Reading: It's Not Just Knowing How; It's Also Knowing About
For years now, E. D. Hirsch and his colleagues have been at the vanguard in trying to revamp the teaching of reading. They want to have it move beyond the almost exclusive focus on "sounding out" and incorporate what he terms "cultural literacy." By this, he is referring to the knowledge that members of a society share about the world--such as the American Revolution, the Ten Commandments, Thomas Edison and so on. Without this knowledge, it becomes impossible to understand the ideas being discussed on the printed page.
In some ways, this view turns the usual focus of reading on its head. The common idea, expressed succinctly by none other than Dr. Seuss himself is that "The more that you read, the more things you will know." In other words, reading is correctly seen as critical to expanding one's knowledge.
But what Professor Hirsch has highlighted is the chicken-egg nature of the situation.
Specifically he is focusing on the knowledge that a person must bring to the printed page if he or she is understand the material and thereby be able to use the page to extend his or her knowledge. For example, imagine a passage describing some “legislation passed by Congress.†Even if a person can read every word perfectly, the passage will be meaningless if there is no familiarity with the specific concepts being discussed. In other words, true understanding does not take place unless a person already knows something about what is being talked, or written, about.
All this seems eminently reasonable. However, we typically fail to appreciate just how sensitive we are to a lack of knowledge. Difficulty with even a few terms can devastate the comprehension process.
To get a flavor of what the experience is like, you might find it useful to read the following excerpt from a book designed for about fourth grade level. Hence the content should be a breeze--except it has been altered in one respect. Specifically, seven of the original concepts have been replaced with nonsense words, with the result that 12% of the passage contains unfamiliar references. Here it is.
Smith had made a promise. But could Turboland keep it?
By 1961 some jabots had reached a few hundred kiloms up into the surrounding belt. But the glerf was almost a quarter of a million kiloms away!
A trip to the glerf and back would take eight yims. By 1961 only one Turbian had even been up in a jabot-and for only fifteen stashes!
Just aiming for the glerf was a problem in itself. A jabot couldn't be aimed at where the glerf was in the belt because the glerf moves about 50,000 kiloms each day. Scientists would have to aim at an empty spot in the belt where the glerf was going to be by the time the jabot got there. It would take some very careful figuring out. If there was a mistake, the jabot would go off into the belt forever!
Now let's look at the original text:
Kennedy had made a promise. But could America keep it?
By 1961 some rockets had flown a few hundred miles up into space. But the moon was almost a quarter of a million miles away!
A trip to the moon and back would take eight days. By 1961 only one American had even been up in space-and for only fifteen minutes!
Just aiming for the moon was a problem in itself. A rocket couldn't be aimed at where the moon was in the sky because the moon moves about 50,000 miles each day. Scientists would have to aim at an empty spot in space where the moon was going to be by the time the spacecraft got there. It would take some very careful figuring out. If there was a mistake, the spacecraft would go off into space forever!
Now it all makes sense-but only because you knew the words that are critical to meaning. The consequences of a limited knowledge base, of weaknesses in cultural literacy, are profound. A small percentage of unfamiliar ideas can wreck the chances of effective comprehension.
So what is to be done? Hirsch has written a raft of books (such as The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy and Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know). These are aimed at defining the kind of information that children need to learn to become competent and knowledgeable citizens. He divides the information into different areas such as The Bible, World History, English Literature, and Earth Sciences. Then within each, he offers central concepts relevant to the area.
The teaching of these concepts is one thing; their effective teaching is quite another. When the presentation of these ideas is solely via reading or speaking, they can easily be dry and boring. The "learning" then can end up as a list of facts--much like the tedious memorization of words that students endure in trying to bone up for exams like the SAT.
There is a better way. Videos offer a wonderful route for expanding your child's knowledge base because they simultaneously enhance motivation and information. For children across the primary and high school years, there are great films on key topics--films that make real and immediate topics that otherwise seem dry and distant. A few examples are the American Revolution (such as The Crossing), World War II (Hope and Glory), biology (March of the Penguins) and American politics (All the President's Men). These films do not substitute for reading and discussion. However, they lay the foundation that enables the children to, literally, see the key issues in a clear, exciting light. Ironically, films are often judged to be the enemy of books. But when used effectively, they are one of the most powerful allies for fostering literacy.
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