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 uucp: ....!gatech!hubcap!scarlett!{hazel,citron,amber}!shorne (If that doesn't work, change "scarlett" to "scarle") (If *that* doesn't work, send to cchang@hubcap.clemson.edu) (If *that* doesn't work, wait until January & write me at Yale) SnailMail: Scott Horne, 812 Eleanor Dr., Florence, SC 29501 VoiceNet: 803 667-9848 (home); 803 669-1912 (office)