This paper asserts that the basic skills, the three Rs, should be considered as a means to an end in education rather than the end in itself. According to the author, one of the most important basic skills is the skill of "basic crap detecting" advocated by Charles Weingartner. Students need to develop their own critical insights. Basic skill number two requires the teacher to permit, or force, as the case may be, students to actively pursue their own education. The end result of basic skill number three should be for students to be acutely aware of what is logical and what is illogical. The abilities to analyze and synthesize represent skills number four and five, respectively. Other important skills for teachers include: helping students develop a writing style, helping students discover who they are and that they have something to say, and helping students to establish a pattern of living which is intellectual. It is suggested that the most basic skill is the ability to create. Accordingly, the ultimate goal of the teacher should be to help all students fulfill their potential to be articulate, sensitive, confident and creative persons. (LL)