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Frequently Asked Questions

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What is "Core Knowledge"?
What is the Core Knowledge Foundation and what resources or services can it provide?
What does it mean to be a "Core Knowledge School?" Does every teacher need to be involved?
Our school already has a curriculum. Why should we replace it with something else?
Students are unique individuals, so can we really expect them all to learn the same material? Shouldn't schooling respond to the unique learning styles of each individual child?
Is the specific academic content in the Core Knowledge curriculum developmentally appropriate for young children?
Doesn’t your curriculum, which specifies what is to be taught at each grade level, take away the creative freedom of teachers?
Since knowledge is changing so rapidly, isn't the best approach to teach children to "learn how to learn," rather than to teach specific knowledge?
What about the argument that in curriculum, "less is more”? Should schools avoid trying to cover a lot of content, and instead focus on helping students master a few areas in depth and detail?
Who decided the content of the Core Knowledge Sequence? And what right do they have to tell others what they should know?
How do you respond to the argument that it is elitist to specify a body of content?
Our population is changing, and schooling needs to change to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population. Don’t we need a curriculum that is more multicultural?
1. I’ve heard that the Core Knowledge curriculum doesn’t properly acknowledge the contributions of African Americans. Is that true?
2. What about women? Are there any women in the Core Knowledge curriculum?
The job of the teacher is to teach children, not subject matter. Does Core Knowledge reject this idea?
Students don't learn from rote memorization of isolated facts. Is your curriculum merely a bunch of facts, ignoring the development of critical thinking skills?
Many teachers may not have learned much about Ancient Egypt or the Industrial Revolution or photosynthesis. So how can you put such content in a curriculum? You can't expect teachers to teach what they don't know.
My child is gifted. Is your program for gifted children?
How can I convince others to consider looking at Core Knowledge?
What are the disadvantages of Core Knowledge?
How do I become a network member and what are the benefits?
How can I support the Core Knowledge Foundation?
I am looking for any unbiased articles that may have been written about the Core Knowledge curriculum. I'm interested in learning more about the program in general, the curriculum, and pros and cons. Can you please direct me?
I would like to read a biography of E. D. Hirsch, Jr.

What is "Core Knowledge"?: The "Core Knowledge" movement is an educational reform based on the premise that a grade-by-grade core of common learning is necessary to ensure a sound and fair elementary education. The movement was started by Professor E. D. Hirsch, Jr., author of Cultural Literacy and The Schools We Need, and is based on a large body of research in cognitive psychology, as well as a careful examination of several of the world's fairest and most effective school systems. Professor Hirsch has argued that, for the sake of academic excellence, greater fairness, and higher literacy, early schooling should provide a solid, specific, shared core curriculum in order to help children establish strong foundations of knowledge. After wide consultation, the content of this core curriculum has been outlined in two books — the Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence and the Core Knowledge Sequence, K–8 — that state explicitly what students should learn at each grade level. Currently, hundreds of schools and thousands of dedicated educators are participating in this school reform movement throughout the United States.
What is the Core Knowledge Foundation and what resources or services can it provide?: The Core Knowledge Foundation is an independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan organization founded in 1986 by Professor E. D. Hirsch, Jr. Professor Hirsch receives no remuneration from the Foundation or from the book royalties it generates. The Foundation staff conducts research on curricula; develops books and other materials for students, parents, and teachers; and serves as a training and communications hub for schools using Core Knowledge.; We offer a wide variety of publications, including introductory general information packets about Core Knowledge. The Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence, as well as the Core Knowledge Sequence, K-8, and other publications can be ordered directly from the Foundation.; The Core Knowledge Foundation also offers a variety of staff development workshops to help ensure successful implementation of the Core Knowledge program in your school. We will be happy to plan a complete training program to meet your school's particular needs. We can also put you in touch with people at experienced Core Knowledge schools. Please call the Foundation for further information about becoming a Core Knowledge school.; To keep informed about the foundation, new developments, services, and products subscribe to its free e-newsletter by clicking here. This electronic version replaces the print version and, in addition to news, contains reflections on current education issues and linkages to other educational websites. You can read Common Knowledge here.; We hold an annual national conference that provides many opportunities for idea-sharing and extended networking. Check our homepage or call the Foundation for specific dates and location.
What does it mean to be a "Core Knowledge School?" Does every teacher need to be involved?: At a Core Knowledge school, the Core Knowledge Sequence represents the common ground upon which a faculty meets and collaborates to teach a sequenced, coherent curriculum. In this cumulative curriculum, the knowledge and skills learned each year become the students' foundation for learning in subsequent years.; Some individual teachers select parts of Core Knowledge to teach. While the Core Knowledge Foundation encourages these teachers in their efforts, we see this undertaking as just the beginning of the larger process of a whole school deciding to become a Core Knowledge school.; The ultimate goal is involvement of all teachers, although it is not absolutely necessary at first that all teachers use the Core Knowledge program. Some schools plunge in boldly, getting all teachers involved in Core Knowledge from the outset. But successful implementation can also begin with a core of interested and committed teachers. Some schools have successfully implemented Core Knowledge by beginning at one grade level, then adding successive grade levels.; As more teachers get involved, there tends to be more enthusiasm and more collaboration. The most successful Core Knowledge schools are those in which teachers work together to share ideas, resources, and lesson plans.; There are now hundreds of Core Knowledge schools throughout the country, and the number continues to grow. The Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence is a relatively recent addition to Core Knowledge. Many Core Knowledge elementary schools with pre-kindergarten classes are now in the process of adding this component to their programs.
Our school already has a curriculum. Why should we replace it with something else?: In most schools, the curriculum is defined in terms of very general processes and skills. Core Knowledge complements a skills-based curriculum by providing carefully sequenced and challenging knowledge in which to ground skills instruction.; Core Knowledge is meant to comprise about half of a school's curriculum, thus leaving ample freedom for local requirements and variations. Schools already using the Core Knowledge Sequence have generally found that it can be successfully combined with existing state or local requirements. Click here to view sample alignments of Core Knowledge with the standards of several states.
Students are unique individuals, so can we really expect them all to learn the same material? Shouldn't schooling respond to the unique learning styles of each individual child?: There is no incompatibility between teaching a core curriculum and adapting instruction to the needs of individual students. Moreover, even as we look to teachers to bring out the best in each child as a learner, we also ask them to recognize the needs of each child as part of a larger community. All communities require some common ground. The community of the classroom requires, in particular, that its members share some common knowledge, because this knowledge makes communication and progress in learning possible.
Is the specific academic content in the Core Knowledge curriculum developmentally appropriate for young children?: There are certainly some topics that are too difficult for most young children to grasp: for instance, nobody would teach astrophysics in first grade. But there is no reason why first-graders cannot begin to learn basic information about electricity and the human body, or about ancient civilizations like Egypt and Mesopotamia.; Too often, unexamined ideas about what is developmentally appropriate and inappropriate are used to keep youngsters from acquiring important and exciting knowledge at a time when they are eager to learn. One state's social studies curriculum framework states that it is "developmentally appropriate" for second graders to "learn about the community and its components—stores, recreational facilities, protective and educational services," and to "explore components of the community such as shopping centers or community services.” Instead of bounding the horizons of second graders by the local mall, why not give them the opportunity to learn about China and India, ancient Greece, and the Civil War?; Using specific content guidelines, teachers can deliver such content in developmentally appropriate ways: for example, instead of lecturing to kindergartners about the seven continents, they might sing songs, make paper-maché globes, cut out continent-shaped patterns, or make charts with animals that inhabit each continent.
Doesn’t your curriculum, which specifies what is to be taught at each grade level, take away the creative freedom of teachers?: Teachers in Core Knowledge schools report that making the commitment to teach a shared body of specific knowledge is not confining but liberating. With guidance as to what needs to be taught, teachers are free to think about how best to teach the material. They can fashion a variety of creative lessons and teaching approaches. They can collaborate by sharing ideas and resources. They can bring their own personal knowledge, enthusiasm, and interests into teaching the curriculum topics.
Since knowledge is changing so rapidly, isn't the best approach to teach children to "learn how to learn," rather than to teach specific knowledge?: "Learning how to learn" is an admirable aim but a misleading slogan. If learning is to proceed on any principle besides random chance, then schools need to follow a carefully sequenced body of knowledge. Children learn new knowledge by building upon what they already know. It's important to begin building foundations of knowledge in the early grades because that's when children are most receptive, and because academic deficiencies in the first six grades can permanently impair the quality of later schooling. The most powerful tool for later learning is not an abstract set of procedures (such as "problem solving") but a broad base of knowledge in many fields.; The idea that "knowledge is changing" is only partly true, and, as it pertains to schools, mostly misleading. It is true that some ideas and terms did not exist or were not widely known years ago. But the obvious fact that the modern world is changing — sometimes, as in the case of the breakup of the Soviet Union, in dramatic and dizzying ways — in no way should lead to the conclusion that "knowledge is changing so fast that we can't keep up with it" or that "what we learn today will be obsolete by the year 2010.” The basic principles of science and constitutional government, the important events of world history, the essential elements of mathematics and of oral and written expression — all of these are part of a solid core that does not change rapidly, but instead forms the basis for true lifelong learning.
What about the argument that in curriculum, "less is more”? Should schools avoid trying to cover a lot of content, and instead focus on helping students master a few areas in depth and detail?: The slogan “less is more” has tremendous appeal, and there are situations in which we can learn more when we are confronted with less and allowed to investigate specific issues and questions in depth and detail.; But — particularly in the elementary years — it does not follow that deep knowledge of a few things is better than broad knowledge of many things. In fact, one needs both — both deep knowledge and broad knowledge. To help children gain breadth of knowledge is to help them lay the foundation on which they can build new knowledge, including more in-depth, specialized knowledge. The best time to acquire broad general knowledge is in the early years, when children are most curious and receptive. In these early years, the idea that "less is more" is misleading and even potentially damaging, especially for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, who may be left behind while some advantaged students acquire a desirable breadth of knowledge at home.; There is, however, one sense in which "less is more" does apply to elementary education. This sense is not in opposition to broad and rich knowledge, but in encouraging selectivity about the way in which broad and rich knowledge is chosen. Educational planners need to take on the responsibility of selecting a rich core of important knowledge, defined in an explicit sequence. It is this particular sense of "less is more" that informs the process of selection and consensus-building that went into the Core Knowledge Sequence.
Who decided the content of the Core Knowledge Sequence? And what right do they have to tell others what they should know?: The content specified in the Core Knowledge Sequence represents a broad consensus of diverse groups and interests, including parents, teachers, scientists, professional curriculum organizations, and experts on America's multicultural traditions. Provisional versions of the curriculum were reviewed and revised by panels of teachers. In March 1990, the curriculum was further revised by almost 100 people, of diverse backgrounds and interests, attending a national conference sponsored by the Core Knowledge Foundation. As more schools teach Core Knowledge, teachers participate in occasional updates of the Sequence. In short, Core Knowledge, far from being arbitrary, is more democratic and broadly representative than any current alternative we know of.
How do you respond to the argument that it is elitist to specify a body of content?: A central motivation behind the Core Knowledge initiative is anti-elitist. The goal is to guarantee that all Americans have equal access to knowledge necessary for higher literacy and learning. Such knowledge is currently possessed only by the educated elite — and that's the problem. Our aim is to make that knowledge available to all through the institution available to all: universal public schooling.
Our population is changing, and schooling needs to change to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population. Don’t we need a curriculum that is more multicultural?: Schools should foster respect for diversity, and a curriculum should include the study of many cultures. Typically, however, state and district curriculum guidelines do not define specific multicultural content. Rather, they prescribe a set of nice-sounding but vague goals and attitudes, such as the following from one state's "Curricular Framework for Social Studies":; These are admirable goals that nod in the direction of multiculturalism — but where is the specific multicultural content? Without some specificity, the door is open to repetition and gaps. How many times will children study the Woodland Indians, and yet perhaps never examine the different ways of life of the Anasazi or the Cheyenne? Will children study Mexico but not Japan? Kenya but not China? Will they study Kenya in second grade and then again in fourth? If we truly want our children to know about and appreciate many cultures, then we need to specify which cultures, and teach them in a way that broadens their perspective on the world and its diversity, rather than boring them with repetition while leaving them unaware of people and places that most educated people know about.
I’ve heard that the Core Knowledge curriculum doesn’t properly acknowledge the contributions of African Americans. Is that true?: It’s not true. African-American history and culture are very much a part of the Core Knowledge curriculum.; In grades 1–4, Core Knowledge students are introduced to African and African-American folktales, American slavery, the Middle Passage, Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad, and the Emancipation Proclamation. They meet civil rights pioneers such as Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr., and read poems by Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Maya Angelou. They learn about five great medieval kingdoms of Africa — Kush, Axum, Songhai, Mali, and Ghana, as well as African art and geography.; The African-American content for the upper grades is even more extensive — too extensive to summarize here.
What about women? Are there any women in the Core Knowledge curriculum?: Yes. Women are well represented in the Sequence — in history selections stretching from Hatshepsut and Cleopatra through Susan B. Anthony and Ida B. Wells, and all the way to Betty Freidan and the Equal Rights Amendment, in literary works by Emily Dickinson, Louisa May Alcott, Soujourner Truth, and Anne Frank, and in science biographies of Florence Nightingale, Marie Curie, and Jane Goodall.
The job of the teacher is to teach children, not subject matter. Does Core Knowledge reject this idea?: There's something warm and appealing in that slogan. After all, it gives top priority to children — and don't we all want the highest priority of teachers to be the best interests of our children? But there's something disconcerting in the way the imperative to "teach children, not subject matter" is phrased. It suggests an either-or situation: either you teach children, or you teach subject matter. The implication is that teachers who teach "subject matter" are somehow not teaching children! One would have thought, rather, that the challenge for the teacher is to bring children and subject matter together, through practice, hard work, and imaginative and creative endeavors that kindle in children the love of subject matter that the teacher herself or himself feels (or should feel).
Students don't learn from rote memorization of isolated facts. Is your curriculum merely a bunch of facts, ignoring the development of critical thinking skills?: Those who think that the only way to teach specific content is through rote memorization would be astonished to observe the many imaginative, resourceful, and creative ways that teachers in Core Knowledge schools have found to engage their students in active learning of important knowledge: through dramatizations, art projects, writing workshops, collaborative learning groups, research projects, etc. Yes, children may occasionally memorize a poem or the Preamble to the Constitution—but these are valid learning experiences, which, in fact, children enjoy, and from which they get a sense of pride and achievement.; Behind the outcry against "rote memorization" lies a deep prejudice — a prejudice against fact. Many educators object to any curriculum that says, for example, that children should learn the seven continents, because that is "mere fact." To teach facts, they say, is to reduce education to "Trivial Pursuit." Granted, some facts are trivial. Who starred in "Car 54 Where Are You?" That's trivial. But, who was Dred Scott and what was the significance of the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision? That's worth knowing: it gives you insight into the causes of the Civil War as well as historical perspective on race relations in the United States.; No one wants schools to think of curriculum solely in terms of facts. We also want — and students need — opportunities to use the facts, to apply them, question them, discuss them, doubt them, connect them, analyze them, verify or deny them, solve problems with them. All these activities, however, rely upon having some facts to work with. Without factual knowledge about an issue or problem, you can't think critically about it — you can only have an uninformed opinion.
Many teachers may not have learned much about Ancient Egypt or the Industrial Revolution or photosynthesis. So how can you put such content in a curriculum? You can't expect teachers to teach what they don't know.: In schools that build a program on the Core Knowledge Sequence, many teachers express initial anxiety about having to prepare to teach topics they're unfamiliar with. But, once they make the effort (and it does take hard work), they often express tremendous enthusiasm and a rekindled love of learning, which carries over to their students.; A second-grade teacher at a Core Knowledge school in the South Bronx wrote to tell us that:; Core Knowledge has made a major difference to my students and me. I am very excited about teaching interesting subjects. The content is thrilling and fascinating for me as a person and a teacher. I feel that my interest and energy rub off on my students. They are "turned on" because I am "turned on." In addition, I have also developed a close working relationship with other teachers. There is congruence and unity among us. My students are learning high level concepts. They are being challenged and they love it!
My child is gifted. Is your program for gifted children?: Although Core Knowledge is designed to be accessible for all children, it is an academically rich curriculum entirely appropriate for gifted children and may be especially useful for children who are not challenged by their school’s curriculum. The Foundation sells many books that will stretch gifted minds, and our database, Resources to Build On, can help parents locate additional resources at various grade levels.
How can I convince others to consider looking at Core Knowledge?: We can send you a General Information packet that includes research data on Core Knowledge — we'll just need your phone number and mailing address. If you find the information useful, you can order multiple copies at a minimal cost.; Alternately, you can download the same information from our website:; Many Core Knowledge schools have gotten started with Core Knowledge because parents brought information about Core Knowledge to their local school boards.; Another way that we can suggest to gain support for Core Knowledge is to persuade the school board to get copies of the What Your __ Grader Needs to Know books for all the teachers, and ask them to read selected passages to students during read aloud time. This is not the ideal way to teach Core Knowledge; however, it is a good way for teachers to become aware of the critical knowledge that their students may be lacking.; Next, we recommend that you network with other Core Knowledge schools in your area. Click on the following links for up-to-date school listings:; Finally, you can find more information about getting started and our professional development workshops on our website:
What are the disadvantages of Core Knowledge?: The answer to your question depends upon your point of view. We would like to point to the results of an independent study completed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University about Core Knowledge. In this study (which is available, in summary form, on our website — click here), the authors highlight the benefits of teaching Core Knowledge, the factors affecting successful implementation of Core Knowledge, and factors hindering successful implementation of Core Knowledge. We believe that you would be interested in the latter points.; Sam Stringfield, the principal research scientist, states that factors hindering successful implementation include:; The Core Knowledge Foundation offers professional development to assist with #1, suggestions for dealing with #2 and #3, and a growing range of resources to assist with #4.
How do I become a network member and what are the benefits?: Some years ago, when we published a printed newsletter, we offered memberships to the Core Knowledge Foundation. We now publish a quarterly e-newsletter at no cost to subscribers. We no longer have memberships for Core Knowledge; all our materials are available at the same cost to all users.; You can visit the Common Knowledge web page, where you can read our current issue of Common Knowledge, and subscribe to the newsletter.
How can I support the Core Knowledge Foundation?: You can support the Foundation by spreading the word: tell teachers, school administrators, and parents about Core Knowledge and direct people to the website. You can also support our work by making a donation. Because the Foundation is a 501(C)3 non-profit educational organization, your contributions are tax-deductible.
I am looking for any unbiased articles that may have been written about the Core Knowledge curriculum. I'm interested in learning more about the program in general, the curriculum, and pros and cons. Can you please direct me?: E.D. Hirsch's books Cultural Literacy and The Schools We Need, which establish the theoretical foundation of Core Knowledge, are a good place to start.; For more information, please visit our website:
I would like to read about E. D. Hirsch, Jr.: A short biography of E. D. Hirsch, Jr., from the Hoover Institution, where he was a Distinguished Visiting Fellow; E.D. Hirsch: The Unexpected Crusader from the Fordham Foundation, where he received the first 2003 Fordham Prize for Valor

Last updated: Tue, April 08 2008



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