Kirsten Baesler, assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education at the U.S. Department of Education, expressed strong support for Direct Instruction during an exclusive interview Friday with The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy.
Baesler, a North Dakota native and former classroom teacher, discussed her path from growing up in the small farming and ranching community of Flasher to serving as the state’s superintendent of public instruction for 13 years before joining the U.S. Department of Education.
“I was an elementary teacher,” Baesler told Leahy during Friday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show. “So I taught third grade, and then I taught fifth grade, and so I loved those. I loved the third grade. I loved fifth grade.”
Her career also included serving as a school library media specialist, technology developer, assistant principal, and member of the Mandan Public School Board, where she served for nine years, including seven years as president.
Baesler said her experience in education ultimately led her into state leadership.
“I take all of those experiences and bring them to the state leadership role that I had in North Dakota for 13 years, and now to the U.S. Department of Education,” she said.
During the interview, Leahy asked Baesler about Direct Instruction, a structured teaching methodology developed by educator Siegfried “Zig” Engelmann that emphasizes explicit instruction, modeling, guided practice, and frequent opportunities for students to respond.
Leahy, who has repeatedly advocated for Direct Instruction to improve reading and mathematics instruction in Tennessee schools, asked why more public schools have not adopted the approach.
Baesler responded that she is “a big fan” of the method.
“If direct instruction weren’t necessary, then why don’t we just put a book underneath a child’s pillow at night and by natural absorption they would learn how to read, right?” Baesler said.
She argued that previous theories emphasizing children independently discovering reading skills have been mistaken.
“I just think for a time there were a lot of theories out there about how to get children to love reading, and if you just let them explore that they’ll naturally come to the osmosis of learning,” Baesler said. “And that really isn’t how learning works.”
Baesler said she believes education is increasingly moving toward Direct Instruction as research and understanding of how children learn have advanced.
“I see us moving back towards direct instruction, and I see a lot of people understanding the importance of it,” she said, adding, “We’re not there yet, but that’s why it’s so important that we empower states, that we empower our local leaders, because those that are really in the weeds of actually teaching, they know when children are learning.”
She also argued that advances in neuroscience have provided educators with greater insight into how children learn to read.
“But now with the medical advancements, there is no denying. We know what is going on behind a child’s eyes now,” Baesler said. “So there’s really no reason for us to be debating this anymore.”
Baesler attributed some of the slow adoption of evidence-based instructional methods to what she described as a “really disjointed system of education,” while arguing states and local education leaders should have greater authority over instructional decisions.
She pointed to Tennessee as an example, saying the state has demonstrated strong post-pandemic learning growth by allowing education leaders to work together and test different approaches.
But when it comes to Direct Instruction, Baesler said the period of experimentation should be over.
“But the testing is over, and direct instruction is the way that we need to absolutely go,” she said.
Baesler added that Direct Instruction has also become personal for her family. Her oldest granddaughter recently began kindergarten, and Baesler said Direct Instruction was being used as her primary method of instruction.
“Direct instruction is the only way that she’s been learning, and it’s the only way that she will continue to learn with me as her grandmother,” Baesler said.
Live August 21 https://t.co/fA5rkFlFGv
— Michael Patrick Leahy (@michaelpleahy) August 21, 2026
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
