Rhythm is arguably the most important component of music. In all musics of all cultures, past and present, rhythm is central to musical experience and understanding. Given the enormous diversity of rhythm, perhaps it is no surprise that there is a wide range of opinion about how to teach it. It seems that every approach to music education pedagogy--Kodaly, Dalcroze, beat-impulse, undergraduate music theory--prescribes its own unique set of methods and techniques for teaching rhythm. Consistency of instruction is difficult to find from classroom to classroom within the same school, let alone between schools, communities, and states. Even within the same band program, students may learn differing syllable (counting) systems when they move from one level to the next. This article is intended to help music teachers address crucial questions about rhythm instruction. The author draws heavily on the rhythm ideas of Edwin E. Gordon, but with an attempt to reconcile certain conflicts between his theory and components of the "traditional" conceptions of meter found in current music theory texts. He also offers some ideas of his own for enhancing the effectiveness of rhythm teaching. (Contains 5 resources and 9 notes.)