E.D. Hirsch, Jr. 是 University of Virginia (Charlottesville) 的教授，他的大著 Validity in Interpretation (1967) 早已傳誦一時，是詮釋學 (hermeneutics) 的經典。1987年他撰寫 Cultural Literacy 一書，抨擊美國教育，風行一時，並據此發展出 Core Knowledge，現在美國已有學校採用 Core Knowledge 的理念建構課程，而且成績不錯。

E.D. Hirsch, Jr. 本書的矛頭是指向杜威主義以及各式各樣的教育理論。美國的「教育改革」早已進行，結果如何有目共睹，Hirsch 正是看不過眼所以撰作本書。香港的所謂教育改革家相信沒有看過 Hirsch 這書了，否則不會東施效顰，而且所效的並不是西施。

本書全都是美國的例子，讀者未必會有共鳴，但本書附錄的教改理論批判，卻值得細讀。讀者會很驚訝原來我們目前鬧得沸沸揚揚的所謂教育改革，只是拾人牙慧。裡面提及而我們會很熟悉的有 "critical thinking skills", "discovery learning", "hands on learning", "learning by doing", "lifelong Learning", "multiple intelligences", "portfolio assessment", "problem solving skills", "project method", "whole language instructon". 這些口號不正是我們的所謂教育改革家天天講，月月講的嗎？外行人以為這些東西一試便靈，誰知這些理論在美國已是經過實踐證明不是真理。

Hirsch 主張的是有內容的教育，或是 shared knowledge/core knowledge/cultural literacy。美國教育失敗的地方是所教出來的學生沒有學到應學到的東西，足見那些花拳繡腿的教育理論只是誤人子弟。

金句摘錄：

• "With jobs having become highly changeable, no one knows how to teach for specific occupations. In the present, ever-shifting economic scene, the student needs the ability to learn new occupations. Hence, a general ability to learn, based on broad general knowledge and vocabulary, is a more practical tool than direct vocational training." (p.110)
  按：香港學生（家長？學校當局？）卻說讀文科是傻仔是阿茂，文科生是垃圾；選科的唯一標準是能否搵食。
  
• "Usually, it isn't the logical structure of people's inferences that chiefly causes uncritical thinking but, rather, the uninformed or misinformed faultiness of their premises."
  按：可惜香港人迷信「方法」，以為付出高昂票價聽棟篤笑式講座就真的可以提高創意、增強思考能力。至於訓練學生以證據立論的歷史科就被人譏為死讀書、讀書死，怪不得沒有讀過歷史的董爺爺在紀念五四的集會上講儒家修齊治平之道，設若陳獨秀之輩復起必馬上氣昏。
  
• "Teachers who produced the most achievement were focused on academics. They were warm but businesslike. Teachers who produced the least achievement used a 'heavily affective' approach and were more concerned with the child's self-esteem and psychic well-being than with academics."
  按：這種教師在香港往往被視為只懂催谷學生的教書匠。
  
• "... emphasis on process and skills rather than on content does not in fact result in significantly imporved formal skills for students. ... This means that an ability to think critically about chess does not translate into an ability to think critically about sailing. ... adequate attention to the transmission of broad general knowledge actually does lead to general intellectual skills." (p. 219)
  按：可惜今天思考方法講座賣個滿堂紅，中國歷史科卻要關門大吉。
  
• "an accomplishment-through-diligence metality is more productive than a learning-is-easy-and -joyful mentality" (p. 230)
  按：愉快教學早已死掉，但討好學生的教法卻仍然大有市場。
  
• "Research into teaching methods has consistently shown that discovery learning is the least effective method of instruction in the teacher's repertory." (p. 250)
  
• "the more one looks things up via computer, the more often one needs to understand what one is looking up. There is no evidence that a well-stocked and well-equipped mind can be displaced by 'accessing skills'."(p. 269)
  按：只教學生上網有啥用！
  

Hirsch 這書旁徵博引，並不是發牢騷，對香港教育前景充滿希望的人請先看看，以免掉進那些所謂教育改革家的圈套。