Everything is inherently political, and politics is a struggle between ideologies and power. Even to claim something is apolitical is a political act. Nothing escapes politics, as our world is shaped by ideologies and politics.
Curriculum is a difficult thing to construct, as everyone wants a say in how and what their children are being taught. This often results in ideological clashes, debates, and arguments to make sure that those deciding on what gets implemented in the curriculum meets their standard. Personal beliefs and agendas, as well as political alignments can strain this process even more so. The curriculum is a product of compromises between those designing it, and it is then left to the teachers to teach what is now included in the document.
What teachers teach in the curriculum is important, but what they tech outside of it is also greatly important as well. What is and is not planned, how every student interprets the material in front of them, and how the content affects interactions all play a role in what a student learns in the class. From personal experience, I have learned quite a bit about Canadian and world history from outside of class discussions with my former high school history teachers, which were instigated by curricular discussions in class. Most of these discussions were deeper dives into more intricate ideas and pushed me to questioning my own worldview, and when digging deeper, I often expanded my understandings and shook my own ways of knowing. Extra-curricular discussions can have a more profound effect than preplanned lectures and discussions, as they are freer flowing and are unrestricted by curricular constraints.
There will always be a place for curriculum, no matter how much it is influenced and politicized by those who want it to serve themselves, push an agenda, or even want a better future and broader understandings. It is not inherently bad that curriculum creation is political, what is bad is how politics can be used to create and construe something for other purposes. Past this, there will always be a place for extra curricular discussion and debate in the classroom, as it doesn’t have to follow the rules associated with curriculum building, and can often lead to deeper understandings made impossible by the extremely political document that is the curriculum.