In his memoir Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate, former economics professor Michael Yates chronicles the experience he and his wife had when they decided to leave their jobs, sell their belongings, travel the United States, and purposely work at minimum wage jobs, all in an effort to experience the wide economic disparity that exists among various members of American society. A professor emeritus of University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, Yates begins his book by describing the skill level of students he taught late in his career; though they were admittedly able-minded and intellectually competent, Yates found that his students possessed an extraordinarily limited amount of general knowledge and overall cultural literacy. To make matters worse, these individuals were proud of their limited knowledge. Yates labels these students “willfully ignorant” (Yates, 2007) and teaching classes of students who so blatantly lacked academic and/or cultural curiosity eventually took its toll on him. He admits to becoming disillusioned with teaching after over 25 years at UP-J and, as a result decided to take early retirement.
As I read the Hirsch text, I recalled Michael Yates’ commentary about the obvious shift that occurred in the “quality” of student that began appearing in his classroom late in his career. After decades of teaching pupils who were quite well read and knowledgeable about a variety of subjects, Yates originally considered the student who was not curious about the world to be something of a novelty. Then, gradually, a shift in student attitude began to take place. Generally speaking, the willfully ignorant individual does not know much beyond his or her own personal experience (including but definitely not limited to important facts about world history, domestic and international geography, literature, language, and, in some cases, life beyond his home town) and does not care to know.
In my experience as both student and teacher, the phenomenon of the willfully ignorant seems to indeed be prevalent in modern America: as an undergraduate English major, I still vividly remember a fellow English major asking an entire seminar group the definition of the word “bigamy” (this was during a class reading of Jane Eyre). In response to this question, another student responded, “that means when you’re racist.”
At the elite Baltimore private school where I taught for several years, I often encountered parents who were quite adamant about the peerless genius of their own children. Meanwhile, it was often the children of these parents who could not find the United States on a map, could not locate Italy on a map, stated that Italy was in France, believed that South Africa was a United State, and did not know the capital of Maryland (the state in which they all lived).
Meanwhile, one academic tutor at this school did not know that Hawaii was part of the United States, while another tutor had never heard of the American Civil Liberties Union. Even as I type these words, though I know the information to be true, I still find it unbelievable.
I can fully identify with Hirsch recognizing that there is something deeply wrong with the font of knowledge that young Americans at the turn of the 21st century possess. To be blunt, the font seems to be rather shallow, and, in some instances, has dried up completely. Hirsch’s call for action and a proposal that all young Americans should grow up being taught a basic foundational cultural literacy is understandable, and on some level, valid. However, the problem in Hirsch’s approach is that he actually attempted to compile a list of what every American should know, and in so doing, really only reflected a white, Eurocentric cultural literacy. Moreover, it is almost impossible to put together a viable and acceptable list of what every American should know, primarily because so much depends on the identity and values of the person making the list. There is also the issue of making a list that reflects a high degree of multiculturalism and acknowledges that there is no one type of American. This is something that needs to be done, yet exactly how long would this list be?
That being said, I am in agreement that many American students today are woefully devoid of cultural literacy and global awareness. When David Letterman and/or Jay Leno send production assistants out in the street for random cultural quizzes, it is not so funny that vast amounts of people walking around New York City cannot name the Speaker of the House, the Secretary of State, or three supreme court justices, but they can easily spout all the lyrics of the latest Lady Gaga album. Why can’t many Americans be able to do all of the above?
If I were to compile a list on what every American should know, I would begin with some facts on the United States. The list would read as follows and is primarily geared towards middle and secondary school students. Please know that this is a very basic list, one that only covers rudimentary information that I have repeatedly seen lacking in students. I feel that kids should not be leaving 12th grade without the following knowledge firmly intact:
· Basic rules of standard English and grammar
· Know the names of all fifty states and have at least a passing knowledge of their capital cities
· Know the capital of the state in which one lives
· Be able to locate North America and the United States on a map
· Be able to locate all world continents on a map and have familiarity with their major cities
· The purpose and approximate dates of The Revolutionary War, The War of 1812, The Civil War, and WWI and II
· The history of North America before Christopher Columbus claimed to have discovered it
· Segregation, desegregation and The Civil Rights movement
· The Harlem Renaissance (musicians, writers, artists)
· Major American poets and writers of prose from the 20th century
Knowledge should include white, black, and Latin American writers
· Knowledge of the Dewey Decimal system and how to actually find a book in the library
· How to conduct research
· How to plan, structure, and write a paper, essay, or article
Again, this is an extremely limited list and does not begin to address much of the cultural literacy I feel that students should possess. For example, I didn’t at all get into the global literacy that is needed. However, in mastering the concepts mentioned above, adolescents would be significantly more prepared and competitive in an academic setting and better able to see beyond their own lives, their own small corner of the world, and life beyond only what they know.
