andersongroup1rr

=Cultural Literacy=

Reading:
The article, //What Johnny Should Read,// focused on the idea of cultural literacy. It was stated that there are many students who cannot identify Stalin or Churchill, and 3/4 of students do not know when the Civil War was fought. These findings were not surprising to me and I think the article made it into a bigger deal than necessary. As a student, I remember learning about these things in history class, but I cannot recite the information off the top of my head, yet I still am knowledgeable in cultural literacy. I do not see a purpose in having students memorize sixty three pages of cultural literacy because that is just memorizing facts. Like the critics of Hirsch, I believe that experiences shape literacy. Culture is present all around us and there are many different types. Just because someone living in culture is not well educated in the culture they live, does not mean they are culturally illiterate; they could know a lot about another culture. For example, you see that situation a lot in foreign exchange students. I see cultural literacy as broad and hard to put into simple terms, therefore one's intelligence should not be based on just the knowledge they have of the culture they live in.

Video:
During Nathan's interview, he discussed what Hirsch meant by his writing. Hirsch does not want students to just read, but he wants them to put meaning behind their reading. He wants students to ask questions such as, "What did I just read?" and "What did I just read mean?" Hirsch believes in order to understand what you are reading, you need a background of knowledge which is why he created a curriculum for each grade as to what students should be learning. His curriculum caused a movement in schools. Nathan doesn't see why Hirsch is unpopular other than his style is different than the schools.