Shared Knowledge: To Renew a Nation

by Eric Hirsch

Thirty-six years after writing the surprise best-seller Cultural Literacy, E. D. Hirsch, Jr. can observe a growing determination among schools to teach their children the background knowledge necessary for high literacy. In this book, the term “Cultural Literacy” is re-labeled shared “Background Knowledge” (SBK) which is the term used in cognitive psychology. It is a more descriptive and neutral term. This silently shared topic knowledge is essential to people’s understanding of one another in speech and writing at any level. That scientific insight is gaining ground in our top education schools and among forward-looking teachers and principals. More than five thousand public and charter schools use Core Knowledge instructional materials based on that science. More than 2,600,000 American elementary students are the beneficiaries! Those elementary materials can be downloaded gratis from the Core Knowledge Foundation. In this book, Hirsch argues persuasively that shared background knowledge is the foundation of our national unity and literacy -- a premise that needs to gain acceptance in all our schools if we are to climb out of our disunity and credulity. According to the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), our children’s current educational level is ranked as twenty-fifth among the nations.

305 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 8, 2023