The three Rs explained

The three Rs^[1] are three basic skills taught in schools: reading, writing and arithmetic (the "R's", pronounced in the English alphabet "ARs", refer to "Reading, wRiting (where the W is unnecessary), and ARithmetic").^[2] The phrase appears to have been coined at the beginning of the 19th century.

The term has also been used to name other triples (see Other uses).

Origin and meaning

The skills themselves are alluded to in St. Augustine's Confessions: 'learning to read, and write, and do arithmetic'.^[3]

The phrase is sometimes attributed to a speech given by Sir William Curtis circa 1807: this is disputed.^{[4] [5] [6]} An extended modern version of the three Rs consists of the "functional skills of literacy, numeracy and ICT".^[7]

The educationalist Louis P. Bénézet preferred "to read", "to reason", "to recite", adding, "by reciting I did not mean giving back, verbatim, the words of the teacher or of the textbook. I meant speaking the English language."^[8]

Other uses

More recent meanings of "the three Rs" are:

• In the subject of CNC code generation by Edgecam Workflow: Rapid, Reliable, and Repeatable
• In the subject of sustainability: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
• In the subject of American politics and the New Deal: Relief, Recovery, and Reform
• In animal welfare principles in research (see The Three Rs for animals). The Three Rs principle stands for Reduction, Refinement, and Replacement. It promotes the use of alternative methods whenever possible, reducing the number of animals used, refining the experimental techniques to minimize harm, and replacing animals with non-animal models when feasible
• (See also 3R disambiguation)

See also

• Standards based education reform
• Traditional education
• Trivium (education)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Obsolete Skill Set: The 3 Rs . 2022-03-21 . www.papert.org.
2. Web site: Definition of THE THREE R'S . 2023-09-15 . www.merriam-webster.com . en.
3. Confessions 13:1:20 Loeb Classical Library, p. 37
4. Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edition, 2008, s.v. 'R' I:3
5. Christine Ammer, The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, 2nd edition, 2013, s.v., p. 457, excerpted in The Free Dictionary
6. [John Limbird]
7. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/educationandlearning/qualificationsexplained/dg_173874 Functional Skills
8. L. P. Benezet, "The Teaching of Arithmetic I, II, III: The Story of an Experiment," Journal of the National Education Association, Volume 24(8): 241-244 (November 1935)