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Reading the NJ Core Content Standards through the eyes of E.D. Hirsch’s Cultural Literacy. By: Kristen Purich Dee Ross Alyson Severino David Zwirz. What is Cultural Literacy?.
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Reading the NJ Core Content Standardsthrough the eyes of E.D. Hirsch’sCultural Literacy By: Kristen Purich Dee Ross Alyson Severino David Zwirz
What is Cultural Literacy? • Cultural Literacy refers to the concept that citizens in a democracy should possess a common body of knowledge that allows them to… • communicate effectively • govern themselves • share in their society's rewards
Who is E.D. Hirsch? • An American educator & academic literary critic. • Best known for his work on cultural literacy, ‘What Every American Needs to Know’, 1987. • He co-wrote The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy 1988 (with Joseph F. Kett and James Trefil) and was the main editor of A First Dictionary of Cultural Literacy 1989. • Born in March 22, 1928, Memphis, Tenn., U.S
Hirsch’s Literary Stance • Two part curriculum • Extensive- Covering all shared information • Intensive- Specific areas of knowledge • This two-part curriculum avoids the idea that all children should study identical materials. • It resists the idea of a core curriculum • Eg: All high school graduates should study Romeo and Juliet.
Hirsch vs. John Dewey • Set a higher bar for Americans… beyond basic reading + writing • Opposed the long-accepted view of educator John Dewey, who stressed experiential learning. • Hirsch maintained that early education should focus on content and that all students could achieve cultural literacy. • Hirsch offered in his book 5,000 terms that he thought culturally literate Americans should recognize.
Hirsch Affecting Politics and Globalization • The argument drew initial support from officials in President Ronald Reagan's administration, and educational policy-makers in the 1980s and 1990s • Hirsch’s ideas create a higher level of economic competitiveness, which will strengthen the US global market
Works Cited Kates, James (2009). Answers.com. Retrieved March 18, 2009, Web site: http://www.answers.com/topic/cultural-literacy Hirsch, E. D. Jr. Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987. Moses, Wilson Jeremiah. Afrotopia: The Roots of African American Popular History. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. World News, (2006). Eric Donald Hirsch, USA. Retrieved March 18, 2009, from World People's Blog Web site: http://word.world-citizenship.org/wp-archive/941