In looking at the variety of ways to define curriculum, it became very difficult for me to settle on one that made sense for the student, teacher and school as a whole. Ultimately, the definition that made the most sense to me stated...
Curriculum is all the experiences learners have under the guidance of the school.
A school and/or school district needs to have a curriculum that provides depth in subject areas, is diverse in order to meet the needs and interests of a variety of people and learning styles and adequately prepares students for life after a student is exposed to it.
Upon reading the articles for this week, I'm not sure we (the public schools) are meeting the needs of students in our information-rich society. It is difficult to create a system that meets the needs of all students and also provides the flexibility for students to come and go and be exposed to information that is relevant, rich in content and peaks their interests. I don't see us starting over or throwing out the system as Toffler suggests. I do think that we are going to have to personalize a student's education and encourage them to explore areas of interest to them and integrate the curriculum around these interests. Information is so easily available to students now. It seems to me that synthesizing this information and applying it is a logical step.
I agree that students or anyone for that matter, learn most effectively when we are passionate about something. The key is to discover the passions of our students and connect them to a passionate teacher or expert and allow them to explore the possibilities. Students will learn more about what it is they are passionate about and, if connected to a good teacher, learn about other subjects and life lessons indirectly.
These readings have opened my eyes to the possibilities within my own teaching and the offerings currently available. I am not sure of a systematic way of approaching this "curriculum" but at the high school level, it would not be hard for a student to identify his or her passion(s) or for the individual teacher to encourage students to explore them relative to the subjects they are teaching. I love the idea of having students explore blogs related to their passion and connecting to other experts. If a school could simply agree that they wanted to tap into the interests of their students, the ball could start rolling to a more individualized education.
I sat for a couple days after a bio class that I was struggling connecting with. I was so sad because I really like this group of students and then I read your blog it hit me. Show them why I love biology.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right when I showed my passion for the class then they began to feel my excitement again. Thanks for reminding me the key to good teaching...
I like these ideas! Another way to look at curriculum is to recognize that the teacher is the curriculum...and that is what you (and Kelley) are saying here, I believe. Really good teachers let their love for learning shine through and by force of personality demonstrate to their students how to love learning and their subject...as they do. This is not a trivial matter. I often think that is teachers would relax and be themselves in their classrooms, their students would pick up on the teachers love for learning.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think of this? Teachers work too hard! Why should we do all the work, when we should teach and then require our students to accept more responsibility for their learning. We work incredibly hard everyday...when we should expect students to do more of the work. Every student is interested in something and would love to pursue it in depth...and (ok, nearly!) every student could be coaxed into loving lots of other things by teachers who are also excited about what they are studying.
I'd like to see you explore the personalizing aspect you mention above, Ben. A possible topic for your Inquiry project.