Educational essentialism Educational essentialism is a theory that states that children should learn the traditional basic subjects and that these should be learned thoroughly and rigorously . An essentialist program normally teaches children progressively , from less complex skills to more complex . An Essentialist will usually teach some set subjects similar to Reading , Writing , Literature , Foreign Languages , History , Math , Science , Art , and Music . William Bagley ( 1874 - 1946 ) was an important historical Essentialist . Essentialism is related to the cultural literacy movement , which advocates the teaching of a core set of knowledge common to ( and assumed to be possessed by ) members of a culture or society . See also E.D. Hirsch . For a discussion of other educational philosophies , see educational philosophies and education reform . Criticism See Dead white males This article relating to education is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it . Categories : Education stubs | Educational philosophy In other languages : 中文 