Article 3: Burying the Hatchet: Ideology in Early American Readers through the Story of George Washington and the Cherry Tree

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represent the newest model for back-to-basics education, which often reflects a desire to scrub progressive pedagogy and politics from the curriculum (Cope and Kalantzis 2009). News coverage claimed that the CCSS “respect basic skills” (Finn 2010) and foundations aligned with the CCSS seek to “identify the foundational knowledge every child needs” (“Learn About Us” 2016). And what could be more basic than the story of Washington learning the importance of honesty by chopping down the cherry tree, lying about it, then admitting to the lie? The story is very much a part of our cultural heritage in classrooms (Coiro 2015), in Common Core aligned-curricula (Gudmundson 2008), the popular press (Melanson 2015), and Pinterest. The story’s persistent inclusion in school curricula highlights the American focus on a cultural identity and patriotism.