Superintendent's Letter

Spring 2010

Dear Parent or Guardian:

On a visit to the sixth grade last week, I came upon some students reading about the French Revolution and I engaged a few in conversation. We chatted about the year 1789, which one young historian assured me is firmly placed in the eighteenth century. I was delighted to see that the class was learning about a period of history so pivotal in the development of the modern world. Events of that momentous year in France resonated throughout Europe and spilled over into the affairs of our own young republic, prompting some of the deft political maneuverings of Jefferson and Adams, among others. In learning such things, our sixth graders are taking part in the Core Knowledge curriculum that is so important to our school.

As the name implies, this curriuculum forms the core or heart of what an educated person should know. First articulated over twenty years ago by the reknowned educator, E.D. Hirsch, the Core Knowledge curriculum is characterized by a richness and interdisciplinarity that is naturally engaging for any learner. Professor Hirsch worked with historians, scientists, and other education professionals to assemble a curriculum that reflects the specific knowledge of art, music, history, geography, science, mathematics and literature that forms the basis of adult discourse in our democratic society. At Mystic Valley, our success in implementing this innovative curriculum in an exemplary fashion has led to our being named a Core Knowledge Visitation School. This means that other schools who wish to follow the same curriuculum may consult with us on the most effective way to make Core Knowledge a part of their own school. We welcome this engagement from schools both near and far.

The Core Knowledge approach is rich because it is specific. The students studying the French Revolution, for example, would see pictures of a guillotine along with portraits of Marie Antoinette. They are slowly given to understand that the clothing, literature, tastes, and habits of the eighteenth century French were fascinatingly different from their own. They learn the truth that one historian expressed when he said, "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there." This recognition is combined with the equally important understanding that we may know something of the past because there are also similarities between past and present that make such knowledge possible. Our current world is a product of the past that we study.

The interdisciplinarity of Core Knowledge means that students can learn the connections that make thinking possible. Thought is the connecting of new knowledge with knowledge already obtained. If our students know that the French king was killed to promote liberty, they will know something about the French resentment of monarchical excess. But that fact will be modulated by their later learning that leaders of the revolution came to emulate the very tyranny they claimed to be opposing. As I spoke with our sixth graders that day, we looked together at David's mesmerizing portrayal of the assassinated Marat, a revolutionary who fell prey to the very violence he espoused. The connection between the art of portraiture and the political events of the day provided a new perspective for these students. Connections like these make history come alive, just as they do for science or literature or even mathematics.

One may wonder if all the nuances of specific knowledge will be lost on students as young as eleven or twelve. From many years of teaching, I know this is not the case.  It is the precisely the specific event, the telling anecdote, the riveting picture, or the haunting melody that stays in the memory and provides the student with further links in the chain of thought. The Core Knowledge curriculum provides a multiplicity of opportunities for the young to enter into the vibrant panorama that is the heritage of every citizen. This culture can never be exhausted, as it is both rich and deep, and the older a student grows, the more nuanced is the mind's grasp. One is never too young to make a good beginning.

Sincerely,

Joseph R. McCleary, Ph.D.
Superintendent/Director