After reading Apple's words, I came up with the following questions for discussion:
1. Should curriculum be community based in order to capture the needs and interests of the students along with relevant issues to address based on current events and situations? If done, how would colleges/others know what students are learning in school is legitimate?
2. Who ultimately decides on standards and sets curriculum? Why do I not know anyone that has been a part of this process? Shouldn't the teachers that will actually be teaching the material and the students choose what should be covered?
3. Does current curriculum in schools continue to maintain the status quo of inequalities that exist in our society?
4. Why do the "for profit educational ventures" have control of what we teach?
5. Apple discusses the ties our country has with God, capitalism, and a romantic cultural past. How could we best work with those ties in order to create curriculum that would be suitable and effective in educating students and diminishing inequity?
6. Apple speaks of the necessity of the distance theory provides in order to think through difficult issues; however, do you think Apple's theory offers too much distance? Not enough? Would less distance be more productive in a way that allows for more time deciding on solutions rather than focusing on the problems?
There has been many opportunities for teachers to engage in the new standards that are being formulated in the past year, in particular over the summer. This is ongoing. Our district posted the following:DRAFT MODEL CURRICULUM SURVEY
ReplyDeleteTeachers can contribute to important work and learn more about transitioning to the revised content standards for their specific areas by taking ODE's survey about the draft model curricula text. The survey, which should take about 10 to 30 minutes to complete, will remain open through Jan. 14. Respondents may save their survey responses midway and complete them at a later time if desired.
The goal for the model curricula survey is to determine how well the text will guide teachers in developing lessons aligned with the revised content standards in science and social studies as well as the Common Core State Standards in mathematics and English language arts. Each respondent will choose to answer questions about a particular section relating to a single grade, grade band or course within a content area. Individuals or teams may take the survey more than once so they may comment on multiple sections.
ODE will make revisions to the model curricula based on the survey feedback and submit a final draft for approval to the State Board of Education in March. The final text will be placed within an interactive, Web-based tool that is expected to be completed during the 2011-2012 school year. If you have not already done so, please share your opinions so ODE can produce a real-world model curricula tool. For the survey and links to the background material. Survey time is now over, but I know that we can get involved in meetings this summer.