How to Educate a Citizen

Chapter 1 argues that the American public education system's abandonment of a shared knowledge curriculum in favor of child-centered, skills-based 'progressive' pedagogy has eroded national cohesio...

Chapter 2 examines the practical implementation of child-centered education in American classrooms, arguing that its focus on natural development and content-free standards has resulted in a disjoi...

Chapter 3 illustrates the practical success of shared-knowledge schools by contrasting their communal instructional methods with the prevailing child-centered doctrines of American education. Throu...

Chapter 4 argues that the failure of American education stems from teacher-training institutes which have prioritized 'romantic' ideology over empirical cognitive science. Hirsch contends these sch...

Chapter 5 argues against the biological-determinist view of child development, asserting that the human mind lacks an inborn blueprint and instead functions as a 'blank slate' shaped by culture. Hi...

Chapter 6 argues that international evidence from the PISA assessments demonstrates a clear causal link between a nation's choice of curriculum and its educational outcomes. By comparing the 'fall ...

Chapter 7 argues that a multiethnic nation requires a common educational foundation to function as a single 'people.' By examining the historical intentions of America's founders and the sociolingu...

While praising the intent of the Common Core State Standards, Hirsch argues that they have failed to improve student outcomes or close gaps because they lack specific, sequenced content. He propose...

Chapter 9 argues that patriotism and nationalism, rooted in a sense of shared 'kindness' or fraternity, are essential for social durability and evolutionary survival. The author contends that the A...

Change is possible through the implementation of a knowledge-coherent curriculum, as evidenced by dramatic reading gains in Sullivan County, Tennessee, and the South Bronx. However, progress is hin...