Hosted by The Center for
Education Reform
Hosted by The Center for
Education Reform
E.D HIRSCH AND CORE KNOWLEDGE
By Joe Nathan
St. Paul Pioneer Press, September, 1997
E.D. Hirsch, founder of the Core Knowledge Curriculum, makes some people very unhappy. But several inner city. rural and suburban schools which adopted his ideas show major achievement gains. Hundreds of public schools are joining his movement. Hirsch's recent books are best-sellers.
Hirsch believes that about 50% of the curriculum in every grade, in every elementary school should be the same. He insists that all Americans needs to know some things, and that because many families move so much, all schools ought to teach those core ideas. "A highly specific common core of content is still repellent to many Americans....(but) grade by grade commonality is necessary to educational excellence and equity."
He's not satisfied with general assertions. Hirsch, (who will speak October 28 at a conference several groups, including ours, are sponsoring) developed a curriculum for each elementary grade. For example, he suggests that first graders study ancient civilizations and religions of the world, including Egypt, King Tut, the Nile River, pyramids, Judaism, Moses Passover, Christianity, Jesus, Mohammed, Allah and Islam, Hinduism, Buddha, Confucius and the Chinese New Year. These, and other subjects are included in his book, What Your First Grader Needs to Know. He has similar books for each grade, K-6.
Some educators, writing for example, in the Harvard Education Review criticize Hirsch's view of standardized tests as the best available measures. Some think the subjects he wants youngsters to study are not appropriate for their age. And like me, some think he has unwisely criticized "hands on, active learning."
However, the American School Board Journal recently rated Hirsch's new book, The Schools We Need, the single "best book about schools or schooling published in the last year." The American Federation of Teachers honored him this summer.
Several years ago, Rochester parents convinced the district to open a Core Knowledge school, which has a waiting list. Some Duluth and Twin Cities educators and parents want similar schools.
I admire Hirsch's insistence that virtually all students can do well in school, regardless of family background. I'm impressed with the two Core Knowledge schools I visited, one in the South Bronx, and one in suburban Castle Rock, Colorado. I saw teachers adapting his ideas, using progressive "hands on" techniques he has criticized. Youngsters in one school were on their backs, painting on a canvas that their teacher had stretched above them, to give them an idea of what Michaelangelo experienced as he painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Studying ancient Greece in another school included, among other things, building models of the Parthenon and producing short versions of classic Greek plays.
But Hirsch describes himself as a pragmatist. He has praised the schools I visited for making thoughtful, creative use of his ideas. Give him credit for high expectations, openness, and recommendations which produce significant achievement gains for all kinds of students. And, if you want to hear him, call 626-1834 for information.
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Joe Nathan is Director of the Center For School Change, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute Of Public Affairs, University Of Minnesota.