ECS 203: February 3, 2023
“Politics is about power. Since not all can have what they want, the question is who does get what they want and who does not.” (Levin 2007) School curriculum is developed and implemented based on who is in power and what they value. Politics is all about power, control, and how can they create a place where they will continue to be re-elected and maintain power. It is sad that someone’s education may suffer just because of who someone else elected, especially in a place where elections are not held it then becomes very difficult to change the curriculum. The Levin reading provided me with lots of new information about who has a say in curriculum, including the public, though we are certainly not a priority to be included. Curriculum is developed to “try to promote subjects and programs that support their labor market needs.” (Levin 2007) Whoever is able to decide the subjects which get priority are those who hold the most power, not typically the people directly affected by the decisions about curriculum. Treaty education in Canada was clearly implemented by many individuals who see this as a common goal. Maybe its educators, maybe its stakeholders, but more likely than not its politicians finally doing their jobs as public servants. Politicians should be actively working for the people that they represent, instead of their own personal values, there has been a huge push from Indigenous peoples to have treaty education taught to all people in schools. I can only imagine the uproar from rich white people when they found out that Indigenous people received a whole piece of curriculum about themselves. When in fact white people have always been represented in schooling, in fact there is more about the history of Europe than our own country.
3 thoughts on “ECS 203: February 3, 2023”
Great points made overall a very well written post. I think it is also important to note that many of the people that were against Treaty education is due to their inability to own up to out generational errors as a society and the ability for white peoples to take responsibility took hundreds of years.
Hey Sarah,
I believe that the school curriculum is developed and implemented based on who is in power and what they value. According to Levin’s article, the people who are in power with the school curriculum are the politicians. However, I believe that parents, teachers, and students should have a say in what the school curriculum should be.
Hi Sarah! Great post! I like how you brought to light about we learn more about Europe (white people’s history) than Indigenous education. I have a question for you. If politicians are public servants, why are they not considering what is best for students? Instead, they focus on their “voters” so they can be always in power. After all, students are also citizens of the country they are trying to serve. I also like how you mentioned that someone’s education may be affected because of who is in power. I agree with this thought since I studied in a Catholic school and I definitely see flaws in it. Thank you for sharing.