Core Knowledge:
Debunking the Mysteries and Myths
“Drill and kill!” “Not really a non-profit organization!” “Western curriculum!” “Arbitrarily decided by the few!” “Not aligned with standards!”
How often this past month I heard these myths about the Core Knowledge Foundation and its curriculum! This summer I had the unique opportunity to visit leaders from major education reform and policymaking organizations in Washington D.C. and Hawaii. It was with great pleasure that I conversed with Hilary Shelton, head of the NAACP; Checker Finn, head of the Fordham Foundation; Kati Haycock, head of the Education Trust; the education advisors to Senators Alexander and Kennedy; and many other distinguished professionals from the NASBE, NAESP, CCSSO, NEA, NGA, Public Education Network, the National Council of La Raza, and the Hawaii House and Senate Education Committees.
Myth #1: The Core Knowledge Foundation is really a for-profit organization in disguise!
Many leaders of these organizations knew very little about Core Knowledge, or what they thought they knew was clearly distorted. What a difference it made when these bright and passionate people heard the true story about how our founder, E.D. Hirsch, Jr., built this organization through the generous donation of his earnings from his books and how he, at the age of 78, continues to work tirelessly for Core Knowledge without ever having received any compensation.
Myth #2: Dr. Hirsch wrote the Core Knowledge Sequence all by himself!
How surprised people were when they heard the tale of consensus-building that led to the development of the Core Knowledge Sequence. They did not know that international education systems were studied; that a multicultural advisory board was formed; that hundreds of teachers, administrators, scholars, science writers, education leaders, and subject matter experts participated in defining and sequencing the concepts in the Sequence, and that the Sequence was tested at Three Oaks Elementary School in Lee County, Florida.
Myth #3: Core Knowledge stifles student creativity and robs teachers of their freedom in the classroom!
Education reformers and policymakers were concerned that a “prescribed” curriculum would lead to robotic children who regurgitate facts and find school to be an unhappy place. Imagine their surprise when they read findings in our recently released report, Filling the Curriculum Void: Lessons from Core Knowledge Schools, that very young children love learning about Egyptian mummies, chariot races, gladiators, castles, and the Knights of the Round Table. Of course, they were equally surprised to learn that teachers who implement a rigorous curriculum develop a sense of pride, competence, and professionalism that unleashes their creativity as they formulate how they will teach the topics in the Sequence.
Myth #4: The Sequence does not align with standards!
These leaders were impressed with the professional development Core Knowledge Foundation provides to help teachers and administers implement school-wide, year-long plans that specify how the Sequence content can be aligned with state standards. Many confuse standards with curricula, believing that a series of textbooks is all that is needed. For example, when a standard specifies that students will know the key documents that contributed to the development of the Constitution, a coherent curriculum names the specific documents and the key ideas of those documents that need to be specifically taught. Without this clarity and specificity, individual teachers are left to their own devices for determining what’s important and what has or has not already been taught.
Myth #5: There is not enough time in the school day to teach Core Knowledge and still meet all the other state and local requirements!
What an eye opener leaders experience when the data in our report on the “curriculum void” shows them that the Core Knowledge Sequence helps teachers make the most of the time available to them! By including nonfiction narratives on history, music, science, and art topics in reading time blocks, teachers expose children to rich content in these often-neglected subject areas and at the same time they help children build the background knowledge and vocabulary they need to become skilled in reading comprehension. Similarly, integrating science and math concepts further reinforce learning in both subject areas.
I believe there is now a growing national conversation about the need for a shared, coherent curriculum and that our Core Knowledge schools have been the pioneers in demonstrating how a rigorous, specific, and sequenced curriculum is the answer to raising student achievement and narrowing the achievement gap. One only need look at recent media coverage in the Washington Post, Education Week, and Education Daily to know that the principles and philosophy of Core Knowledge are at last overcoming the prevailing mysteries and myths and that our Core Knowledge schools have been the bright stars showing the way to our nation’s leaders. I congratulate all of you.
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