Curriculum as Process #2

According to commonsense it means to be a good student by adapting to what society or schools deem as important. Painter (1986) states, “the various faculties or capacities which await development in the child are elassed as physical, mental, and moral” (p. 1). Kumashiro (2010) confirms this idea by suggesting “mainstream society often places value on certain kinds of behaviors, knowledge, and skills” (p. 22). Therefore, according to commonsense, a good student would be one that has the proper skills, knowledge, and behavior that society has determined acceptable.

The students that would benefit from the definition of the good student are students that are familiar with the norms and values of the society. Any student that is unfamiliar with the norms or values of the society might struggle adapting to the new environment. Kumashiro (2010) suggests “schools would disadvantage students by not teaching what often matters in schools and society” (p. 22). Thus, students that are familiar with the norms and values with be privileged when they are in the school setting because they already have the prior knowledge to help them along the way.

The good student is shaped by historical factors because “it is clear that education, both in its subjects and methods of instructions, should have some reference to the demands of practical life” (Painter, 1986, p. 3). Therefore, concepts of what it means to be a good student are shaped by the demands of society and the behaviours our future citizens are expected to possess.  

3 thoughts on “Curriculum as Process #2

  1. Travis,
    I thought this was very insightful. In today’s schools we will face many who many not understand the social norms and therefore I believe we need be careful not to impose those norms on our students just to fit the “good student” mold.
    Thanks for this post
    Ali

  2. Travis you did well in answering the questions required for this blog post. Good work. Thank you for citing your work, it shows that you were thorough in your reading and understood it. It important as future educators to make sure we avoid the norms and stigma of what a good student should be. We need to be aware of the hidden curriculum our society places on us, and be aware that many may not know what others deep normal.

    We need to try our best not to look for good or bad students, that really isn’t the point. Being educated and insightful like this blog post will help us to avoid the trap of “the good student”, and the desire to follow social norms.

    Keep up the good work Travis.

Leave a Reply to Ali Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *