The cornerstone of the Core Knowledge curriculum is the idea that to be fully literate depends on shared knowledge–understanding a broad range of ideas and information taken for granted by speakers and writers. Here are a few examples I stumbled across in the papers, online and on TV this week. The references will hopefully be familiar to literate adults, but how about elementary and middle school students? (Each question is followed by the section of the Core Knowledge Sequence where students learn the background information necessary to make the passages fully comprehensible.)
1) Describing the New York Mets recent surge on mlb.com, sportswriter Marty Noble said “Carlos Delgado, now a Ponce De Leon disciple, has become what he once was: a feared left-handed slugger.” Who is Ponce De Leon and why would the Mets first baseman be a true believer? Need to phone a friend? Make sure it’s a Core Knowledge 3rd grader (Core Knowledge Sequence: “Early Spanish Exploration and Settlement,” American History and Geography, 3rd grade).
2) New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote this week that choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate “allows McCain to run the way he wants to - not as the old goat running against the fresh upstart, but as the crusader for virtue against the forces of selfishness. It allows him to make cleaning out the Augean stables of Washington the major issue of his campaign.” Can you explain the reference? (Core Knowledge Sequence: “Mythology of Ancient Greece,” 2nd Grade)
3) In his acceptance speech to the Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama declared, “We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don’t tell me that Democrats won’t defend this country. Don’t tell me that Democrats won’t keep us safe.” Explain how, by invoking the names of these two former U.S. Presidents, Obama sought to reassure his listeners. (Core Knowledge Sequence: “World War Two in Europe and At Home,” 7th Grade; “The Cold War,” 8th Grade History and Geography)
Pencils down. Papers to the front. Have a great weekend.
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I like this method of demonstrating the importance of cultural literacy. However, I have to point out that the first reference is an awkward one. Ponce de Leon is a man who tried and failed to find the fountain of youth, while according to Marty Noble, Carlos Delgado has found it.
I realize that the reference succeeds because the association of the fountain of youth is successfully made, and I haven’t seen the cartoon movie that may have changed our cultural understanding of the story, but my understanding was that the interest was always on the fact that it was a failed quest.
I got a 66 on the quiz.Had no idea about question #2 Not a good sign for me,since you say that literate adults would know. Why would we want or even expect an elementary student to know yet another myth. Isnt real history more noteworthy at the elementary level. My memory of 6th grade was reading the battle at thermopylae and Spartan life. That had lifelong value to me as a point of reference for hard work,strategic planning,and responsibility. Not sure what the take away is on cleaning out cattle poop.
Actually, these examples highlight some of the issues I have with Core Knowledge, which is how early some of the material is introduced.
I remember learning about the Spanish explorers, and now that you mention it, about Ponce De Leon and the fountain of youth. I learned it young enough that it’s all jumbled up in the grab-bag of elementary school factlettes.
Maybe its a good idea to start planting the seeds of these stories in the early elementary grades, but I don’t think we should get the idea that if a 2nd grader reads about the Augean stables its going to stick with him in away that useful for reading Op-Eds 30 years later.
On the other hand, I’m not sure you need to wait until 7th and 8th grade to teach kids who Roosevelt and Kennedy were.
Schools may align the Core Knowledge Sequence, based on their state content standards, and to be honest, I’m not confident that 2nd graders will be able to rattle off all of the labors of Hercules. But regardless of when each of these pieces are taught, my larger point is that our daily discourse is filled with references to broad background knowledge that speakers and writers simply assume their audience will know. In my school, we had all but abandoned the idea that academic content matters. Once you tune your radar, you see such references everywhere.
For the record… Cultural literacy != historical accuracy.
There’s no contemporaneous evidence that Ponce de León was searching for the “fountain of youth”; his charter from the Spanish crown was to search for gold. But it makes a sweet myth about rapacious Conquistadors. (See Tony Horwitz’s well-researched A Voyage Long and Strange.)
Actually, What Your Third Grader Needs to Know presents the “fountain of youth” story as legend or hearsay, not established fact:
“Ponce de León found gold in Puerto Rico. It made him rich, but he kept exploring. Some say he believed he could find a “Fountain of Youth in the West Indies–one drink of its water would keep you young forever. Of course, he never found a Fountain of Youth. What did he find?”