Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Silbert | Carnine
Stein | Kinder | Rolf
www.pearsonhighered.com
Part I Perspective
Chapter 4 Counting 25
Chapter 7 Addition 88
vii
Glossary 532
References 534
Index 536
Part I Perspective
Chapter 4 Counting 25
Skill Hierarchy 25
Conceptual Understanding 27
Instructional Procedures 27
Rote Counting by Ones to 30, 27; Rational Counting: One Group, 29;
Rational Counting: Two Groups, 29; Counting from Numbers Other
Than One, 30; Ordinal Counting, 31; Counting by Ones from 30 to 100, 31;
Counting Backward, 31; Counting Between 100 and 999, 32; Skip
Counting, 32
ix
Chapter 7 Addition 88
Skill Hierarchy 88
Conceptual Understanding 90
Instructional Procedures: Beginning Addition 91
Addition the Slow Way, 91; Missing Addend Strategy, 92; Addition the
Fast Way, 93; Diagnosis and Remediation, 94
Instructional Procedures: Multi-Digit Addition 95
Problems Not Requiring Renaming, 95; Problems Requiring Renaming, 96;
Three or More Addends, 98; Diagnosis and Remediation, 99
Appendix A: Direct Instruction Mathematics and Common Core State Standards 513
Appendix B: Frequently Asked Questions About Direct Instruction Mathematics 529
Glossary 532
References 534
Index 536
xiv
1
Direct Instruction
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1.1 Discuss the areas that comprise mathematical proficiency according to the
National Research Council.
1.2 Outline the features of instructional design that are essential to mathematics
instruction.
1.3 Discuss the four features of instructional delivery that are characteristic of Direct
Instruction.
1.4 Explain the importance of explicitly teaching students mathematics vocabulary
and concepts.
MATHEMATICAL PROFICIENCY
According to the National Research Council (2001), mathematical proficiency is represented by
competency in five areas: conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, strategic competence,
adaptive reasoning, and productive disposition. Many mathematics textbooks used in teacher
preparation discuss the philosophy and theory of mathematics instruction and provide instruc-
tional activities, but few outline with specificity the means by which teachers can translate these
areas into explicit instruction. Direct Instruction Mathematics provides teachers with a com-
prehensive blueprint to organize and teach specific content for major mathematical topics that
appear in elementary and middle school. The textbook also provides teachers with strategies to
address the needs of struggling learners. Each chapter in this text provides specific recommen-
dations to promote conceptual understanding (teaching language concepts and providing visual
representations) and procedural fluency (teaching explicit strategies). Embedded in the chapters
are recommendations to promote adaptive reasoning (asking students to explain their answers)
and to determine strategic competence (monitoring student performance).
Regarding a productive disposition, research has suggested that when students experience
success, they develop positive self-concepts (Stebbins, St. Pierre, Proper, Anderson, & Cerra,
1977). More specifically, research in the area of Direct Instruction (see Chapter 2) leads us
to conclude that well-designed instruction that promotes student mathematical proficiency, as
outlined in this text, will yield productive dispositions.
In this chapter, we provide a detailed discussion of three critical components—instructional
design, instructional delivery, and instructional language—that are essential to understanding
how Direct Instruction Mathematics addresses the five proficiency areas mentioned above.
Building mathematics instruction with these components as the foundation will ensure that
students acquire, retain, and generalize new learning in as humane, efficient, and effective a
manner as possible.
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
To effectively teach mathematics, teachers must construct the kinds of lessons and develop the
specific teaching procedures that best meet the needs of their students. Throughout the chapters in
this text, we emphasize five essential instructional design features to assist teachers in designing
mathematics instruction and in evaluating and modifying the commercial programs that have
been adopted for use in their school or district. The learning theory underlying these features
is elaborated in detail in Theory of Instruction (Engelmann & Carnine, 1991) and serves as the
foundation for Direct Instruction programs. The website for the National Institute for Direct
Instruction (NIFDI) provides detailed information about the commercially available Direct
Instruction programs. Throughout this text we discuss the following features that represent
instructional design elements essential to well-designed mathematics instruction:
1. Sequence of skills and concepts
2. Explicit instructional strategies
3. Preskills
4. Example selection
5. Practice and review
Before designing instruction or modifying it, teachers must clearly identify the objectives
they want to teach. Most commercial programs specify student objectives for each instructional
unit. However, not all objectives are written so that teachers can determine when they have
been met. The objectives should be stated as specific, observable behaviors and include both
accuracy and rate criteria, if possible. For example, a clear first-grade objective for single-digit
addition is: “Given 25 single-digit addition problems, students will correctly solve at least
22 in 1 minute with no more than one error.” Poorly stated objectives contain vague descriptions
of student behavior that are difficult to measure, such as “Students will understand the concept
of addition.”
Teachers can use the Instructional Sequence and Assessment Charts found at the begin-
ning of most chapters in this book as a guide to selecting important grade-level objectives.
These charts, aligned with national Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM)
(National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School
Officers, 2010), offer a sequence of instruction based on the difficulty level of the given prob-
lem types. Teachers can use the charts to help prioritize objectives, deciding which problem
types to teach and in which sequence. Teachers of students who perform poorly should focus
their instruction on higher-priority skills, those that are used more frequently, or those that are
prerequisites for more advanced skills.
Once the teacher has determined the types of problems students should be able to work
when they have completed the unit, the teacher must decide on appropriate levels of mastery.
Both accuracy and fluency must be considered when specifying levels of mastery. Unfortu-
nately, there is little research available on determining accuracy and fluency criteria. Generally,
teachers should provide supervised practice until students reach an 85% to 90% accuracy level
for worksheet assignments containing a review of previously introduced types of problems. A
fluency criterion usually depends on the relative complexity of the problem type. Most educa-
tors agree that students who work problems with relative fluency are more likely to retain strate-
gies over a longer period of time. We present more detail about fluency criteria in the section on
progress monitoring later in this chapter.
information and strategies. Following are three general guidelines for sequencing the introduction
of new skills:
1. Teach preskills for a strategy before teaching the strategy.
2. Teach easy skills before more difficult ones.
3. Separate the introduction of information or strategies that students are likely to confuse.
Generally, the more steps in a strategy and the greater the similarity of the new strategy to
previously taught strategies, the more likely students will have difficulty. For example, in column
subtraction, problems that require a regrouping strategy are more difficult than problems that
do not. But not all problems that require regrouping are of equal difficulty. A problem such as
3,002 - 89 is significantly more difficult than a problem such as 364 - 128, largely due to the
presence of zeros.
One of the preskills we recommend teaching for regrouping with zeros in problems like
the one above is hundreds-minus-one problems (300 - 1 = 299). That preskill should be
taught prior to introducing problems such as 3,002 - 89, which requires renaming 300 tens as
299 tens. This example of identifying and teaching the appropriate preskills illustrates the first
sequencing guideline.
299
30012
- 89
The instruction of easier skills before more difficult ones is the second sequencing guideline.
For example, before teaching students to add fractions with unlike denominators, we recom-
mend teaching students the easier skill of adding fractions with like denominators. Although
this guideline may seem obvious, many commercially available programs disregard its
importance.
The third sequencing guideline is to separate the introduction of information and strate-
gies that are likely to be confused. The more similar two skills are, the more likely students
are to confuse them. For example, because young students are likely to confuse identification
of the numerals 6 and 9, those numerals should not be introduced consecutively. Likewise,
the skip-counting series for 6s and 4s are quite similar in that they both contain 12, 24, and
36 (6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36 and 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36). Introducing these series consecu-
tively is likely to cause confusion for some students.
teacher wording, examples, and often error-correction procedures. Formats are designed so that
teacher explanations are clear and unambiguous so teachers do not have to worry if the explana-
tion they provide one day is consistent with explanations they’ve given previously.
The teaching formats represent a carefully designed instructional sequence reflecting the
gradual release of responsibility from teacher to student. Most of the formats consist of four parts:
a structured board presentation, a structured worksheet presentation, a less structured worksheet
presentation, and supervised practice. A characteristic of the formats is the use of frequent ques-
tioning that allows teachers to continuously check for student understanding and increases student
engagement. This text provides links to teaching formats for the instructional strategies discussed
in each chapter. In addition, some of the formats are accompanied by video demonstrations.
Preskills
As mentioned previously, instruction should be sequenced so that the requisite component skills of
a strategy are taught before the entire strategy is introduced. The component skills, therefore, can
be called preskills. For example, to solve a percent problem (What is 23% of 67?), the student must
be able to (a) convert percent to a decimal (23% = .23), (b) solve multiplication problems with
multi-digit factors (.23 * 67), and (c) place the decimal point correctly in the product (15.41).
67
* .23
201
134
15.41
The necessary preskills for many strategies may have been taught earlier or in previous
grades. Nonetheless, to ensure that students have mastered the preskills before introducing a
new instructional strategy, teachers should test students on those preskills. Each chapter in this
text identifies critical preskills for the strategies presented so that teachers can design tests to
determine whether the preskills have been mastered or must be taught.
Example Selection
Selecting examples involves constructing or choosing appropriate problems to be used during
teaching demonstrations and student practice. Two guidelines are particularly helpful in assist-
ing teachers in selecting appropriate examples. The first example selection guideline is simply to
include only problems that students can solve by using a strategy that has been explicitly taught.
For example, if students have been taught a regrouping strategy for solving subtraction problems
without zeros, but they have not yet been taught to solve problems with zeros, the teacher should
not give them a problem such as 3,004 - 87. As mentioned previously, teaching students to
rename in problems containing zeros requires additional instruction in specific preskills.
The second guideline is ultimately to include not only examples of the currently introduced
type (introductory examples) but also examples of previously introduced problem types that are
similar (discrimination examples). The purpose of including previously introduced problem types
is to provide students with practice in determining when to apply the new strategy and when to
apply previously taught strategies. For example, after students learn how to regroup from ones to
tens in column addition, their practice examples should include problems that require regrouping
and problems that do not. Working a set of discrimination problems encourages students to exam-
ine the problems more carefully to determine when to apply the regrouping strategy instead of
reverting to the rote behavior of just “putting one on top of the tens column.” The importance of
including discrimination examples cannot be overemphasized. Unless previously taught problem
types are included, students will likely forget or misapply earlier taught strategies.
Nathan, & Willingham, 2013) on an individual skill until mastery is reached. Students demon-
strate mastery on a particular skill when they can work problems accurately, fluently, and inde-
pendently. Following this guideline requires that teachers monitor their students carefully and
frequently to determine if and when mastery has been achieved. If students have not mastered a
skill in the time originally allotted, teachers will need to provide additional practice opportunities.
Second, teachers must provide systematic review of previously introduced skills. Once
students have reached a specified level of mastery on a given skill, the teacher can gradually
decrease the amount of practice on that skill. But practice should never entirely disappear. The
skill should be reviewed systematically over time to ensure retention. Reviewing a skill system-
atically over time is called distributed practice. Distributed practice is a hallmark of all Direct
Instruction programs.
The review of previously introduced skills requires deliberate planning, because many com-
mercial programs do not provide an opportunity for that review. Often, review is naturally pro-
vided because the newly taught skill serves as a component skill for a more advanced problem
type. For example, as subtraction problems with regrouping are mastered, those problems are
integrated into word problems, thereby providing practice on the component skill.
In Chapter 3 we illustrate how the instructional design features discussed in this chapter
contribute to a framework for evaluating published mathematics programs.
INSTRUCTIONAL DELIVERY
Once teachers have planned their mathematics instruction using the five essential instructional
design features discussed above, they need to integrate instructional delivery features into their
teaching plans. While the instructional design focuses on what to teach, instructional delivery
addresses issues of implementation, that is, how best to teach. Four features are included in this
section on instructional delivery:
1. Progress monitoring
2. Presentation techniques
3. Error-correction procedures
4. Diagnosis and remediation
Progress Monitoring
A major goal of progress monitoring is to determine whether students have mastered the mate-
rial. A second goal of progress monitoring is to determine whether students are progressing at an
optimal rate. One research-based approach to monitoring student progress that assists teachers
in determining an optimal rate is curriculum-based measurement, or CBM (Fuchs, Fuchs, &
Hamlett, 2015). CBM offers an alternative both to informal observations, which tend to lack
consistency, and to achievement tests, which are administered too infrequently to help teachers
make instructional decisions.
Shinn and Walker (2010) explain that CBM has two distinctive features that separate it
from other curriculum-based assessments: First, the recommended CBM procedures are as reli-
able and valid as most standardized achievement tests; second, the procedures are designed to be
administered frequently enough to provide teachers with ongoing performance data.
One of the strongest advantages of using CBM is that by monitoring progress frequently,
teachers can identify and remedy problems by making instructional changes before students fall
too far behind their peers. Likewise, teachers can use CBM data to accelerate instruction. The
National Center for Intensive Intervention (NCII) offers educators online tools and resources to
assist them in implementing progress monitoring.
Presentation Techniques
A major aspect of Direct Instruction involves attention to a group of teaching or presentation
techniques. How skillfully a teacher presents instruction significantly affects both the student’s
rate of learning and the student’s self-concept. The relationship between success and self-concept,
a primary tenet in the Direct Instruction approach to teaching, was articulated by Engelmann as
long ago as 1969:
The sphere of self-confidence that can be programmed in the classroom has to do with the
child’s ability to stick to his guns, to have confidence in what he has learned, and to approach
school tasks with the understanding that he is smart and will succeed. For a child to maintain
such an impression of himself, he must receive demonstrations that these descriptions of
himself are valid. If he finds himself failing in school, displeasing the teacher, feeling unsure
about what he has learned, he must reevaluate himself and perhaps conclude that he is not a
complete success. (p. 68)
The presentation techniques addressed here capture those skills needed for effective
teacher-directed group instruction. Several factors contribute to a successful teacher-directed
lesson. For example, the length of a teacher’s explanation or demonstration affects the likeli-
hood that students will be attentive. Teachers should make explanations brief and concise. The
more time the teacher spends talking, the fewer opportunities for student involvement. Teachers
working with primary-grade and lower-performing students in the upper grades should structure
their presentations so that students are required to answer frequent questions.
Because teachers cannot call on every individual student to answer each question, unison
responses should be incorporated into the teacher-directed lessons. Unison responses ensure that
all of the students in the classroom actively participate in the lesson. Two very specific presen-
tation skills promote effective use of unison responses: appropriate use of signals and pacing.
Signals A signal is a cue given by the teacher that tells students when to respond in unison.
The effective use of signals allows participation by all students, not just the highest-performing
students who, if allowed, tend to dominate the activity.
To signal a unison response, the teacher (a) gives directions, (b) provides a thinking pause,
and (c) cues the response. For example, when presenting an addition fact task, the teacher might
say, “Listen. Get ready to tell me the answer to this problem: 4 + 6.” After the directions comes
the thinking pause. The duration of the thinking pause is determined by the length of time the
lowest-performing student needs to figure out the answer. (If one student takes significantly
longer to answer than the other students in the group, the teacher should consider providing
extra individual practice for that student.) For easier questions (simple tasks involving review of
previously taught skills), the thinking pause may be just a split second, while for more complex
questions the thinking pause may last longer. Carefully controlling the duration of the thinking
pause is a very important factor in maintaining student attention.
The final step in the signaling procedure is the actual cue to respond. A cue or signal
to respond may be a clap, finger snap, hand drop, touch on the board, or any similar type of
action. This procedure can be modified for use with most tasks. On tasks calling for a long
thinking pause, the teacher would say, “Get ready” an instant before signaling. The purpose
of the get-ready prompt is to let the students know when to expect the cue to respond. Since
the length of thinking pauses varies with the difficulty of the question, a prompt is needed;
students may not know when to respond following a pause. Therefore, to elicit a group
response in which each student has an equal opportunity to respond, the cue “Get ready” is
given. An auditory signal (snap, clap, etc.) is necessary for teacher-directed worksheet tasks,
since students are looking at their worksheets and cannot see a silent hand signal from the
teacher.
The essential feature of a good signal is its clarity. The signal must be given so that students
know exactly when they are expected to respond. If a signal is not clear, students cannot respond
in unison. The teacher can use the student responses to evaluate the clarity of her signals. A
repeated failure to respond together usually indicates that the signals are unclear or that the
teacher has not provided adequate thinking time.
Giving individual turns (also called individual tests) is an essential part of any instructional
activity in which students are asked to respond in unison. Using only unison responses, a teacher
can never be absolutely certain whether each student has produced a correct response indepen-
dent from the responses of nearby students. Giving individual turns helps teachers verify that all
students are participating appropriately in the activity.
The teacher should give individual tests only after all the students in the group appear to
be answering correctly during unison practice. Calling on a student who has not had enough
practice to master the task may needlessly embarrass the student in front of his peers. Since indi-
vidual tests are time-consuming, they should not be given to every student after every task. As a
general rule, turns should be given to all lower-performing students each time a new or difficult
task is presented. Higher-performing students, on the other hand, can be tested less often.
Pacing Anyone who has observed young children watching TV shows or playing video games
can attest to the role that pacing plays in maintaining attention. Teachers should be familiar
enough with their material to present it in a lively, animated manner and without hesitation.
Teachers who are well practiced with their instructional materials not only can teach at a livelier
pace but also can focus their attention more fully on student performance.
Format 5.12: Throughout this text, we have included videos of teaching demonstrations to illustrate
Expanded Notation
instructional delivery skills. For each video, we have identified a “watch-for” that highlights the
Watch for Tristan’s use of clear
implementation of a specific presentation technique. For example, for the following video, note
signals and lively pacing.
that the watch-for calls attention to Tristan’s use of signals and pacing.
Error-Correction Procedures
The first step in correcting errors made by students during group instruction is to determine the
cause of the error. Teachers must decide if the error resulted from inattentiveness or from a lack
of knowledge. Teachers can determine whether student errors were caused by inattentiveness by
checking where the students were looking or what the students were doing when the question
was asked.
Teachers should correct students who respond late or don’t respond at all during tasks
requiring unison responding. For these errors teachers should inform the students that because
not all students responded (or because some students failed to respond on signal), they have to
repeat the task. Teachers should not direct any attention to the students who made the errors but
should praise students who performed well and attended to the task.
Most error corrections follow a three-step procedure of model, test, and delayed test. If
an error occurs when the teacher is presenting a strategy, the teacher would model the correct
response or ask leading questions from the strategy so that students can generate the correct
response. Next, the teacher would test the students by presenting the same task again—this
time providing no assistance. The teacher then would return to the beginning of the original
task and present the entire task again, the delayed test. The function of a delayed test is to
check whether the student remembers the correct responses when starting from the beginning
of the task.
Specific recommendations are outlined in each chapter for corrections of errors students
are likely to make for a given topic. Specific teacher wording often can be found in the teaching
formats provided within each chapter along with additional recommendations to ensure that the
corrections are effective.
The teacher diagnoses can’t-do errors by examining the missed problems on worksheets
and/or by interviewing the students about how they worked the problems they missed. The
following basic steps apply to diagnosing and remedying errors on most types of problems:
1. Diagnosis: Analyze worksheet errors and hypothesize what the cause of the errors might be.
2. Confirmation: Interview the student to determine the cause of the errors if it is not obvious.
3. Remediation: Provide reteaching through board and/or worksheet presentations.
4. Assess: Test the student on a set of problems similar to the ones on which the original errors
were made.
An error usually is of three basic types: a fact error, a component-skill error, or a strategy
error. Students often miss problems only because they don’t know their basic math facts.
Basic facts are the addition and multiplication facts formed by adding or multiplying any two
single-digit numbers and their subtraction and division corollaries.
Component skills are previously taught skills that are integrated as steps in a lengthier
problem-solving strategy. Below is an example of an addition problem with renaming that a
student missed due to a component-skill error:
2
67
+25
1
Note that in the incorrectly solved problem, the student knew to rename but did not know
the component skill related to place value for renaming appropriately (12 equals 1 ten and
2 ones). To remedy this component-skill error, the teacher would present instruction only on
the component skill of expanded notation. Once the student mastered the component skill, the
teacher would give students addition problems similar to the one originally missed.
A strategy error occurs when the student demonstrates that she does not know the sequence
of steps required to solve the particular type of problem. In the following example, the stu-
dent subtracts the denominator from the numerator when instructed to convert an improper frac-
tion to a mixed number, indicating that the student does not have a viable strategy for reducing
improper fractions. To remedy this problem, the teacher must teach the entire strategy of rewrit-
ing fractions to the student.
13 15
= 7 = 13
6 2
The diagnosis and remediation procedures recommended here are designed to increase
instructional efficiency by helping teachers determine exactly how much additional teaching
is necessary to bring students to mastery. If a teacher determines that student errors are due to
deficient math fact knowledge, it is unnecessary to reteach lengthy problem-solving strategies.
Similarly, if an error pattern reflected in a student’s independent work is related to a single
component skill, then the teacher would reteach only that skill and not the entire instructional
strategy. These diagnosis and remediation procedures can save teachers valuable instructional
time by focusing on only those skills that require remediation.
INSTRUCTIONAL LANGUAGE
Attention to the need for instruction in discipline-based language has recently been extended to
the area of mathematics as evidenced by the CCSSM. Mathematical language practices required
by the CCSSM include engaging students in mathematical reasoning, developing viable argu-
ments, and critiquing the reasoning of others—high expectations for math students and their
teachers. These higher-level language skills require that students understand basic mathematics
concepts and are able to use appropriate mathematics vocabulary.
Attention to language has always been fundamental to Direct Instruction teaching (Engelmann,
Carnine, & Steely, 1991). For example, in a first-grade mathematics class asking students if
“3 is fewer than 5” may be problematic if students were taught the concept of “less than” and
„Doch auch für die Hauptmasse der Bevölkerung Afrikas, für die
Sudan- und Bantuneger, ist die Annahme einer fremden Urheimat
ziemlich allgemein; auch diese beiden Gruppen sollen von
Nordosten, also aus Asien her, über den Durchgangspaß des Roten
Meeres in ihre heutigen Sitze eingedrungen sein.
„Gegen diese letzte Theorie einen energischen Vorstoß zu
unternehmen, habe ich mir vor einigen Jahren in der Schrift ‚Zu
Friedrich Ratzels Gedächtnis‘ das Vergnügen gemacht. Soweit die
ganze Negerfamilie in Betracht kommt, spricht nichts, aber auch
absolut nichts dafür, daß ihre Vorfahren jemals anderswo gesessen
hätten als in dem Gebiet, das sie im großen und ganzen noch heute
innehaben. Kein Zweig der großen Gruppe ist nachweisbar jemals
im Besitz irgendwie bemerkenswerter nautischer Kenntnisse
gewesen, und keiner hat auch jemals den Fuß aufs hohe Meer
gesetzt.
„Aber ist denn das durchaus auch nötig, werden Sie mir
einwerfen, wird nicht die ganze Gesellschaft entweder über die
Landenge von Suez oder über die schmale Meerenge von Bab el
Mandeb gewandert sein? Wir haben die letztere ja erst vor zwei
Tagen passiert; sie ist doch so schmal, daß man von einem Ufer das
andere deutlich erblicken kann.
„Sehr richtig, meine Damen, aber so einfach ist das Problem
denn doch nicht. Für den Menschen beansprucht die moderne
Anthropologie ebensolange Zeiträume wie für unsere höhere
Tierwelt; den Diluvialmenschen erkennt auch unsere straffste
Orthodoxie seit langem an, und an den Tertiärmenschen würde man
sich selbst dann gewöhnen müssen, wenn er nicht schon an sich ein
logisches Postulat wäre. Mit diesem Herniedersenken des
Jugendstadiums unserer Spezies in frühere geologische Perioden
wird nun aber das Problem der Herausbildung der Menschenrassen
zu einer Aufgabe, die nicht bloß durch Messungen an Schädel und
Skelett gelöst werden kann, sondern an der neben der
Paläozoologie vor allem auch die Erdgeschichte, also die historische
Geologie, tatkräftig mitzuarbeiten haben wird. Soweit ich die
Sachlage zu übersehen vermag, werden die in Frage kommenden
Wissenschaften sich schließlich wohl auf nur drei Urrassen einigen:
die weiße, gelbe und schwarze, die je ihren Herausbildungsherd auf
bestimmten alten Dauerkontinenten gehabt haben müssen. Ein
solcher Dauerkontinent bestand in der Tat lange geologische
Zeiträume hindurch auf der südlichen Halbkugel. Einen großen Rest
von ihm stellt das heutige Afrika dar; kleinere hat man in der
indonesisch-papuanischen Inselwelt und in Australien zu sehen. Die
Verbreitung der schwarzen Rasse von Senegambien im Westen bis
Fidji im Osten erklärt sich auf diese Weise spielend.
„Und auch für die großen Gruppen der M i s c h r a s s e n werden wir
nach meiner Ansicht für die Zukunft nicht mehr ohne die
Zuhilfenahme geologischer Veränderungen der Erdoberfläche
auskommen. Woher leiten wir den Hamiten und was verstehen wir
überhaupt unter diesem Begriff, der auffälligerweise eine Völkerzone
umschließt, die sich geographisch lückenlos zwischen die weiße und
die schwarze Rasse einschiebt? Wie will man des fernern die
sogenannten Uralaltaier erklären, jene schwer zu umschreibende
Völkermasse zwischen dem mongolischen Urelement im Osten und
dem weißen im Westen? Wird man nicht auch hier auf den
Gedanken kommen müssen, daß der Anstoß zur Entwicklung beider
Gruppen, der Nordafrikaner sowohl wie auch jener Nordasiaten,
gegeben wurde durch eine breite und lange Berührung der alten
Urrassen, die nach Lage der Dinge, d. h. auf Grund der
geologischen Veränderungen sowohl im Südosten des
Mittelmeergebietes wie auch im Osten Nordeuropas, nur durch das
Zusammenwachsen der vordem durch Meere getrennten, alten
Kontinentalkerne geschehen konnte? Tatsächlich sind die
Landbrücken an beiden Stellen geologisch sehr jung.
„Derartige Aus- oder richtiger Rückblicke mögen einstweilen noch
ketzerhaft oder als vage Hypothesen erscheinen, ohne Zweifel
haben sie jedoch das Gute, daß sie uns zur Annahme langer
Zeiträume auch für die Entwicklung des Menschengeschlechts
zwingen, und das ist ja auch schon ein Fortschritt. Mir persönlich ist
es, solange ich mich mit derartigen Fragen berufsmäßig
beschäftigen muß, immer recht spaßhaft vorgekommen, daß man für
den Menschen die kürzeste Entwicklungszeit annimmt, trotzdem er
das höchst gestiegene Lebewesen sein soll. Logischerweise kann
man von ihm doch nur gerade das Gegenteil annehmen.“
„Und um alles dieses in Ihrem Haupte zu bewegen, müssen Sie,
Herr Professor, erst ins Rote Meer und in den Golf von Aden fahren?
Konnten Sie das zu Hause nicht viel bequemer haben?“
„Das freilich, aber keine von Ihnen, meine Damen, wird leugnen
können, daß die persönliche Kenntnis des Schauplatzes eines
Vorganges, wenn nichts anderes, so doch zum mindesten ein
kräftiger Ansporn ist, sich mit jenem Vorgang selbst und seinen
Ursachen noch intensiver zu beschäftigen, als man das fern von ihm
tun würde. Für mich ist demgemäß die, wie Sie zugeben werden, an
sich nicht besonders reizvolle Fahrt durch das Rote Meer die beste
Gelegenheit gewesen, mich mit dem Problem der
Rassenherausbildung recht nachhaltig zu befassen, und Sie
verstehen nunmehr wohl ohne jede Einschränkung, wie recht ich mit
der Behauptung hatte, meine Expedition habe schon längst
begonnen.“ —
Vielleicht werden Sie mich schelten, Herr Geheimrat, daß ich
derartig schwierige Materien an solchem Ort und vor solchem Kreise
angeschnitten habe. Sie haben sicher recht damit; andererseits
können gerade wir Gelehrten gar nicht genug Gelegenheiten
suchen, unsere Weisheit über die Hörsäle der Universitäten hinaus
in die weitesten Kreise zu tragen. Wird man auch nicht überall
sogleich verstanden, so beginnt doch hier und da ein leises
Interesse zu keimen, das hinterher fröhlich wächst und später
vielleicht die schönsten Früchte trägt.
Reuevoll will ich Ihnen nunmehr wieder etwas mehr, statt mit
grauer Theorie, mit der fröhlichen Wirklichkeit kommen. Vom Kap
Guardafui habe ich ein paar recht hübsche Aufnahmen machen
können. Von der Nordseite her ist dieses Vorgebirge nur wenig
imposant; es hat den Anschein, als ob das Schiff dicht an Land
dahinführe; in Wirklichkeit ist man jedoch 5 bis 6 Seemeilen vom
Strande ab, und aus diesem Grunde kommt dem Reisenden die
stolze Höhe von nahezu 300 Meter gar nicht zum Bewußtsein.
Eindrucksvoller sieht die Landschaft von Süden her aus; zur
Rechten des Schiffes steigen hier die Berge in nahezu senkrechter
Steilheit zu fast 1000 Meter empor, oft überlagert von einer
kompakten Wolkenschicht, die das Gebirge noch stattlicher und
gewaltiger erscheinen läßt. Dennoch wendet sich das Auge immer
wieder zum Kap Guardafui zurück. Höher als von der Nordseite aus
erscheint es zwar auch jetzt nicht, aber es gewährt selbst dem
phantasielosesten Reisenden ein Bild, das allen Ostafrikafahrern
unter dem Namen des „schlafenden Löwen“ bekannt und geläufig
ist. Ich halte im allgemeinen nicht viel von derartigen
Personifikationen von Naturgebilden, an dieser Stelle indessen habe
auch ich den Eindruck der Naturwahrheit in vollkommenster Weise
empfunden. Tief ist das wuchtige, mähnenumwallte Haupt auf den
Boden, das ist in diesem Falle der dunkelblau leuchtende Indische
Ozean, niedergeduckt; dicht angeschmiegt liegt die rechte
Vorderpranke. Leider ist das königliche Auge geschlossen; zu welch
herrlicher Symbolik würde dieses unvergleichliche Bild die Phantasie
sonst zu begeistern vermögen! Vor dem Phänomen von heute ist
deren Flug nur lahm. Ursprünglich wachte der Löwe; er behütete den
regen Seeverkehr, den das ausgehende Altertum und das frühe
Mittelalter vor seinen Augen aufrecht erhielten; als Phönizier und
Himjariten, Griechen und Römer, Araber und Neuperser von Westen
aus nach Osten und nach Süden hinaussegelten; als von Osten her
zu wiederholten Malen der mittelalterliche Chinese vorstieß bis in die
Bucht von Aden und vielleicht gar bis ins Rote Meer. Das war eine
Zeit, des Wachthaltens wert! Doch es kam der Islam und es kam der
Türke, es kam ferner die Zeit der Umfahrung des fernen Kaps der
Guten Hoffnung und damit die Brachlegung der ägyptischen und der
syrischen Pforte. In stummes, dumpfes Brüten versank das Rote
Meer, versank der Persische Golf. Das hat Jahrhundert um
Jahrhundert gedauert, und dabei ist der Löwe müde geworden und
sanft entschlafen.
„Aber sollte nicht der neue Riesenverkehr des Suezkanals ihn
bereits haben erwecken können oder müssen“, werden Sie mir
einwerfen. Darauf muß ich erwidern: „Nein; das Trägheitsgesetz
beherrscht die Welt, auch ist der Schlaf dieses alten Ozeanwächters
so tief, daß lumpige vierzig Jahre nicht ausreichen, um ihn zu stören;
dazu bedarf es anderer Mittel. Und auch dieses kenne ich. An Bord
befindet sich ein italienischer Capitano, ein prächtiger, stattlicher
Mensch, dem die Abessinier bei Adua leider mit Speerstichen arg
zugesetzt haben. Den fragte ich vorhin, warum denn kein
Leuchtturm das Fahrwasser am Kap Guardafui verbessere; sie als
Herren des Landes hätten doch eigentlich die Pflicht, für so etwas zu
sorgen.“
„Das ist richtig, mein Herr, aber haben Sie schon einmal gegen
die Völker dieses Osthorns gekämpft?“ war die Gegenfrage. „Was,
glauben Sie wohl, würden die Herren Somâl dazu sagen, wenn wir
ihnen die beste Gelegenheit zum gewohnten Strandraub nähmen?
Ein schwerer Feldzug wäre die einzige Folge schon des bloßen
Versuchs, sich dort oben festzusetzen.“
Der Capitano mag mit seinen Worten recht haben; gleichwohl
wird sich Italien auf die Dauer nicht der Notwendigkeit entziehen
können, der internationalen Verpflichtung eines Leuchtturmbaues an
jener exponierten Stelle nachzukommen; schwarz und traurig liegt
auch jetzt der Rumpf eines gestrandeten französischen Dampfers,
der in dunkler Nacht auf der Nordfahrt zu früh nach Westen umbog,
an der Küste. Mit dem Moment aber, wo dieser Leuchtturm seinen
Lichtkegel zum erstenmal über die nächtlich dunklen Weiten des
umgebenden Meeres hinaussenden wird, da wird der Löwe
erwachen. Dann wird auch er fühlen, daß seine Stunde von neuem
gekommen ist. Vorbei der tatenlose Dämmerzustand langer
Jahrhunderte, vorbei auch für immer das Sackgassentum jenes
Roten Meeres, das Orient und Okzident räumlich so nahe rückte und
doch so fern voneinander hielt. Freie Durchfahrt, jetzt und
immerdar! —
Der Monsun ist eine angenehme Erscheinung, besonders nach
dem erschlaffenden Genuß des Roten Meeres und des Golfs von
Aden, doch wird auch er auf die Dauer eintönig und langweilig. Das
rührt daher, daß die Länge der Seereise die Sehnsucht nach dem
Landungshafen immer stärker werden läßt. Mombassa und Sansibar
werden deshalb stets mit Jubel begrüßt und im Eiltempo genossen.
Für Daressalam ist man schon gemäßigter gestimmt, doch betritt
man nichtsdestoweniger auch diese Stadt mit dem leisen Gefühl
einer endlichen Erlösung.
Bucht von Lindi.
Drittes Kapitel.
Es kommt anders.
Lindi, Ende Juni 1906.