During my undergrad degree, I took a course on curriculum as cultural transmission. A focus in that course was identify how curriculum is composed to include the voices of various stakeholders, with an emphasis on Aboriginal culture. Since then, I have been thinking about how curriculum can act as an agent for social change. Curriculum attempts to promote certain values and content that are deemed important by a society. The values and content chosen are supposed to be universal, so they can apply to students from various backgrounds.
As I mature as a teacher, I begin to think about the personal curriculum I bring to the classroom, relating my life experiences to what I think is important for my students to learn. I make deliberate choises pertaining to what I teach from the curriculum, what I don't teach, and what I add, based on what I feel is important for the students I meet. From this perspective, my government curriculum acts as a guide for where we could go throughout the year.
As I age, I'm sure that my personal curriculum will evolve and continue to influence the curriculum I implement in the classroom.
I liked your observation on how "curriculum can act as an agent for social change." I just finished the "Historical and Contemporary Approaches to Curriculum" course (EDUB 7550) and chose Paulo Freire as my curriculum expert to research. Not sure how familiar you are with his work but his methods focused on the use of literacy to empower and emancipate impoverished people by fostering a critical awareness of their surroundings. Reading his work certainly raised my awareness of how our work in the classroom either perpetuates societies values/problems OR aims to change them...there are no neutral teachers. Just a thought.
I've had some exposure to Friere's literature, pertaining to critical literacy. I've only ever had time to implement his ideas on a more superficial level, encouragint my student to consider the "voice" that are represented in the texts they reading, considering whose are included, whose are ignored, and why. In the future I'd like to explore his concept of education, as his book Guerilla Education intrigues me.
Personally, I find it more challenging to raise awareness with high school students of pressing social issues than I thought. We face a challenge in the classroom when we present ideas and values that collide with what students have been taught at home. How do we find a balance between the two? The students need to become critical consumers. As you mentioned, we often go into the classroom with a particular agenda as well. I know I was candid with my feelings about hog farming last week!
Today we viewed analyzed three metaphors of curriculum. When I began teaching, I acted as the "traveller" who was taking my students on an emergent learning journey. As I have taught longer, I feel that I have let myself move into the "growth" role and even sometimes hinging upon "production." I feel like current trends in education are pushing classroom teachers towards more production and growth-type curriculums to improve accountability in our instruction and assessments. While production enhance specific skill devlepment, it may hinder the motivational factors needed to get students to learn required content.
Some of the most successful projects that I have undertaken as a teacher have been through my traveller persona. I feel that these experiences have allowed students to make the most meaningful connections to what we are learning in class. Not only is it about the content, but about how the students interpret the curriculum and how they feel compelled to express their understanding.
As the traveller, it is important to consider whose journey is taking place and who is directing the journey. Is the teacher directing the journey and for what means? Are students directing their own journies, or is it a collaborative effort between teachers and students? I feel that students are empowered when they can engage in discussions and help direct the learning journey in a way that will be meaningful for them.
Through my growth persona, I feel compelled to meet the needs of my students through differentiation. Many students meet us in our classrooms with various gifts and challenges and it is our responsibility to provide opportunities for them to meaningfully engage with the group and meet curriculum standards. The challenge for the teacher as "gardener" is to decide what kind of "fertilizer" to use, how much to use, and when. This is a time consuming process, but recent conversations with some of my students has made me realize how necessary it is to have a diverse group within your classroom. We have a latent social curriculum in our schools which motivates students to be active participants with their peers and develop appropriate social skills. Relegating certain students to certain programs to "improve" their learning may actually do the opposite. We need to provide opportunities for the students within our classes to meet our collective goals.
At this point, the role of growth and traveller merge. We must see how we can achieve real growth in students, not just academically, but socially as well. To achieve growth, we need to engage students, which can be through the personal connections achieved by relating to their experiences, hearing their stories, and incorporating their interests.
Brad...I am a fan of a classical education...teaching kids how to think and access information rather than filling their heads full of it...i agree with you on curriculum and recession...note the shifts in business and math recently...best and worst thing we had to do at high school in england was precis writing....still very valid today...!
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ReplyDeleteDuring my undergrad degree, I took a course on curriculum as cultural transmission. A focus in that course was identify how curriculum is composed to include the voices of various stakeholders, with an emphasis on Aboriginal culture. Since then, I have been thinking about how curriculum can act as an agent for social change. Curriculum attempts to promote certain values and content that are deemed important by a society. The values and content chosen are supposed to be universal, so they can apply to students from various backgrounds.
ReplyDeleteAs I mature as a teacher, I begin to think about the personal curriculum I bring to the classroom, relating my life experiences to what I think is important for my students to learn. I make deliberate choises pertaining to what I teach from the curriculum, what I don't teach, and what I add, based on what I feel is important for the students I meet. From this perspective, my government curriculum acts as a guide for where we could go throughout the year.
As I age, I'm sure that my personal curriculum will evolve and continue to influence the curriculum I implement in the classroom.
I liked your observation on how "curriculum can act as an agent for social change." I just finished the "Historical and Contemporary Approaches to Curriculum" course (EDUB 7550) and chose Paulo Freire as my curriculum expert to research. Not sure how familiar you are with his work but his methods focused on the use of literacy to empower and emancipate impoverished people by fostering a critical awareness of their surroundings. Reading his work certainly raised my awareness of how our work in the classroom either perpetuates societies values/problems OR aims to change them...there are no neutral teachers. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteI've had some exposure to Friere's literature, pertaining to critical literacy. I've only ever had time to implement his ideas on a more superficial level, encouragint my student to consider the "voice" that are represented in the texts they reading, considering whose are included, whose are ignored, and why. In the future I'd like to explore his concept of education, as his book Guerilla Education intrigues me.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I find it more challenging to raise awareness with high school students of pressing social issues than I thought. We face a challenge in the classroom when we present ideas and values that collide with what students have been taught at home. How do we find a balance between the two? The students need to become critical consumers. As you mentioned, we often go into the classroom with a particular agenda as well. I know I was candid with my feelings about hog farming last week!
Today we viewed analyzed three metaphors of curriculum. When I began teaching, I acted as the "traveller" who was taking my students on an emergent learning journey. As I have taught longer, I feel that I have let myself move into the "growth" role and even sometimes hinging upon "production." I feel like current trends in education are pushing classroom teachers towards more production and growth-type curriculums to improve accountability in our instruction and assessments. While production enhance specific skill devlepment, it may hinder the motivational factors needed to get students to learn required content.
ReplyDeleteSome of the most successful projects that I have undertaken as a teacher have been through my traveller persona. I feel that these experiences have allowed students to make the most meaningful connections to what we are learning in class. Not only is it about the content, but about how the students interpret the curriculum and how they feel compelled to express their understanding.
As the traveller, it is important to consider whose journey is taking place and who is directing the journey. Is the teacher directing the journey and for what means? Are students directing their own journies, or is it a collaborative effort between teachers and students? I feel that students are empowered when they can engage in discussions and help direct the learning journey in a way that will be meaningful for them.
Through my growth persona, I feel compelled to meet the needs of my students through differentiation. Many students meet us in our classrooms with various gifts and challenges and it is our responsibility to provide opportunities for them to meaningfully engage with the group and meet curriculum standards. The challenge for the teacher as "gardener" is to decide what kind of "fertilizer" to use, how much to use, and when. This is a time consuming process, but recent conversations with some of my students has made me realize how necessary it is to have a diverse group within your classroom. We have a latent social curriculum in our schools which motivates students to be active participants with their peers and develop appropriate social skills. Relegating certain students to certain programs to "improve" their learning may actually do the opposite. We need to provide opportunities for the students within our classes to meet our collective goals.
At this point, the role of growth and traveller merge. We must see how we can achieve real growth in students, not just academically, but socially as well. To achieve growth, we need to engage students, which can be through the personal connections achieved by relating to their experiences, hearing their stories, and incorporating their interests.
Brad...I am a fan of a classical education...teaching kids how to think and access information rather than filling their heads full of it...i agree with you on curriculum and recession...note the shifts in business and math recently...best and worst thing we had to do at high school in england was precis writing....still very valid today...!
ReplyDelete