How to Educate a Citizen with Professor E.D. Hirsch

<p><strong>About Professor ED Hirsch&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>He is professor emeritus of education and humanities at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Virginia" title="University of Virginia">University of Virginia</a>. In the 1960s Hirsch's <em>Validity in Interpretation</em> made an important contribution to contemporary <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_theory" title="Literary theory">literary theory</a> and established him as "the founder of contemporary <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorial_intent" title="Authorial intent">intentionalism</a>," defending the notion of objectivity in humanistic studies and distinguishing between the "meaning" of a text, which relates to <em>understanding</em> and does not change, and its "significance", which relates to <em>explanation</em> and changes over time. In popular culture Hirsch is best known for his work on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_literacy" title="Cultural literacy">cultural literacy</a>, and is the founder and chairman of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_Knowledge_Foundation" title="Core Knowledge Foundation">Core Knowledge Foundation</a>.</p> <p>Beginning in 1990s, Hirsch began publishing books in the <em>Core Knowledge Grader Series</em> which the Foundation describes as "an engaging, illustrated guide to the essential knowledge outlined in the Core Knowledge Sequence" including information and activities for teachers, parents and children, as well as suggestions for related readings and resources. There are currently eight books in print, beginning with <em>What Your Preschooler Needs to Know</em> and ending with <em>What Your Sixth Grader Needs to Know</em>. The books have been particularly popular with parents who homeschool, as well as parents whose children attend Core Knowledge schools, and have been revised and updated over the years.</p> <p>In <em><strong>How to Educate a Citizen</strong></em><strong>,</strong> E.D. Hirsch continues the conversation he began thirty years