The Benefits of 'Repeating' Subject Matter
Today, Deborah Meier writes again to Robert Pondiscio of CitizenshipFirst.
Dear Robert,
Grin away. I like making people smile. But long, long before E.D. Hirsch came along people thought the best way to educate involved thinking, exploring, inquiring about something of interest. I even went to a Progressive, pro-Dewey school in New York City and recall with delight all the wonderful subjects we delved into. But the Ethical Culture faculty decided what to study, when, what to emphasize, and, above all, how to "assess" their students.
First, I feel badly that you had such a different entry introduction to teaching than I did. I knew a lot about what to teach—from my own life experience, supplemented by the many, many teacher memoirs, textbooks, events surrounding us, not to mention the curricula published by Chicago and New York City. In fact, my problem for those wonderful 50 years was suppressing a few of my "wonderful ideas" about what we might do in class and becoming a better listener to the kids' wonderful ideas.
Second. My concern about Hirsch is not that he believes, as you and I do, that you need to actually