Opinion
Education Letter to the Editor

Report Card Misses Need for Narratives

March 15, 2011 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

Re: Education Week’s recent article on the Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s report card on the teaching of history in the different states (“Majority of States Get Poor Grades on History Standards,” Feb. 23, 2011). In the article, Chester E. Finn Jr. defends the institute’s concern for “names, dates, and events” at the expense of in-depth understanding by saying: “You have to get the bricks before you can get the mortar.” Finn should know better. A teacher builds learning by using bricks and mortar at the same time, from the very start.

Unless names and dates are connected to overarching themes and conceptual frameworks from the get-go, they are easily forgotten because there are no vital connections among them. They remain inert. Information must become knowledge before there can be understanding.

The Fordham Institute report criticizes Texas’s thematic history curriculum as a “politicized distortion of history.” But, of course, without themes, without a narrative story, there is no history, only a collection of factoids. Historians create narratives of the past, all of which require identifying connections among and determining the significance of people and events. They require someone’s perspective to create them, and the narrative becomes thematic. Many state and school districts, believing this to be true, have created engaging curricula centered around key thematic concepts and ideas.

Finn and the Fordham Institute would take us back to an earlier time before we really understood how children learn and how history is told. Unfortunately, then, their report card is not helpful.

James O. Lee

Devon, Penn.

A version of this article appeared in the March 16, 2011 edition of Education Week as Report Card Misses Need for Narratives

Events

Student Well-Being Webinar After-School Learning Top Priority: Academics or Fun?
Join our expert panel to discuss how after-school programs and schools can work together to help students recover from pandemic-related learning loss.
Budget & Finance Webinar Leverage New Funding Sources with Data-Informed Practices
Address the whole child using data-informed practices, gain valuable insights, and learn strategies that can benefit your district.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Classroom Technology Webinar
ChatGPT & Education: 8 Ways AI Improves Student Outcomes
Revolutionize student success! Don't miss our expert-led webinar demonstrating practical ways AI tools will elevate learning experiences.
Content provided by Inzata

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: May 17, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: May 3, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: April 26, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: March 29, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read