The Schools We Need

Sorry for the light posting lately.  The end of the semester and the holidays are taking their toll.  Don’t worry – the math issue is not going away.  If anything there seems to be increasing interest in this topic as the school year progresses.

Here’s a book recommendation for the math curriculum-obsessed people on your gift list: “The Schools We Need: And Why We Don’t Have Them” by E. D. Hirsch, Jr.  There is so much in this 1996 book that explains how we got to this point in our approach to curriculum in SCASD and in American schools in general.  Many parents can’t understand why a curriculum like “Investigations” is embraced so enthusiastically by some educators.  This book makes it clear where support for “discovery learning” comes from, explains why it doesn’t work (including numerous citations of good research), and even includes a “Critical Guide to Educational Terms and Phrases” which “demystifies the rhetoric of the educational establishment.”