The Schools We Need: And Why We Don't Have Them [Paperback]

 

 

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... When the hell are they going to teach me something?!

Courtesy of the graduate of an affluent public school district, where every Thursday afternoon for a semester the Junior class had a Unit on Self-Esteem.

They did not, however, learn to write a five-page paper, or to identify theme and point-of-view in fictions, or the historic origins of the democratic ideals of America's founders, or the twelve points Woodrow Wilson promoted at the end of the First World War (there was more than one???), or the difference between compound and simple interest paid on savings.

Hirsch offends so often because what he says is irrefutable: one must have language and ideas to use as comparisons and contrasts to all texts, cultural and written, or one cannot achieve higher level reasoning skills. This notion is so threatening to those without higher reasoning skills that they call names -- elitist, classist, mono-culturalist. But the fact is that ignoring the need for a common core of information about which people within a culture (or say, even at a given location at a specific moment in time) can discourse, we create an artificial elite that "represents them because they cannot represent themselves" -- vanguardist intellectuals who become, themselves, a privileged overclass who make their living protecting others from gaining the privilege and mastery they desire.

You go, E.D.!

In this book, Hirsch examines the educational system of America with a critical eye. He describes the problem as being too much of a Romantic influence and not enough of the Enlightenment. Hirsch says, "My chief complaint against educational Romanticism is that it fails to conform to educational reality. The strongest case against it lies not in the opinion that it is wrong in its ideology but in the fact that it is wrong in its empirical assumptions, and hence ineffectual in practice."
Hirsch states the two basic doctrines of education are formalism and naturalism, and they are both inaccurate. Formalism states that "intellectual capital" is not as significant as obtaining the tool one needs to learn more. Naturalism is the principle that education is "a natural process with its own inherent forms and rhythms."
Although I am not an educator, and found many subjects discussed in the book to be a little over my head, I was able to grasp the main concept Hirsch was trying to convey: that the American school systems are behind the times...as in stuck in the Romantic Era. If I were an educator, I believe that I would definitely look further into Hirsch's methods for better education.

The Schools We Need and Why We Don't Have Them puts forth arguments about why we don't have the educational schools, that the United States Government is not putting forth. E.D. Hirsch, Jr., who is a teacher himself argues this points and puts forth the much required facts from both historical context and present research, that indeed confirms our beliefs about why the United States doesn't have such educational schools. E.D. also proposes ideas and methods upon, which the United States can reform the educational schools across America.
The main points of his arguments are as follows:
The promotion "of natural, integrated project-learning focused instruction leading to well-practiced operational skills in reading and mathematics, and well-stocked minds conversant with individual subject matters like history and biology" is an ineffective method, that should be refocused into a new method, which can balance study skills and learning abilities because each child has his/her own way of learning.
"Formalism", a "belief that the particular content which is learned in school is far less important acquiring the formal tools which will enable a person to learn future content" and "Naturalism" is a "belief that education is a natural process with its own inherent forms and rhythms, which may vary with each child, and is most effective when it is connected with natural, real-life goal settings" but both commit the same fallacy of "emphasis on formal skills", which child may or may not have.
Another flaw, that U.S. schools focus on is how they create their courses. Each course may have a general description upon which a teacher can interpret his/her own way but what the schools need to focus on is the same concepts Nationwide. Not just state or town wide because every town has their own system. The Government should simply focus on one main set of ideas, that are set as ground rules for teachers and students and school boards.
Schools should focus less on standardized test and relying on racial information to determine how a student learns and focus more on the students learning.
Each argument is based in fact, that E.D.Hirsch has gathered and each appears to be logically relevant. The reasoning Hirsch uses is good and supports his case clearly enough. There appeared to be no logically fallacies committed and the arguments appeared to be complete. The evidence was relevant to the argument and based entirely on research, that was conducted across the US and in some cases across Europe and Asia. The argument was inductively strong since every argument agreed with each premises. The argument was fair in each case since the arguments are based in actual research and evidence and he examines both sides of each argument to show what is really needed in the long run.
Hirsch in fact proves why we need the schools, that we don't have. If only schools would focus less on natural learning, formalism and naturalism and straighten out their curriculums, focus less on racial context, and less on standardized test then we would truly have the schools, that the United States could really use.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Every administrator should read this.
This book is absolutely outstanding. It describes in great detail how utterly ridiculous the current Progressive movement in education is. Read more

Published on Nov 14 2001 by Jamie R. Buchanan

3.0 out of 5 stars interesting, but wrong
As (another) educator and an open-minded seeker, I try to understand all sides of issues, especially in education. Read more

Published on July 23 2001 by Steve

5.0 out of 5 stars The Emperor Has No Clothes
I found The Schools We Need by E.D. Hirsch, Jr. to be a much-needed oasis of common sense and academically rigorous prose in a seemingly endless desert of single-perspective... Read more

Published on April 27 2001 by Anthony V. Esposito

4.0 out of 5 stars What is really terrific about this book...
Hirsch's book does two things...

1. Tries to convince us that we need a national curriculum.

(You can take it or leave it. That's up to you.)

2. Read more

Published on Oct 7 2000 by John C. Fain

5.0 out of 5 stars In response to review of 7/26/00, et.al.
I don't like to see Hirsch's work obscured by simplistic charges that he urges schools to abandon the teaching of critical thinking skills. Read more

Published on Aug 23 2000

2.0 out of 5 stars Only a small piece of the whole picture
This is a well written book. However it bases an entire theory on only one part of what students need to know. Read more

Published on July 26 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sir Francis Bacon of Our Day
At the turn of the 17th century in England, most of the important educational and scientific work was being done outside of the universities. Read more

Published on Jun 29 2000 by Roderic Fabian

2.0 out of 5 stars Important Points Clouded by Blatant Misrepresentation
Professor Hirsch presents teacher education and the K-12 system with some important and important-to-consider points: 1) our curriculum IS too thin and the for-profit text book... Read more

Published on Mar 29 2000 by Daniel S. Katz

5.0 out of 5 stars In time for the next generation?
I have alternately blessed and cursed Hirsch for The Schools We Need. A profoundly important work - but too late for my children! Read more

Published on Mar 10 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars Readers of Schools should also read Howard Gardner's latest
Readers of this excellent book should also read The Disciplined Mind, the latest book by Howard Gardner, because Gardner describes his book in the introduction as a... Read more

Published on May 26 1999 by Lhunn3@worldnet.att.net

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