Month: January 2023

What does it mean to be a “good” student according to the common sense? 

• A “good” student is someone who understands the ideal way to act, learn, and participate within the class which may look like being on time to class, submitting assignments on time, taking notes, sitting still, paying attention to instructions, performing well on tests which is what everyone student should do or know to do through the understanding of common sense. Many times, children who do not follow these “good” student rules end up being looked at negatively or as “bad” students. Teachers frequently assume that when students ask why something is done a specific way, they are arguing or not being good students because they are not following instructions. As opposed to Kumashiro’s reading, which provided a high school student N as an example. N faced difficulties with other teachers but the approach that was taken in Kumashiro’s reading showed how N just wanted the opportunity to express his understanding and points of view instead of only hearing or listening to what the teachers had to say because it is what must be taught and is the only thing that is taught. 

Which students are privileged by this definition of the good student?  

• Children who are privileged by this definition are individuals who have the common sense of what a good student is and show good student qualities like being on time to class, doing their homework, handing in their assignments on time, participating in class, having parents that are involved and being able to sit and listen with no learning disabilities. I also believe that many of the time it is the white westernized students who are considered “good” students due to them speaking English and having the “white” people characteristics. Children who are also very privileged at home and who come from a home that has more money are often looked at as good students. Some of the examples of why this may be is because they may have all the school supplies, are clean looking with nice clothes and have a healthy nutritious lunch.  

How is the “good” student shaped by historical factors? 

• Historical considerations are part of the ideal definition of a good student since in the past, white people were viewed favourably and people of color were viewed badly. The majority of people of color or some cultures were not welcomed or represented positively in society. The treatment of students who spoke their native tongue at residential schools in the past serves as a powerful illustration of this. Overall, though, historical events have influenced what a good student is by highlighting that the ideal student is someone who can fit into the dominant culture of society. 

Hidden Curriculum  

Within the education system, there are two common types of curriculums one being the formal curriculum and the other being the hidden curriculum. A formal curriculum is a well-planned curriculum that includes objectives, material, learning opportunities, resources, and assessments as part of a school’s academic curriculum. It is now well-accepted that there is a hidden curriculum within the education system. When lessons are taught in the classroom but aren’t expressly addressed in curricula, it is said that there is a hidden curriculum. Some examples of the hidden curriculum include children learning how to line up, be polite, and share.  

As discussed by Giroux in “Schooling and the Myth of Objectivity” creates a different principle of the hidden curriculum from the many previously had to make it a helpful tool for someone to learn something by themselves and comprehend how schools work to encourage the social and cultural reproduction of society. Giroux does this by arguing how the hidden curriculum needs to take up a more central than supplementary position in curriculum theory. Giroux believes that with the hidden curriculum starting point in the late 1960s and early 1970s, “schools came to be seen as social sites with a dual curriculum, one overt and formal and the other hidden and informal” (284). Giroux often makes the argument and explains how the official curriculum, which exclusively addresses instructional outcomes rather than socialization factors, misses the wider picture of why individuals should attend school.  

Before I begin working on my assignment, I need to ensure that I have a better and more detailed understanding of Giroux’s opinions and observations on the hidden curriculum. I’ll accomplish this by reading additional works in addition to the one I used for this post. I need to still locate and comprehend two more peer-reviewed studies that support or criticize the hidden curriculum. Before writing my critical summary I am going to make sure I can fully answer the questions “What does this concept/topic mean”? “How does this curriculum scholar define this topic”? “Where do these texts converge/diverge”? “Considering what we have read/discussed in class, what is this text missing”? “What do the others offer?”. I am going to make sure I keep track throughout my learning of all the resources I used to give them credit. 

Citation: 

Giroux, H. A. (1981). SCHOOLING AND THE MYTH OF OBJECTIVITY: STALKING THE POLITICS OF THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM. McGill Journal of Education / Revue Des Sciences De l’éducation De McGill, 16(003). Retrieved from https://mje.mcgill.ca/article/view/7420  

 

Tyler’s rationale has had a huge impact on the majority of my education. In particular in elementary and high school. It seemed throughout elementary and high school majority of teachers had set-in-stone curriculums and that’s what we were supposed to learn by the end of the year. Tyler’s theory was based on the product and what the outcome is going to be and how to achieve the correct product.  To achieve the goal of us learning everything all teachers went through the objectives, content, teaching, and learning, and evaluating us as explained in “Curriculum Theory and Practice”. Throughout my education, it seemed like teachers were frequently pressed for time to complete the curriculum before the end of the year, but many of the things on the curriculum that we “needed” to learn were not what we should have been taught because some of it wasn’t applicable to our daily lives. Throughout my education, tests constituted the majority of the evaluations. As education progresses, I’ve seen that more teachers seem to be moving away from examinations and concentrating more on assessment items like projects or papers. This has changed, in my opinion, as a result of Tyler’s justification, according to which Tyler believed that when teachers stated their objectives in terms of modifying student behaviour, it helped them change the curriculum. Teachers now feel less of a need to test due to the change in the curriculum and they develop more of an understanding of their students. Teachers are starting to realize that exams or tests do not always show if children understand the material being taught whereas a project or written paper can.   

Tyler’s theory offers several drawbacks that make things impossible as well as many potential advantages that open up possibilities. This rationale can be negative due to every student having to go through the same process. Nowadays some students have a variety of learning difficulties and some children need a different way to learn. Some students won’t be successful in this way of teaching. As explained in “Curriculum Theory and Practice” the pedagogy in the classrooms is being undermined by the curriculum, which has an impact on what teachers do in the classroom. Smith also explains that sometimes teachers can take the wrong approach to teach something that is in the curriculum. The way they connected some of the theories and curriculum to real-world situations struck me throughout the reading of “Curriculum Theory and Practice”. For example; the curriculum is kind of like a shopping list when all the items are ticked, the person has passed the course or has learned something” (pg.5). Some positive attributions that Tyler’s theory brings forward is that it sets out a clear plan for the developmental process and the proper order of the process so students gain the best understanding of what is being taught. Since the value-neutral method can be applied to all subjects, it is another way it can be a good procedure. 

Common sense, according to Kumashiro, is the knowledge that everyone should know. People behave and act in accordance with common sense throughout their lives. Kumashiro explains throughout the reading that an individual’s common sense can be different depending on many things. Some examples are where the individuals live or what school they go to. One example of different common sense between individuals is what is considered to be a good cook. People from different cultures or locations may have different ideas about what makes a good cook. Kumashiro claimed that because he employed American cooking techniques, people in Nepal believed less of her as a cook since he used other things besides rice, lentils, and vegetables. People need some time to adjust to common sense because you have to comprehend what it means to others and the reasons why their way of life is set up the way it is.  

It is important to pay attention to common sense due to it being a way individuals go about their everyday life. Common sense within schools may differ depending on the type of common sense the teachers and students bring to the school. If someone is not paying attention to the common sense by which they are surrounded they may be accused of doing something wrong way, inaccurately, or even getting into dangerous situations. Kumashiro experienced this when he began teaching at the Nepal school. Kumashiro taught her way of teaching was correct due to her own common sense but others within the school accused her of incorrectly teaching or being a bad teacher. If you pay attention to common sense, you will be able to understand how others live their lives and why they live them in that certain way. Kumashiro being an outsider looking into Nepal’s common sense he could either; adapt to their ways of life or teach her own common sense or way of life to the Nepal community. If he adapted to it, it would be very important to pay attention to Nepal’s common sense.   

According to my understanding of common-sense curriculum is a guideline that teachers follow to know what to teach the students. A curriculum outlines what to teach when, at what ages, and in what order, and how to teach it effectively enough for kids to learn the lesson’s main points. A curriculum is something that all teachers follow due to it being fixed expectations that the government has set into place. I believe the curriculum is a great way to keep all students’ progress consistent due to many students being taught by different teachers in different classrooms at different schools. Some things that are new to me are the hidden curriculum or curriculum as a place. In my common-sense curriculum has always been a guide used by teachers. Coming into this course I actually had no understanding of what pedagogy was or even meant. It is a totally new concept to me. I learned from our first lecture that pedagogy is how all teachers have different approaches to teaching. Even though I didn’t know the correct terminology for pedagogy, I grasped and knew what it was from the definition and what we learned in the first lecture.