The following is an excerpt from the CORE KNOWLEDGE website...
"Why Knowledge Matters
Is it really important that kids know things? Shouldn't they just learn to think?
It's
natural to assume that teaching lots of "stuff" isn't important anymore
when students can simply Google anything they need to know. But you
probably take for granted how much "walking-around knowledge" you carry
inside your head-and how much it helps you. If you have a rich base of
background knowledge, it's easier to learn more. And it's much harder
to read with comprehension, solve problems and think critically if you
don't.
The idea that we have to
choose between knowledge and thinking skills is a false choice. Kids
need both. "The richer the knowledge base, the more smoothly and
effectively cognitive processes-the very ones that teachers
target--operate," notes University of Virginia cognitive scientist
Daniel T. Willingham. "So, the more knowledge students accumulate the
smarter they become."
An
education grounded in shared knowledge of history, science, art and
music is also the great equalizer. The Core Knowledge Foundation
believes that for the sake of academic excellence, greater equity, and
higher literacy, elementary and middle schools need to teach a coherent,
cumulative, and content-specific core curriculum.
Our
society cannot afford a two-tiered system in which the affluent have
access to a superior education, while everyone else is subjected to a
dull and incoherent classroom experience. Academic excellence,
educational equity and fairness demand a strong foundation of knowledge
for all learners.
--E.D. Hirsh, Jr. "