Good ideas and sites about teaching and learning
E.D. Hirsch came to my attention probably 20 years ago. He has written a series of books about what your elementary child should know at each level of their education. He made several really good points that I revisited in 2020. Initially, his idea that a shared body of literature could help create a bond among students from diverse backgrounds, is what appealed to me. You know how that is. Say, we've read Harry Potter and meet others who loved the books too. It doesn't matter what your background is. Instantly you have this thing in common that draws you together. If then we have literature that is shared with all students in all schools, the same thing happens. Also, a lot of jokes and tropes and comments are based on having a shared experience with a source of some sort, whether it be a TV show, book, play, event, etc. Without the shared experience, we just don't get the joke or point being made.
Hirsch also said something else thought provoking. As a teacher and someone who has been trained to value teaching children critical thinking skills, I often found myself looking for ways to do this. But he made an excellent point - that knowledge has to come first. How can a person be a critical thinker if they have no knowledge, no access to things to evaluate and compare and measure? Made sense to me. So Hirsch's books are valuable in another way. They outline basic things children should be learning and suggest content appropriate to the age and cognitive abilities of the children being taught. For parents (and teachers) this can lay out a good roadmap for what to do as you are working with your children (or other people's children).
I have experienced some really awful online learning. And I have collaborated to create vibrant, effective learning in blended classrooms. The awful stuff was REALLY AWFUL. One situation speaks to what I was saying here. I had a 15 year-old student who was asked to choose either illegal immigration or same sex marriage and write about how the Constitution would come into play in that discussion. Seriously. It's not the topic I found problematic. It was expecting a child who had not read the Constitution and had not studied it enough to understand its meaning, and who furthermore had lived a very sheltered life and had little knowledge about either illegal immigration or same sex marriage, to critically think, evaluate, and rationally express an opinion about the topic.
Hirsch is right. Children need to acquire knowledge first before they can properly engage in critical thinking. Every state has standards publicly posted on their state education websites. Books like the series produced by Hirsch (and content on his website) also give a good roadmap for adults who are trying to teach online/at home. By the way, don't let the word "core" in his work throw you. Yes, yes, I know about Common Core. Hirsch is talking about cultural literacy. His ideas and resources are worth taking a look at.
www.coreknowledge.org/about-us/e-d-hirsch-jr/
Hirsch also said something else thought provoking. As a teacher and someone who has been trained to value teaching children critical thinking skills, I often found myself looking for ways to do this. But he made an excellent point - that knowledge has to come first. How can a person be a critical thinker if they have no knowledge, no access to things to evaluate and compare and measure? Made sense to me. So Hirsch's books are valuable in another way. They outline basic things children should be learning and suggest content appropriate to the age and cognitive abilities of the children being taught. For parents (and teachers) this can lay out a good roadmap for what to do as you are working with your children (or other people's children).
I have experienced some really awful online learning. And I have collaborated to create vibrant, effective learning in blended classrooms. The awful stuff was REALLY AWFUL. One situation speaks to what I was saying here. I had a 15 year-old student who was asked to choose either illegal immigration or same sex marriage and write about how the Constitution would come into play in that discussion. Seriously. It's not the topic I found problematic. It was expecting a child who had not read the Constitution and had not studied it enough to understand its meaning, and who furthermore had lived a very sheltered life and had little knowledge about either illegal immigration or same sex marriage, to critically think, evaluate, and rationally express an opinion about the topic.
Hirsch is right. Children need to acquire knowledge first before they can properly engage in critical thinking. Every state has standards publicly posted on their state education websites. Books like the series produced by Hirsch (and content on his website) also give a good roadmap for adults who are trying to teach online/at home. By the way, don't let the word "core" in his work throw you. Yes, yes, I know about Common Core. Hirsch is talking about cultural literacy. His ideas and resources are worth taking a look at.
www.coreknowledge.org/about-us/e-d-hirsch-jr/
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