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2011 SESSION
WHEREAS, the Founders of Virginia and also of the United States shared the conviction that the perpetuation of the American experiment in ordered liberty requires a citizenry that shares a common knowledge of historical, cultural, and religious experience; and
WHEREAS, there are numerous indications that entire segments of the rising generation are not being effectively informed of the fundamental texts, the foundational facts, and the foremost principles of Western culture generally, American culture—in its highest expressions—specifically; and
WHEREAS, in response to the challenge of ably educating the young, E.D. Hirsch, now Professor Emeritus of Education and Humanities at the University of Virginia, established, in 1986, The Core Knowledge Foundation, located in Charlottesville; and
WHEREAS, in a series of acclaimed books deriving from exhaustive research, beginning with Cultural Literacy, in 1987, and including, in 2009, The Making of Americans: Democracy and Our Schools, Professor Hirsch has persevered for 25 years in advancing “excellence and equity for all children”; and
WHEREAS, The Core Knowledge Foundation provides “coherent, cumulative, and content-specific” curricula for schools throughout the United States, including in Virginia; and
WHEREAS, Professor Hirsch has in his writings and work demonstrated that “shared knowledge, a shared narrative, and shared ideals of liberty and tolerance are indispensable ingredients for effective citizenship and for the perpetuation of our democratic institutions”; and
WHEREAS, reliable measurements of students’ learning, including scores on tests, have established the significance of core knowledge in enabling students actually to grasp, to understand, and to be able to apply the subject matter they are taught; and
WHEREAS, the beneficent effects of Professor Hirsch’s labors through The Core Knowledge Foundation are enriching the lives of countless students in the Several States of the Union; and
WHEREAS, Professor E.D. Hirsch has been described as “America’s most important education reformer of the last century”; and
WHEREAS, Professor E.D. Hirsch has been praised, too, as “a great American, a scholar who cares deeply about the youth of this country, what they are taught, and how likely they are to become engaged and thoughtful citizens”; and
WHEREAS, Professor E.D. Hirsch continues these of his great and praiseworthy labors though he is now well into the ninth decade of his life; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That the members of the body commend Professor E.D. Hirsch for a long and noble career devoted to the education of our young; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Professor E.D. Hirsch of The Core Knowledge Foundation, as a token of the esteem in which he is held for his exemplary contributions to “the making of Americans.”