Grading the ‘cultural literacy’ project

The essay examines the argument advanced by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., for instituting ‘cultural literacy’ as a fundamental priority of schools. A number of confusions and equivocations in Hirsch's reasoning are identified, and the propensity of his project to indoctrinate is exposed. Among the features of Hirsch's argument shown to be troubling are his shifting construal of ‘language’, his inconsistency about the requirements of cultural literacy, and his uncritical relation to traditional images of the American past and present. The upshot is to raise the question why Hirsch's project has elicited wide support and praise.     

2-Deoxy-d-Galactose Effects on Passive Avoidance Memorization in the Rat

2-Deoxy-d-galactose (do-gal) hinders glycoprotein fucosylation. This compound was intracerebroventricularly administered to male adult Wistar rats in order to assess whether it could exert amnesic effects on a passive avoidance response (PAR) to be learned in the light–dark box apparatus. Three experiments were performed. In the first, do-gal was administered immediately after the acquisition trials at three dosages (2, 4, and 8 μmol). It was found that only the 4-μmol dosage was followed by PAR disruption. In the second, do-gal was administered at the adequate dosage (4 μmol) either 30 min before the acquisition trial or 30 min before retrieval testing. It was found that only the preretrieval administration was followed by PAR impairment. In the third, do-gal (4 μmol) was administered in postacquisition, at increasing postacquisition delays (0.25, 1.5, 4, and 6 h). It was found that there was PAR disruption only after do-gal administration at the shortest (0.25 h) delay. The results confirm that in the rat, glycoprotein fucosylation is involved in some of the phases of memory trace processing, and they are discussed in relation to other findings in the rat and the chick.