Month: September 2020

According to the common sense, a good student is one that shows up to class focused, and ready to learn, one that wants to learn, and has the capacity to learn in the mainstream way that knowledge is passed on. Sit still and quietly, listen, follow instructions, absorb knowledge, and regurgitate it later in an exam. Learning what is in the curriculum guide is the goal; there is no room for exploring curiosities and being creative. You also need to belong to the Religion of majority and not stand out from the majority in any way. You must fit perfectly into societies mold. Standing out and being unique is not an option.

To me this really doesn’t benefit anyone, but when you list all of these items needed to be checked off to be a perfect student, you are left with children who are from families with money, are of the mainstream race and culture, and children who are “typically” developing along the “proper” timeline.

In “A History of Education,” Painter talks about how children need to be filled with the proper useful knowledge so that they can fit in and be a productive part of society and live a fulfilling life. History tells us how to properly educate students and warns us of the dangers of free thinking and creativity. “Man” needs to be taught the necessary knowledge and skills in order to perform the duties to live a successful life. History adds that education is not to be creative or fun.

Kumashiro talks about children who don’t fit the mold of the perfect student, and how they are failing them by not being able to help them to display “proper” behaviour. As a teacher they feel the pressure of creating perfect students and behave in the acceptable mainstream manner.

I feel history has its place and that we do learn a lot from it, but it is comforting to know that people are able to evolve and better themselves. Education needs to be more about the student rather than focusing on the content and how the content is passed on. How do you help someone learn if the way in which they learn is not considered? A good student is plain and simple, a student; all students are good students.

Kumashiro. (2010). Against Common Sense, Chapter 2 (pp. 19 – 33) – “Preparing Teachers for Crisis: What It Means to Be a Student”

Painter. (1886). A History of Education

When we talk about curriculum in a broad sense, we are referring to the specific knowledge and information needed to be passed on to students in order to meet the end goals of a specific class or course. Different forms or styles of curriculum incorporate different ways of teaching or sharing knowledge, and different ways of assessing if the knowledge was successfully understood or learned. When looking at how knowledge is passed down to students and how their understanding of this new knowledge is assessed, we tend to run into many problems. Students are individuals, meaning that they learn in their own unique individual way. If we are to teach in only one way, we are placing many students at a disadvantage and setting them up for failure.

In the article “Curriculum theory and practice” Smith talks about the Tyler rational of curriculum. Focusing on curriculum in this way often lacks individuality and leaves little to no room for creativity. Memorization of specific information or skill to then be regurgitated for an exam or assessment, is required to be successful. I remember taking notes, after notes, after notes, and reading them over, and over to attempt to remember them, so I could quickly answer questions on an exam. What did I actually learn when I was doing this and being taught in this way? I’m going to say next to nothing. I hated school, which is interesting since I love learning. This type of hands off learning, listen, read, memorize, did not fit my learning style by any stretch of the imagination, especially if it was something I didn’t find interesting. I remember in high school getting career counseling from my home room teacher. He was determined that I take biology as without it, I was completely losing my chances at getting a career in the medical field. What if I wanted to be a doctor or a nurse or even a surgeon? I needed to focus on all of the sciences and art seemed very unimportant in his mind. I knew for a fact that even if I was interested in the medical field, which I most certainly was not, the fact that I fainted at the site of blood kind of solidified in my mind this was not the proper career path for me to choose. According to traditional curriculum you NEED this knowledge to be successful in life.

To me it makes more sense to follow your interests and curiosities; as a teacher I want my students to understand not memorize, I want them to find something they love so they can be successful in life AND happy. Yes, there is a need for certain knowledge, but it needs to be passed on to students in a way that benefits them, not what the “system” thinks is best practice.

There is a place in curriculum to have specific requirements and knowledge to be passed on. There are things in life we do need to know to be successful productive beings. As a teacher it is nice to have a guide for what you should be teaching and what is appropriate for what stage of development. So in this way there are some good aspects of this type of curriculum. This being said we also need to focus on the fact that this knowledge changes as the world makes new discoveries and advances in all “subject” areas. In this sense the product that is linked to Tyler’s theory of curriculum should be forever changing in order to be current and relevant.

I find this way of teaching to be very close minded. Yes, the expectations for a teacher are clear and easily understood, but the chance for creativity and meeting children’s differing needs just isn’t there. In education the students and their well being is more important, than if they can name all of the states in the U.S. and their capitals.

Smith, M. K. (1996, 2000) ‘Curriculum theory and practice’ the encyclopaedia of informal education, www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm.

Kumashiro talks about common sense and defines it as “what everyone should know”. Common sense is everywhere, it is the knowledge that people come to know and accept as normal thoughts, behaviours, and how society “functions” as a whole. Common sense varies depending where you are in the world; from countries, to provinces, right down to smaller areas, such as towns and villages. Is there a problem with common sense? There can be, especially if it doesn’t evolve, as the world does constantly; without evolving it can become very oppressive. Society begins to better itself in ways such as, acknowledging and accepting all genders, putting an end to racism, gender equity in the work force, and the way in which education is carried out and assessed. As teachers we educate our students making them aware of changes, we teach new common sense, we embody this new common sense, and lead by example.

Kumashiro talks about common sense in schools and their experience in a new country. The common sense within the school system in the Nepali village Kumashiro starts teaching in, is very different from the norms they were used to in the United States. When teaching, the textbook was followed to the letter and children were beaten if they didn’t behave. The common sense that I’ve come to know, is very different from this, and has even evolved as I’ve grown up.

As a student, the teacher knew everything and our ideas and opinions weren’t valid, as we didn’t have the education to form our own ideas. From my experience in my learning career, I know this to be untrue. As I progress on my path to becoming a teacher, I have come to understand that the “teacher” isn’t the only one that teaches in the classroom. Valuing and addressing student’s ideas and knowledge helps them to become stronger learners and in turn you a stronger teacher, and learner.

In order to avoid “the problem of common sense,” within our teaching career, we must be constantly re-evaluating and adapting. It is important that as we teach, we strive towards a better more accepting world for our students, and constantly challenge and evolve our common sense understandings.

Kumashiro. (2009). Against Common Sense: Teaching and Learning Toward Social Justice, pp. XXIX – XLI