17 January 2010: My fist post reflected upon the metaphors of curriculum and how current trends towards accountability are pushing the education system towards more of a production orientation, while I felt that my most successful classroom experiences with my students were in the traveller metaphor. I attempted to define the roles that I have assumed over the last 5 years and the forces that have swayed me from one educational perspective to another.


23 January 2010: This blog examined the introduction of values into the Manitoba Social Studies curriculum. I questioned to reason for the government feeling the need to inject values into an educational document, as these had traditionally been a latent function of education, rather than something that was explicitly taught. I made a connection to the Null curriculum and how our avoidance of including values up to this point might have been a sign of our Canadian sensibilities not wanting to offend anyone. Maybe Manitoba is getting bold and wanting to assert its own values.

2 February 2010: After Ashley’s presentation on the butterfly metaphor in the music curriculum, I noted how well it serves to reflect the interdependent nature of curriculum. All curriculum should be represented as a butterfly to show how each aspect of it is dependent upon the other. It is easy to get lost in one part of the curriculum without realizing how it will impact the others. As well, what is the “thorax” that holds it all together? Why do we teach each of our curriculums?

9 February 2010: Reflecting upon listening to “On the Trail” I thought about the use of the affective and effective domain in society. Our curriculum is heavily slanted towards the effective side, which I think is a cultural issue. In my blog, I referenced two books that I have read A Whole New Mind, which comments on the need for stimulating creativity in North American society to remain relevant, and Geography of Thought, which differentiates between the thinking processes of Easterns and Westerners.  Both books raised important points that should make us review our educational systems.

16 February 2010:  Based on Graham's presentation, I commented on my eperiences with constructivist strategies.  I realized that my own efforts to be constructivist were much more guided than I thought, but the guidance seemed to be needed for students to reach their goals.  I commened on the need for students to learn processes as well as content, but Graham's presentation reinforced the idea that it can be overwhelming for one to learn both simultaneously. Hence, an important consideration for teachers as they consider teaching new processes. 

23 February 2010: Based on Vallance's article, I wrote a slightly outlandish piece about the use of art criticism for curriculum as a form of thought control.  Vallance's approach to curriculum critique seems effective for its purpose of making one FEEL the curriculum.  I made the thought police refence in connection to Vallance's comments about putting so much thought into what we do with our students since we see them for such a large amount of time.  I questioned how much the government should be trying to CONTROL the time teachers spend with learners, and as to what sorts of outcomes they wish the learners to obtain.  Bias is prevalent in any system, so what we teach through our mandated or underlying curriculum is going to influence our students. 

2 March 2010: In reference to my own presentation, I wrote about the fact that Canada is one of very few industrialized countries without  a national education strategy.  I probed the reasons for having a national strategy, along with identifying peoples' fears of such a system.  I concluded, supporting Chambers' request for a forum to promote national discourse on education issues. 

9 March 2010: Class cancelled

16 March 2010: In response to the Gender Issues curriculum proposal, I stated that any public school should have to follow whatever curriculum is presented by the provincial government.  If a school is receiving public funds, it is responsible for representing the public interest and in this case, it is was the Gender Studies Curriculum.  I also stated that private religious schools should have a choice about instating the proposed curriculum. 

30 March 2010: Based on Baudrillard, I commented on how the need to create the opposite of every situation is necessary to justify its presence is prevalent in education.  There is a swinging pendulum that moves from one educational fad to another to justify the need for educational improvement, when nothing seems to have changed dramatically in the last two hundred years.  I questioned whether we do this to justify our positions so we don't see education as a charade. 

Overally, I thoroughly enjoyed the blogging experience as it allowed me to express my thoughts after class.  As a quiet person, I don't always share as many ideas during discussions as I would like to, but having an opportunity to blog about them gives me a forum to express my thoughts.  As well, blogging gave us the opportunity to reflect upon what we learned and how it applied to society.  Blogging also made you feel that you could continue the class discussion if something else came to you after class.  You were no longer in isolation and you could find out what others were thinking.  I especially enjoyed reading about peoples' personal connections to topics, which one might never have heard during a class discussion. 

Based on my blogging experiences, I am going to try it with my high school students.  Despite it not being a formal paper, I feel like I learned just as much, if not more.  This is authentic communication and not just an assignmnet to obtain a mark.

I also found curriculum much more interesting than I expected.  Coming into the couse, I thought we'd be looking at a variety of curriculum frameworks drawn as flow charts and maps to help design the perfect curriculum.  I foud the articles we read to be stimulating and advanced my thoughts on curriculum theory and practice. 

I wish everyone success in their future endeavours.  I was a pleasure to meet with each of you every Tuesday night.