Clasuae

About 9 a.m., the kindergarten through second grade students of Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary in Northwest Jacksonville were doing pretty much the same thing: word attack. Kindergarten teacher Janet Szlosek rocked in her chair with her pointer finger working its way down the flip chart balanced on her lap. The students sat on the floor, leaned forward, ready to spell out and say the word. Szlosek was using a teaching method known as direct instruction. The program, used in 15 Duval County elementary schools, has been the target of controversy for the past five years. Talk of which reading programs best suit the lowest achieving students in the school system has resurged, now with a push for expansion -- and support -- of the direct instruction program for all of the school system's lowest-performing students in reading. Direct instruction is a structured approach originally designed in the 1960s to accelerate the learning of at-risk students. The program fo

FIRST-year students in four faculties at  Stellenbosch University  are to be able to choose English or Afrikaans as their medium of study from the beginning of next year. The vice-rector for teaching, Magda Fourie, has acknowledged that the decision to introduce "parallel medium tuition" may pose logistical challenges, but said it would "increase opportunities for students to be academically successful". Language of Instruction Language of Instruction The university council has decided that some faculties would offer next year's first-year students the chance to attend lectures in either language. They are the faculties of economic and management sciences, science, agrisciences, and engineering. The faculty of arts and social sciences would introduce parallel medium instruction for first years in 2011, the university has said in a statement. "In terms of the decision, these five faculties would also be permitted to consider t

THERE will always be some managers who are perceived as more successful than others. They may not be better qualified or more experienced, necessarily, but just seem to have the knack of pulling in better results. But this need not stay as one of life's unsolved mysteries, according to HR Online consultant Steven Carlin. Winning Technique Steven argues that there are techniques for identifying what sort of behaviours bring advantage in a particular set of circumstances, if firms and managers are willing to take time and analyse the differences . "If we were to look at a group of managers who carry out the same function, all may have taken a similar academic route, all are likely to have been inducted into the organisation in a similar manner and all are likely to have developed similar skills in relation to performing in their job. "Why then are some managers considered to more successful than others? The distinction lies not in what the manag

On a nine-concert national tour of South Africa, the American pianist Awadagin Pratt is already proving what critics overseas are saying: he has something special when it comes to technique, musicality and interpretation. Pratt will be in Cape Town to play Beethoven with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra in its season opener - and his last concert - at the Cape Town City Hall on Thursday, June 4, at 8 pm. Technique Musicality and Interpretation Pratt is not new to Cape Town. He performed with The Cape Town Concert Series in 1996 and since then, apart from being a judge at the UNISA International Piano Competition a couple of years ago, the stars have not been aligned to have him back. "I enjoyed being in Cape Town - it was my first time in South Africa and I was happy to meet Archbishop Tutu. That specific concert was recorded for my third CD, Live from South Africa, so the concert remains fixed in my memory. A winner of the prestigious Naumburg Prize in 1992, Pr

A common police  technique  of using small-time criminals to catch drug dealers may have contributed to an atmosphere that allowed two Eugene officers to think they could demand sex from women they stopped on patrol, victim advocates say. Known locally on the streets as "three-for-one," the practice is spelled out in the department's official policy manual and is an accepted investigation tool not just here but in cities across the country. Eugene police allow petty offenders, both men and woman, to "work off a charge" by turning in their dealers or performing drug buys that result in the arrest of three others. Though the use of confidential informants is generally seen as a benefit to both sides, it exploits people who are most vulnerable to coercion, say those who work closely with prostitutes and addicts. And the secretive nature of cutting deals on the street opens the door to potential abuse, they say. "You would have to be naive

Adrian Milledge takes guard as a device costing pounds 2,000 comes to club cricket. Special delivery: Balls are fed into the bowling machine and delivered at a pre-planned speed (left) for Adrian Milledge (right) to improve his batting technique. You could never accuse Kenilworth Wardens of being Luddites. Witness their hiring of a helicopter a couple of seasons ago to dry a wet pitch so that a key match could be played. Technique and Technology Their latest embrace of modern technology, however, is set to have longer-term value. After a pilot scheme in the weeks leading up to Christmas, the club is now able to provide coaching which incorporates the use of a bowling machine and video camera. Wardens have had their own two-lane indoor nets for some years and, as far as the club's head of youth cricket David Gurr is concerned, complementing them with the latest in coaching aids is a natural progression. In local club cricket terms, Gurr believes it als