Common sense is defined as what everyone should know through experience and teaching. Common sense is further explained as what schools should be doing and everyone follows that same framework. However Kumashivo states “Common sense limits what is considered to be consistent with the purpose of schooling”. And then goes on to define common sense as practices rooted in circumstance, not a universal collection of fixed ideas.

It is important to pay attention to common sense to challenge it by checking your biases, tendencies and challenging societal ‘norms’. As an education student you learn there is no one way of teaching so conforming to the common sense in terms of teaching and learning practices is really irrelevant. Kumashivo states “Learning different methods is essential to improving as a teacher”. Also it is stated, “good teaching is not a neutral concept”. By understanding common sense wherever you are located enables teachers to recognize the norms and then take a growth mindset to them without confusing students or making them uncomfortable, all while incorporating change to the common sense.

The common sense understanding I bring to this course on curriculum and pedagogy is solely based on my K-12 experiences in the Regina Public School system and my short time (so far) at the University of Regina. I understand curriculum as an outline of expectations for teachers to teach and students to meet in order to achieve academic success. I have experienced interpretation plays a large role in how the curriculum is carried out by a teacher. For example, instead of an expository essay to meet outcome #__ in grade eleven my teacher wanted us to explain “how to change a tire” by bringing supplies to present the steps instead of writing an essay on those same steps. This also leads into that particular teacher’s pedagogy as I understand pedagogy as the way teachers individualize their methods and outcomes within the curriculum. Also, I see pedagogy as a way to personalize outcomes for students who may have different learning strategies than others. These are the understandings on curriculum and pedagogy I bring to this course.

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