 28 January 2010 (UTC)Reply


I do believe in a narrow, reactionary approach to education, and yet (or for that reason) I find myself in full agreement with Mr Kekek. 94.3.176.230 (talk) 16:45, 30 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

Relevance of five capitals? edit

I don't understand why there is a link to Five Capitals, other than it is another example of "<number> <noun>". I propose that it is removed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Randomgurn (talkcontribs) 14:44, 26 September 2011 (UTC)Reply

This needs to be fixed. edit

The three Rs were originally "reading, reckoning, and rhetoric" - thus three words that actually do begin with R. AllGloryToTheHypnotoad (talk) 15:23, 25 March 2023 (UTC)Reply