Common Sense
Structure and Philosophy
Both Extremes Were Wrong
from "Left Back, A Century of Battles
Over School Reform" Touchstone Books, 2001
By Diane Ravitch, p. 450
"The Powerful Middle Ground"
"THROUGHOUT THE CURRICULUM WARS OF THE 1990'S,
THE MESSAGE WAS CLEAR: both extremes were wrong.
"In history, children need big thematic concepts,
but they also need a solid grounding in factual
knowledge...
"In mathematics, children need to engage in active
problem solving, and they also need to master the
basic skills of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and
dividing in order to become successful problem solvers.
"In English, children need to learn the skills of
correct language usage as well as have opportunities
to read excellent classic and contemporary literary
works and write their own compositions.
"In science, which largely avoided the pedagogical
battles that rocked other fields (but still had to
fend off efforts to inject religious beliefs into the
curriculum), the same principle holds true: both skills
and knowledge are necessary in order for children
to benefit from hands-on projects, field trips, and
other activities.
"Teachers must use their knowledge and experience
to instruct students, not stand aside and allow them
to construct their own knowledge. Teachers, in other
words, must be teachers, not 'facilitators'."
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