E. D. Hirsch, Jr.

Founder/Chairman, Core Knowledge Foundation; Former Professor Emeritus of Education and Humanities at University of Virginia

How did E.D. Hirsh, Jr., an English professor and literary critic, become one of the foremost education reformers of the last half-century?  The journey started with him asking a question--why were the very bright freshmen he taught so ill prepared for college literature?  That question led to a groundbreaking discovery that he said changed his life.  His journey, though, turned out to be a politically controversial one. The left objected to his ideas for being culturally elitist—an irony for Hirsh since he is a liberal democrat.

To answer that first question he conducted experiments and discovered that even though his students had excellent reading skills, their comprehension was poor because they lacked the general background knowledge taken for granted by the authors.  Over the years Hirsh began to understand that a core of “enabling knowledge” makes it possible to understand reading, writing and public discourse.  He developed ways to systematically identify and accumulate that core of knowledge.  His work led to the long run, best-selling book, Cultural Literacy, and the hit series of books that followed. 

Next along the path he established the Core Knowledge Foundation, which developed a curriculum now used in over 1,000 schools.  The success of Hirsh’s school programs inspired the National Governors Association’s collaborative effort to develop The Common Core State Standards.  In 2010, these standards were adopted by 44 states and more are expected to participate in 2011.  This is one of the most significant changes happening in education reform. Hirsch, in his early 80s, continues to advocate, recently appearing before the Virginia legislature to promote a "coherent and cumulative early curriculum" that will "narrow unacceptable achievement gaps."  His recent book, The Knowledge Deficit, summarizes extensive research affirming the value of teaching a common core in schools.

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