RELEASE ON RECEIPT


CULTURAL LITERACY GURU TO EXPLAIN HIS IDEAS FOR EDUCATIONAL
REFORM DURING U.VA. PUBLIC FORUM

       CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Sept. 30 -- E.D. Hirsch Jr., author of the 
best seller "Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know," will 
present his controversial views on educational reform during a talk 
Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 1 p.m. at the University of Virginia's Curry School of 
Education.
          Hirsch, University Professor of Education and English and founder 
of the Core Knowledge Foundation, will describe the ideas for educational 
reform he presents in his latest book, "The Schools We Need and Why We Don't 
Have Them."  In the book Hirsch explains that "progressive" teaching methods 
have failed to promote critical thinking skills over content.  "More often 
than not, it's the children from lower income homes who suffer; they never 
manage to learn the basic skills," he notes.  For this reason, says Hirsch, 
"public schools have got to change."
         National concern about public education is creating a demand for 
higher educational standards, Hirsch says.  "The issue is whether academic 
expectations for kids in inner-city and rural schools are equivalent to 
their suburban counterparts."
          The session is a part of the 1997 Curry Forum on Educational 
Issues, a credit course that addresses topics of concern to parents and 
educators.
           Hirsch's talk, which will be held in Ruffner Hall auditorium, 
is open to the public.
                                      ###

                                                          September 29, 1997

           For more information, call Jim Cooper in U.Va.'s Curry School of 
Education at (804) 924 0860.  Television reporters should contact our 
TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.