Learning how to learn should be the ultimate goal. According to Professor Hirsch, the above is hogwash. There is no battle between learning and learning how to learn. The attempt to teach children how to think has been a dismal failure when we consider the terrible record of student achievement. All the important research about how kids learn points to the need for specific content as the foundation for any kind of learning.
Every field requires specific skills.
Moreover, the dichotomy between content and skills is patently false. People can't think without facts and information. The more a mind is stocked with information, the better is the thinking process. The notion spouted by pro-gressives that children learn better by moving from concepts to facts rather than vice versa is utter nonsense, and yet we find it even in the legislation supporting education reforms. As for the notion that teaching children facts is boring, anyone who has witnessed the delight with which children master facts about dinosaurs or Egyptian mummies knows this is not the case.