The Curriculum is Everything
Is it true that the curriculum is everything? Where is the place of creativity in curriculum? Does it make, mar or restrict us? What does it teach us, to be intelligent or become mere stooges?
History is replete with people that were considered academic failures yet they blazed trails by following their passions: Bill Gates, Les Brown, Mark Zukerberg, etc. Or you wonder how our forefathers exuded great intelligence (check out local proverbs, stories and wise sayings) even without a curriculum...Is the curriculum everything?
In our world where acquisition of degrees is paralleled with knowledge; our world where in Ikhide Ikheloa's words (paraphrased) 'a monkey can stay behinde a computer; connect to the internet and buy off a degree and become 'Mr. Obolagido(Phd.) that is Mr. Monkey (Phd.) Our world where titles (academic or otherwise) determines your acceptability in the society; where ignorance is celebrated garbed in awards and titles. I ask again: is the curriculum everything and is everything in the curriculum?
Let us know on Bookaholic...
Chimurenga Online also wants to know these and more in the next online issue...
Details here
Airport sounds from a distance, blurred, incomprehensible, then suddenly loud and clear. "Flight sixty-nine has been..." Static ... fades into the distance ... "Flight..." Standing to one side of the desk are three men, grinning with joy at their prospective destinations. When I present myself at the desk, the woman says: "You haven't had your education yet."
- William Burroughs, My Education: A Book of Dreams
Who be teacher, I go let you know...
- Fela Anikulapo Kuti, "Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense"
Bookaholic's Add: -Bantu 'No more 'No Vernacular' teacher no teach me nonsense'
There seems to be a very fine line between curriculum and forced learning, but in most of our school systems there are great draw backs to how we teach our children presently. I was watching the TED Talks and Sir Ken Robinson put it very well. Here he is: (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html)
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I am always seeking to align the curriculum with student learning outcome. I am a follower of Paulo Freire's idea of a critical thinking educational educational model, which argues that teachers are not the providers of knowledge, nor are students only recipients or vaults where information is deposited for future withdrawal; I seek a curriculum relevant to the expectations and experiences of the students, and acknowledge that the student sometimes brings more to the classroom than the teacher. Wait, do I really believe this? I really think I do.
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