How To Educate A Citizen: The Power of Shared Knowledge to Unify a Nation

E.D. Hirsch's How to Educate a Citizen manifesto advocates for a shared knowledge curriculum to improve and strengthen America's unity, identity, and democracy. He argues that the current child-centered learning approach lacks strong content and leads to a loss of shared knowledge. Hirsch suggests that schools should equip children with the power of shared knowledge to work together, understand one another, and make informed decisions.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 198 pages
\n Publication date: 08 September 2020
\n Publisher: John Catt Educational Ltd
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In this thought-provoking manifesto, the acclaimed author of "Why Knowledge Matters" delves into the shortcomings of the American early education system and its profound consequences on the nation's current malaise. Advocating for a shared knowledge curriculum that can be imparted to students across the country, Hirsch aims to establish an educational foundation that can enhance and strengthen America's unity, identity, and democracy.

In his book "How to Educate a Citizen," E.D. Hirsch picks up where his renowned masterpiece "Cultural Literacy" left off, urging the American public schools, particularly at the elementary level, to adopt more effective teaching methods to heal and preserve the nation. Since the 1960s, schools have been heavily reliant on "child-centered learning," which has resulted in the dilution of essential knowledge such as history, geography, science, civics, and more. This decline has been driven by vacuous learning techniques and values-based curricula, perpetuated by graduate schools of education and administered by educators who believe they are imparting reading and critical thinking skills.

However, Hirsch argues that these skills cannot be taught in the absence of robust content. The consequence of this broken approach to school is a loss of shared knowledge that hinders our ability to work together, understand one another, and make informed decisions. A flawed education system not only leaves our children under-prepared and undermines the American dream but also weakens the spiritual bonds and unity that hold the nation together.

Drawing inspiration from early schoolmasters and educational reformers like Noah Webster and Horace Mann, Hirsch charts the rise and fall of the American early education system and offers a comprehensive blueprint for closing the national knowledge, communications, and allegiance gap. His book is a critical and compelling read that galvanizes schools to equip children with the power of knowledge, enabling them to become responsible and engaged citizens who can contribute positively to their communities and the nation as a whole.

\n Weight: 270g\n
Dimension: 147 x 209 x 15 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781913622046\n \n