So "Shocking"

The title of this alone made me roll my eyes...

The Knowledge Deficit: Closing the Shocking Education Gap for American Children

It's E.D. Hirsch's new book, and there is a reviewer for the EducationNews who kindly spoon-feeds you a description, because you, of course, are a complete idiot.

This is sort of a lame review, because the reviewer is so self-important. Good for him that he conducted some sort of bla-bla research and did a doctoral dissertation. Gold star!

This book sounds like more of the same from Hirsch et al. American schools stink, kids should go back to reading the Core Curriculum (as defined by, of course, E.D Hirsch!). Not that I'm completely opposed to the idea of some sort of guiding force in the curriculum, although my feeling is that we should expose our children to as many different kinds of literature from as many different periods as possible. That doesn't necessarily mean a certain set of texts, but it does mean diversity (and I don't mean merely a diverse selection of contemporary literature). Chaucer may be difficult to read in Middle English, but the exercise of reading a little of it and figuring out how our language had changed is a rich one. Similarly, working through a geometry proof or calculus problem helps children's (and adults', by the way) minds grow in new ways.

I'll have to peruse this book and see if it adds anything to the discussion. And who is responsible (financially) for publishing it!