Blog Post May 24th 2023
Curriculum Policy and The Politics Of What Should Be Learned In Schools
According to the Levin article, how are school curricula developed and implemented? What new information/perspectives does this reading provide about the development and implementation of the school curriculum? Is there anything that surprises you or maybe that concerns you?
Curricula are developed and implemented by the government. This means there is little input from the public or the teachers teaching said curriculum. I personally think that the government need to involve teachers more as they are the ones who are implementing these changes in their classes. I understand that making a curriculum is not easy and takes years to complete but why are we not including more experts and teachers in these decisions?
After reading pages 1-4 of the Treaty Education document, what connections can you make between the article and the implementation of Treaty Education in Saskatchewan? What tensions might you imagine were part of the development of the Treaty Education curriculum?
I was once told that if you look around the room and the majority of people in that room look like you then there needs to be a change. How can we create treaty education when there are only two elders helping? There needs to be a proper change where we are including other cultures and ways of knowing, This would especially be true if you are teaching about treaties and only include two elders in the decision making. We as teachers are told to bring in elders and educate ourselves. Why isn’t there more of that from the people in charge of curriculum?
2 thoughts on “Blog Post May 24th 2023”
The response to the prompt is commendable. The questions posed in the prompt have been directly addressed, and the answers provided are well-supported with references to the Levin article and the Treaty Education document. The connections between the readings and the implementation of Treaty Education in Saskatchewan have been identified, and the concerns about the limited involvement of teachers and elders in the decision-making process have been appropriately raised. The response demonstrates a clear understanding of the readings and effectively integrates them into the discussion. The questions raised in the prompt have been adequately addressed, and the answers provided are supported by references to the Levin article and the Treaty Education document. The connections between the readings and the implementation of Treaty Education in Saskatchewan have been identified, and the concerns regarding the limited involvement of teachers and elders in the decision-making process have been appropriately highlighted. The response demonstrates an understanding of the readings and effectively incorporates them into the discussion. However, additional depth and analysis could have been provided to further explore the implications and consequences of the issues raised. One connection I can make is that the connection between the Levin article and the implementation of Treaty Education in Saskatchewan lies in the shared concern for broader stakeholder involvement in curriculum development. Just as the Levin article highlights the limited input from teachers in curriculum decisions, the prompt raises the issue of only involving two elders in developing the Treaty Education curriculum. Both cases underscore the importance of including diverse voices, such as teachers, elders, and representatives from various cultural backgrounds, to ensure a comprehensive and inclusive curriculum that accurately represents the needs and perspectives of the communities involved.
Hello Ashley, I like your response about the curriculum and the Treaty document we looked at. You well addressed the questions asked and took a deeper look at the Government’s involvement in building the curriculum. I agree with you about how they should involve more teachers when making a curriculum but do you think that we should add more people or add more qualified people and take out people who are qualified and don’t contribute as much? Because if we add more people to a team who is creating a curriculum it can be confusing and cause this process to be much longer than it already is. Also, why do you think the Government has more authority than others and why do you think there are not many teachers getting involved? In your response to the second question, I loved the first sentence that you stated. That is a very good way to be aware of classroom diversity and gives teachers a start on where they can make changes. As a future educator, in what ways would you promote different cultures in your classroom and teach students about the treaties and Canadian history? Your response was great and looked deeper at the other perspectives. Good luck with the rest of your blogs! Best, Tegan.