Discussion Outline For Essentialism Handout

Discussion Outline for Essentialism Handout

1. Can you think of any examples of knowledge that is so basic and essential for all citizens to know that it could be considered part of our “cultural heritage”?

2. Have any of you had “relevant” elective 6-week, 9-week, or one-semester mini-courses in high school? What were they like? What did you think of them?

3. Should the school curriculum bear a close resemblance to the content of standardized tests such as achievement tests, the SAT, IQ tests? Is it okay to “teach for” these tests?

4. What did you think of the professor’s comments to the freshman class? Do you agree that you can’t be a developed human being nor a useful citizen in a democracy if you don’t know anything about your cultural heritage and the past?

5. Do you agree with the Council for Basic Education that every student should have to study the five basic subjects each year?

6. Why do you think there has been a “back to the basics” movement in the public education in recent years?

7. Are the essentialists correct in saying that allowing students to “elect” their subjects leads to permissiveness and anti-intellectualism? Are students equipped to know best what they need? When given options, do students make wise choices?

8. When we went “back to the basics” in 1958 in response to “Sputnik,” did it really help us catch up with the Russians in science and technology?

9. What do you think of Admiral Rickover’s suggestion of elite residential high schools for our best math and science students? Isn’t this like the NC School of Science and Math in Durham? Does the state benefit from this type of school? Would federal financing of such schools be a bad idea? Why?

10. What do you think of subjects such as “language arts”? Do they help students see how reading, grammar, syntax, punctuation, spelling, speaking, etc. relate to each other?

11. What do you see as the pros and cons of “social promotions”? Are you for or against this policy?

12. What do you see as the pros and cons of “ability grouping?” Are you for or against this policy in the subject matter area you teach in?

13. If “homogeneous ability grouping” is practiced, what criteria should be used to fairly assign students to classes of different levels of difficulty?

14. Why would ability grouping, as traditionally practiced, lead to racially identifiable classes? 15. Did any of you go to secondary schools where ability grouping was practiced? What did you think of the practice?

16. Do you agree with the essentialist view that student-to-student dialogue is a “pooling of ignorance”? What do you think of ordered seating arrangements for students?

17. Do you agree with the essentialists that the many interruptions to class routine are harmful, or are they just part of the broader “curriculum” of the school?

18. Should a teacher try to “cover” his textbook or just use it selectively as one resource?

19. What do you think of the essentialist’s views and policies on disciplining students?

20. What do you think of the essentialist’s views and policies on grading and evaluation? Are such policies fair? Why?