Even though I work in education, I actually haven’t studied much educational theory. I went to grad school for English Literature, not educational theory, so all I know is what I’ve picked up along the way and through the actual practice of standing in front of some college-age students and learning by doing. That said, I am always up for learning more about the world, and that can include educational theory.
That led me to E.D. Hirsch Jr’.s Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know , something of a seminal landmark in 80s educational reform theory.
Now, approaching this book, I thought it might be a list of, well, whatever it is Hirsch felt all Americans need to know. And, to be clear, that list does exist, but it’s a short section at the end of the book. That part actually looks more like an index, with no explanation for what the various items and people on the list are in any way. So, if all you want is a simple list of items and their explanation, you’re out of luck here.
Instead, this is more about HIrsch explaining what he saw as wrong with American education and why a basic sets of knowledge is necessary to be a functioning citizen. Though Hirsch does set up a list of items, he is also quick to point out that the list is very time-and-place specific. So, his list, agreed upon by multiple academics, would be very specific for an American around 1987. Someone from another country or even an American today in 2021 would need a very different list. As someone who has been trying to read up on antiracism ideas and how much white people like myself might not know about the cultural touchstones of People of Color, it was nice that Hirsch even at one point says things like that can and should happen. So, having a formal list isn’t the point of this book.
No, the point is to explain why we need this list or others like it. Hirsch is working off an educational theory that says that children need to be educated on certain facts to be able to simply understand the culture that they live in, and such ideas need to come early in a child’s education. The example he uses is how some students can’t understand a simple passage about Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, considered by many the end of the Civil War, if the student reading the passage does not know who Lee or Grant were, the significance of Appomattox Courthouse, or even what a civil war is. The problem as Hirsch sees it is more of a focus on critical thinking skills in very young students, and even then. he doesn’t see that as a problem as education need not be an “either/or” when it comes to teaching kids.
Now, unlike a lot of theory I’ve read over the years, Hirsch’s writing is actually fairly easy for novices to follow. He’s there simply to explain why teaching these cultural ideas and concepts from an early age is a vital thing we need to do. He doesn’t pretend to be the absolute arbiter of what we need to know, only that we need to know what a culture deems important to be able to function in it at a competent and responsible level. About the only point I thought he went wrong was a section where he discusses standardized tests (I am not a fan), but at the least, he explains his ideas clearly and thoroughly, encouraging future educators to keep “revising” the list and keeping America’s children knowledgeable about the country they live in and everything that matters in it.
Grade: B+
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