The Politics of Curriculum
According to the Levin article, school curricula are developed and implemented by government bodies, specifically the ministry of education. They seek input by subject area experts, but not much by parents, teachers, or students. As a result, much of the curriculum’s content is not teachable by the average teacher, as it is designed at an expert level. I believe many teachers adjust or simply eliminate the use of certain curriculums for this reason. Graduated students tend to feel that they were unheard on matters of curriculum, and this is because they (we) were. There is something to be said that we graduate knowing high-level algebra but are unable to file taxes, create a budget, or change a tire. I was surprised by how rushed policy making seems to be, due to how much pressure and expectation we as a society place on our political leaders. After reading this I understand what an impossible standard we set for them, but I am also amazed by how well they do considering the lot they are given.
It seems to me that the implementation of Treaty Education is seeing some trouble due to a lack of understanding with teachers. One cannot teach well something that they do not understand well. As we discussed in class today I imagine that there has been some pushback from certain parents, teachers, politicians, and even students due to our societal and internalized racism. In another class we discussed students who could spout off “we are all treaty people” but who had no idea what that meant. With all these problems, I do think that we’re off to a good start in the right direction. I think it is good that we continually renew curriculum, but perhaps we could begin to also renew what that process looks like.
Sources:
Levin, B. (2008). Curriculum policy and the politics of what should be learned in schools. In F. Connelly, M. He & J. Phillion (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of curriculum and instruction (pp. 7 – 24). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Saskatchewan Ministry of Education. (2013). Treaty Education Outcomes and Indicators. SK: Government of Saskatchewan.
I agree that students do not have much of a voice in matters of curricula. Students are the people that are most affected by what is or is not included in curricula, yet their opinions are largely disregarded. What suggestions do you have surrounding how students can be more involved in the development process of curricula? I also liked that you acknowledged that in order to teach a topic well, you need to understand it well. It is very hard to have no background knowledge and try to instil learning and engagement in students. I agree that teachers need more of an understanding themselves before they attempt to ignite a response from their students.
Michaela, I was also shocked at how rushed policy making seems to be. I would have liked to see these sorts of important documents to be thought out and well researched, however, I can understand that the agenda of the government is a lot and that they have many issues to solve. You mention that we are off to a great start with the curriculum, other than renewing it every so often, is their other aspects that could be added in to make it more acceptable?
Hey Michaela, I really enjoyed this post and I agreed with all of your points. I think we are off to a good start by integrating treaty education into our curriculum, and it would be beneficial to continue to revise this curriculum in the right direction. I also left high school feeling overwhelmed with what the future had in store for me, because I feel like I knew nothing about being an adult! The argument about having enough time in the school day/week is always present when discussing what to add into the curriculum. But, if most students have the same attitudes then maybe it is time for a change.
I like how you mention that you think teachers leave out certain aspects of curriculum because they’re just the “average” teacher. And I completely agree with you! The standard is set so high I think for some teachers and while it is a great goal to achieve, it is not always maintainable. You then go on to say how students were unheard on these issues of curriculum, which is totally true because I had no idea too.