- Kumashiro described “common sense” as something that everyone should already be familiar with. The idea of common sense is so important to recognize because it is no inclusive, it never includes the same knowledge for all people. Just as Kumashiro experienced in Nepal, what may feel like common sense for some people, could be completely new concepts for others.
- Kumashiro went into a Nepal school prepared for a fully planned out, busy year, soon realizing that they learned with a much slower start than what seemed common in America. Rather than being able to use activities and new plans that were created for this year, the class was to strictly follow the textbooks provided by the government which provided samples and practice questions for homework. The class would cover one section of the textbook each day to allow them to complete the book by the end of the year and complete their standardized test created from the text.
- I like to think that we do not have the same type of strictly follow the textbook education here in Canada, but I would say that is pretty naive or hopeful of me. I do remember growing up and having some educators teach straight from a textbook and use the exact practice questions and exams provided in the text, this technique is not beneficial, because providing the same type of questions and instructional strategies only cater to one type of learner. A common idea in the Canadian educational system is to include a variety of students’ work to contribute to their final grade, this is beneficial because it allows students to make up for any errors they may have made in the year as well as relieve some of the pressures of having one exam determine the students pass or fail grade. I find our curriculum is becoming more creative and inclusive, although we will always have room to grow, I believe we do have a lot of educators that try to create an inclusive, unique, and beneficial learning environment.