Hwk 45

Both, Hirsch and Sizer both have different arguments about how students should be educated. Hirsch believes in knowing background knowledge helps one understand things. For example what is being discussed at the time, will help the individual become a better reader. He believes that the role of school is to teach you content that will be used to help you out in college level literature. In his view, students should take tests so knowledge can be determined from the individual: "tests are far fairer than more subjective means of assessing student performance." Basic knowledge in his eyes helps the individual connect to cultural literacy; this is what the individual will need when trying to make sense of the dominant culture.

Sizer in the other hand has a very different approach when compared to Hirsch. He believes in using the Habits of Mind and trying to approach a certain situation deeply by using the Habits of Mind. He likes the idea of education being much focused into one topic, so the student can gain all the insights and all there is to learn about that one topic. He wants to get students to find one thing they care about, and put it under the microscope. His goal is for them to be taught what they care deeply about; there is no list of things to know.

I believe that Hirsch and Sizer make good views on how students should receive their education. I agree with both of them when it comes to my personal schooling experience. I have been going to SOF since sixth grade and the Habits of Mind have been used a lot throughout my middle school year. We still use them to this day, but we have adapted into using it without realizing that we are. Since sixth grade I have been pushed to use the Habits of Mind that are looked upon deeply in our school: significance, evidence, alternatives, point of view and connections. Even though all of us have been using them since elementary school, we weren’t notified about how much it can enhance our education everyday. Sizer wants young individuals to "explore a single subject for several months and then present an ''exhibition'' of their work to demonstrate what they've learned"(Mosle) Because School of The Future is based on Sizer’s view on education, I was able to view certain topics in a rich and deep thought out curriculum, instead of glancing at it and learning new material by maintaining my basic knowledge. I feel like attending Sizer’s school, I have experienced part of my education by deepening my mind and focusing on material for longer periods of time.

From what I can remember, most of my education, at least from Middle school has been based off of Sizer’s views. Although, there are always times where Hirsch’s idea is involved as well. For example: molarity, ions and the periodic table do create an emphasis on our knowledge. But this knowledge later on gets lost, yes many of us will frantically be memorizing these notes before a big test, but will we be able to remember this a year from now? I agree that with basic knowledge you will indeed become a better reader, because the more knowledge you have the better you will understand the material being read. Reading will also determine how well we will do in our near future, take college for example. It’s a big part of our lives and should be incorporated into our curriculum a bit more. At times I feel like students from other schools have more basic knowledge compared to me; this may be the outcome of going to a Sizer school. Then again, Hirsch only focuses on literature, what about the math and science curriculums? Will students need to read off of math or science textbooks to gain all the common knowledge? What about projects and labs? Don’t they help us gain knowledge as well?