Overview

A child's mind is hungry for knowledge, stimulation, and the excitement of learning which school should provide--yet most American schools fall far short. From kindergarten through high school, our public educational system is among the worst in the developed world. In disdaining content-based curricula for abstract (and discredited) theories of how a child learns, our schools have done terrible harm to America's students. Instead of preparing them for the highly competitive, information-based economy in which we now live, our school practices have severely curtailed their ability--and desire--to learn. But research has shown that if children are taught in ways that emphasize hard work, the learning of facts, and rigorous testing, their enthusiasm for school will grow, their test scores will rise, and they will become successful citizens of the information age.

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9781470888404

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Reviews

""[Hirsch's] book presents a sophisticated, scholarly and often compelling argument and it deserves serious consideration, whatever one's political predilections."" -- ""New York Times Book Review"" ""A brilliant, combative, and intensely practical discussion of how our education system got into its current mess and what we must do to pull it out."" -- ""Donna Fowler, American Federation of Teachers"" ""A damning, highly provocative, full-scale assault on today's educational establishment."" -- ""Publishers Weekly"" ""An on-target indictment of an educational system that refuses to recognize the madness in its teaching methods."" -- ""Kirkus Reviews"" ""Offers a penetrating and compelling analysis of how, despite the good intentions of educators, bad ideas and failed theories now characterize American education."" -- ""Indianapolis Star""

Author Information

E. D. Hirsch, Jr., is a professor at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, and the author of the bestselling Cultural Literacy and the The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. He is also president of the nonprofit Core Knowledge Foundation, whose curriculum is followed by more than two hundred schools. Recent independent research on these schools has documented significant progress by both disadvantaged and advantaged students. Anna Fields (1965-2006), winner of more than a dozen Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award in 2004, was one of the most respected narrators in the industry. Trained at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, she was also a director, producer, and technician at her own studio, Cedar House Audio.

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