Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!mailrus!uflorida!gatech!hubcap!shorne
From: shorne@citron (Scott Horne)
Newsgroups: comp.cog-eng
Subject: _The Closing of the American Mind_ (was: Re: Cultural Literacy)
Message-ID: <2776@hubcap.UUCP>
Date: 19 Aug 88 04:05:50 GMT
References: <1043@mmm.UUCP>
Sender: news@hubcap.UUCP
Reply-To: shorne@citron
Lines: 41

From article <1043@mmm.UUCP>, by cipher@mmm.UUCP (Andre Guirard):
< 
< I've just been reading the book, "Cultural Literacy," by E. D. Hirsch, Jr.
< It's great.  Anyone who has anything to do with education in the United
< States (this includes having children in school) should read this book.
< 
< The author explains with great clarity and plain simple logic exactly
< what's wrong with the U.S. public education system, why spending vast
< amounts of money hasn't helped, and what will help.
< 
< The author uses results from many scientific studies of cognition and
< memory to illustrate his points.  Nobody in the education biz seems to
< be paying much attention to these studies and their plain implications.
< 
< This is a voice that deserves to be heard.  We have to DO SOMETHING
< about the state of education in this country (if it's not already too
< late) and Dr. Hirsch seems to have the right idea about what we need to
< do.

Instead of reading _Cultural Literacy_, read Allan Bloom's _The Closing of
the American Mind_.  Every American (including schoolchildren--ESPECIALLY
schoolchildren) should read it!!

Hirsch seems to say that "cultural literacy" can be achieved by memorizing a
bunch of information from an encyclopedia.  _Au contraire_!  What we need is
a truly *liberal* education.

Unfortunately, as my USENET access runs out tomorrow, I won't be able to
continue this interesting discussion.  BTW, if anyone knows of any cheap
public-access UNIX systems with USENET & mail access--and can be reached by
`telnet'--, please let me know (send SnailMail; see below).



				--Scott Horne

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SnailMail:	Scott Horne, 812 Eleanor Dr., Florence, SC   29501
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