Language Development - Final Essay...

Nicola Orridge
Language Development
18 August 2010

Nurturing Knowledge with Skills

The article ‘Teach Knowledge, Not “Mental Skills”’ first appeared on the opinion page in the New York Times newspaper and was constructed using an informal structure and tone. The author, Eric Donald Hirsch, is a professor of English at the University of Virginia and is concerned with the knowledge that every citizen should acquire and internalise in order to become effective members of society.

Initially, the author provides some background knowledge in order to illustrate the suggested problem and immediately follows with his argument for the solution. Hirsch introduces a school in the South Bronx which he describes as ineffective, stating that the district board was going to submit the failing school to closure. He establishes the principal of the school, Jeff Litt (4), within the context and describes the reform of the school by the use of a “core knowledge” curriculum designed to increase effectiveness and focus on content knowledge.

In respect to the difference between ‘knowledge’ and ‘mental skills’, I found it initially difficult to determine the difference between the two concepts and even the initial reading of the article did not make this explicit to me. Questions are raised in my mind as to where the distinction between the two concepts should be drawn within the education sector and if it is possible to teach knowledge without the use of mental skills. In my opinion, the concepts are interwoven and work in mutual agreement in order to enhance the development of students and assist in the formation of active participants of society.

Hirsh makes a distinction between the concepts of knowledge and mental skills in the article through an example of curriculum content. He discusses the more exact requirement for core knowledge, such as “identify the seven continents” (22) as opposed to “develop map skills” (21) for the development of mental skills. However, I would describe the concept of knowledge as the skills and content that is acquired through education or learning, such as subject matter and qualities such as respect, compassion and perseverance. This knowledge can be taught to students through schools and education, or learnt within social contexts. On the other hand, I would define the concept of ‘mental skills’ as the processes that are already innate in every human being, but are developed and nurtured through the education system in order to learn. Such processes would include critical thinking, problem solving, the ability to look at situations without bias and techniques used for the acquisition of knowledge.

The main section is introduced with the use of a rhetorical question; “What’s the secret of their success?” (Hirsch, 14), which is used effectively to add strength to the argument of the author. Hirsch continues his argument by discussing the compromise the teachers are forced to make due to the gaps of content knowledge of the children. He uses emotive language such as “disastrous compromise” (29), “hit-or-miss” (32) and “leaving others behind” (31) to encourage the reader to sympathise and support his argument.

The author deliberately uses an unconventional structure and informal tone to his writing to make the article ‘fit-for-purpose’ for the opinion page in the newspaper. He repeatedly uses colloquial words and unconventional openings to his sentences, such as the word ‘because’. However, I think that by the use of such a style, the repetition encourages a rhetoric approach which strengthens the use of his argumentative writing. Within the article thus far, the use of empirical data also continues to add credentials and strength to the argument.

Hirsch argues that the school system in the US is based on guidelines which are “couched in terms of learning skills, rather than the content of learning” (19) and as a consequence of such a system, the content is vague and varies between grade organised classrooms. An anecdote is used by the author describing a mother’s concern of her twins who were learning different things in different classrooms. Even though the anecdote is used as an attempt to strengthen the argument, I would suggest that it in fact does the exact opposite. The information appears as being “hear-say” and without evidence, causing the validity of the source to come into question.

In addition, the author allows the strength of his arguments to be weakened by the use of broad and sweeping statements, such as “That problem is avoided in the best and fairest school systems in Europe and Asia…” (36). The author makes a far-reaching statement by suggesting that all school systems in Europe and Asia are the same, and are all beneficial and without problem. This is simply not the case, and the education systems in the continents suggested can vary quite considerably. The use of such statements, coupled with the lack of counter arguments in the article, weakens the argument and allows the reader the time to question his thoughts, opinions and facts.

In respect to the arguments made by Hirsch, I would contend that the knowledge and learning that takes place in schools should be authentic, presenting children with learning activities that have real meanings to which they can relate to whilst providing the development of skills that will assist in their continued lifelong learning and fulfilment. I would recommend that teachers take the time and effort to understand the individual lives, cultures and backgrounds of their students, and as a consequence, create meaningful projects in relation to their findings. It is my belief that by doing this, children will become more involved and develop mental skills, such as critical thinking and compassion, alongside specific content knowledge.