It makes sense that education should be based on important skills needed by society in the present and in the future. Why do students have to read the classics? Wouldn't time be better spent teaching students how to navigate unfamiliar text? Why do students learn the details of U.S. History I. Does anyone really have to know about some tariff that was passed 200 years ago? As a teacher who spends her life living and breathing literacy, even I have to question why we teach students to write descriptive essays when most will never write one again in their lives after they leave the academic world. Yes, education needs to change.
Curriculum change cannot just reflect the common goals of the community. This definition is too narrow. If everyone in my town is a blue collar worker, should the curriculum just teach the skills necessary to be a plumber or auto mechanic? Our students need to be taught the skills to function as global citizens.
Curriculum needs to focus on both skills and content knowledge. Skills are important for enabling students to function as successful future citizens, but content knowledge provides a person with some basis for making decisions. This reminds me of the Catholic school educated mom who decides that her children will make their own decisions with regard to the religion they will choose to follow. But Mom doesn't realize that unlike herself, her children have no knowledge or frame of reference to base their decision on.
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ED Hirsch would argue that we need to know about that tarrif! (So would the commerce department!)
ReplyDeleteYou really hit the nail on the head. We need to teach curriculum that glorifies the world. I think that if everyone had sort of the same curriculum throughout the nation we as a teaching community would be better fit than what we are now. We could make national changes and national standards would then be in place. This would eliminate any questions if a student would change schools because of parental movement in the job force.
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