Questions and Answers about Core Knowledge

Does Crossroads have a Core Knowledge curriculum?

Yes - and No. To begin with, Core Knowledge is not really a curriculum but rather an outline of content goals to be covered sequentially. An elementary school curriculum includes a set of learning goals with a set of instructional techniques to develop skills, knowledge base, and understanding. Core Knowledge defines a body of information that an educated person should know if he or she is to participate effectively in our evolving and multicultural society. The mastery of Core Knowledge content goals is compatible with a wide range of teaching styles. Core Knowledge occupies only about one-half of total school curriculum; schools such as Crossroads also need to teach the basics of reading, writing, mathematics, and science skills, and provide instruction in the performing and visual arts, PE, and languages.

Where does Core Knowledge come from?

E.D. Hirsch, Jr., a professor of English literature at the University of Virginia, asked why his college students could not read and effectively understand literature. His inquiries led him to discover that students often displayed large gaps in their knowledge base. These gaps precluded college-level understanding of English literature. Hirsch realized that literacy depended upon much more than the ability to simply decode English grammar. Literacy depends upon a knowledge base shared by author and reader alike. Hirsch solicited the advice of hundreds of scholars and teachers and found a wide range of agreement about what knowledge and background information is essential for literacy in our increasingly globalized society. Hirsch then established a non-profit Core Knowledge Foundation to assist schools like Crossroads in implementing Core Knowledge into their curriculum.

How are Core Knowledge schools different?

In many elementary and middle schools, process and skill acquisition is considered more important than acquisition of specific content. Thus, teachers are less likely to focus on content in a sequenced way from grade to grade. Topics of study may be chosen based on their "perceived interest" to students and teachers without regard to the bigger picture of building a solid foundation of knowledge. For example, an American history teacher might choose to focus on the Pilgrims or the Great Depression, but essentially ignore the Colonial experience and WWI. The advantage of such "project-based" teaching is that the teacher is likely to love what he or she teaches; the disadvantage is that the students inevitably have gaps in their basic knowledge. Moreover, particular projects on the Pilgrims or the Great Depression are more meaningful in the context of knowledge of American history as a whole, but often no teacher is responsible for teaching that whole. Core Knowledge does indeed permit teachers to teach special projects and units on their favored topics, but it also requires them to convey the sequenced whole body of concepts and facts. Therefore, in a Core Knowledge school, each teacher knows in advance what the incoming students have learned, so that each grade builds knowledge upon existing knowledge in an upward spiral.

Why is it called “Core” Knowledge?

“Core” Knowledge is so called because this body of knowledge consists of the concepts and facts most essential for literacy in contemporary society. Authors, newscasters, politicians, employers, and the like assume that their readers, listeners, and employees know basic concepts and facts in order to understand, debate, and carry out their jobs. Any issue of the New York Times, for example, may refer to more than 2,000 facts and concepts, most of which are covered in Core Knowledge.

Why is it called Core “Knowledge”?

Core Knowledge consists of the basic building blocks of concepts and facts necessary for mastery of any field, discipline, or profession. The concepts, facts, stories, songs, and poems that make up Core Knowledge have been selected and vetted by panels of scholars and teachers to ensure accuracy and comprehensiveness. Because literacy in our increasingly globalized society must also be multicultural, Core Knowledge reflects the cultural diversity of our contemporary society.

What are the weaknesses of Core Knowledge?

Core Knowledge is a work in progress, especially in the middle-school grades; it is now being refined in schools like Crossroads. Core Knowledge defines a minimal floor of knowledge, not a ceiling. For example, teachers at Crossroads have found Core Knowledge to be more appropriate in history than in math. Thus we have adopted an independent math curriculum and have greatly strengthened the science curriculum. Again, Core Knowledge does not claim to be a complete curriculum, and our teachers have balanced the content sequence by teaching reading, writing, and computing skills as well as providing enrichment programs in the arts, music, physical education, and foreign language.

Does Core Knowledge mean memorizing lists of concepts and facts?

No. Core Knowledge does not prescribe any set of techniques for mastering this broad knowledge base. At Crossroads, students learn concepts and facts through songs, plays, art projects, and field trips as well as daily practice. By providing teachers with a sequenced set of knowledge goals, Core Knowledge invites them to be as creative as possible in helping students master those goals. Core Knowledge does not, of course, guarantee good teaching, but it is also no obstacle to creativity in the classroom. Cultural literacy depends upon recognizing a wide range of facts and concepts, not upon memorization and recitation.

Isn’t it more important that my child master basic skills than Core Knowledge?

Basic skills in reading, writing, and math are essential and compatible with Core Knowledge. This program allows one-half of the curriculum left open for teaching basic skills. Many of the concepts and facts of Core Knowledge are learned precisely in the context of mastering basic skills in reading, writing, and math. There is compelling research in cognitive psychology that demonstrates that mastery of skills depends upon comprehension of basic concepts and facts. How can one learn grammar without vocabulary, or mathematical operations without math facts? So, skillful mastery of a subject matter rests upon a body of “core knowledge.”

How can I learn more about Core Knowledge?

The best explanation of the importance of Core Knowledge is E. D. Hirsch’s 1996 book The Schools We Need. The Core Knowledge Foundation publishes the curricular goals in a grade-by-grade series called What Your First Grader [etc.] Needs to Know.