urr|cu|um

1he Lerm currlculum ls used ln a number

of dlfferenL ways by parenLs educaLors
and buslnesses Some see currlculum as
Lhe academlc sLuff LhaL ls done Lo
chlldren ln school CLhers vlew lL as
Leacher dlrecLlons and sLudenL acLlvlLles
LhaL can be purchased from any number
of currlculum publlshers 1eachers
Lhemselves use Lhe Lerm ln dlfferenL
ways dependlng on Lhelr vlews and
needs ln any school sLaff room one may
hear sLaLemenLs abouL currlculum such
as Lhe followlng
1heres noL enough Llme ln
Lhe day Lo geL Lhrough Lhe
currlculum!
1he ____ readlng
currlculums greaL buL l haLe
LhaL ____ maLh currlculum
l found Lhls greaL currlculum
webslLe Lhe oLher day LhaL
has all klnds of ldeas for
sclence lessons!
1he klds are really maklng
progress slnce l began
modlfylng Lhe currlculum Lo
beLLer meeL Lhelr needs
WebsLers conclsely deflnes currlculum
as A course of sLudy offered by a
school (WebsLers ll new 8lverslde
ulcLlonary 1984 p176) Currlculum ls
also ofLen referred Lo as learnlng
conLenL acLlvlLles and sLrucLures as
experlenced by sLudenLs 8onald C uoll
ln hls book cottlcolom lmptovemeot
ueclsloo Mokloq ooJ ltocess goes
furLher sLaLlng LhaL
1he currlculum of a school ls
Lhe formal and lnformal
conLenL and process by
whlch learners galn
knowledge and
undersLandlng develop
skllls and alLer aLLlLudes
appreclaLlons and values
under he ausplces of LhaL
school (uoll 1996 p13)
lL ls Lhls lasL deflnlLlon LhaL ls perhaps
Lhe mosL useful Lo educaLors who wlsh
Lo affecL and lmprove sLudenL learnlng
arLlally Lhls ls because lL lacks Lhe
vagueness LhaL many deflnlLlons have
and parLlally lL ls because currlculum as
uoll has deflned lL can have ouLcomes
LhaL may be measured allowlng for Lhe
currlculum Lo be acLed upon and
lmproved
back Lo Lop
1he ke|at|onsh|p 8etween Curr|cu|um
and Instruct|on
lnsLrucLlon ls Lhe creaLlon and
lmplemenLaLlon of purposefully
developed plans for Lhe Leachlng of
currlculum conLenL lL ls whaL Leachers
ofLen conclsely refer Lo as plannlng
and Leachlng 1he relaLlonshlp
beLween currlculum and lnsLrucLlon ls
so lnLlmaLe LhaL
currlculumandlnsLrucLlon ls frequenLly
spoken as lf lL were one word (perhaps
we should refer Lo lL as cursLrucLlon or
lnsLrlculum) WlLh currlculum belng
Lhe conLenL of whaL ls LaughL along wlLh
an overall process of how LhaL conLenL
ls Lo be LaughL and lnsLrucLlon belng
Lhe more deLalled plans and Lhe way
Lhose plans are lmplemenLed ln order Lo
Leach Lhe currlculum conLenL lL
becomes easy Lo undersLand LhaL Lhe
Lwo musL be compaLlble ln order Lo
maxlmlze sLudenL learnlng
1he case of mulLlage classrooms
lllusLraLes Lhls close Lle LhaL exlsLs
beLween currlculum and lnsLrucLlon
CurrenLly Lhe mosL common classroom
sLrucLure ln Amerlcan elemenLary
schools ls Lhe slnglegrade classroom
1hls sLrucLure ls meanL Lo make
lnsLrucLlon more efflclenL allowlng
sLudenLs of Lhe same age Lo move
Lhrough currlculum conLenL aL Lhe same
pace ln Lhese classrooms Lhe mosL
prevalenL Leachlng meLhod ls whole
class dlrecL lnsLrucLlon 8ecause of Lhe
domlnance of Lhls sLrucLure naLlon
wlde commerclally avallable currlculum
and sLaLe learnlng sLandards are
deslgned Lo be lmplemenLed ln Lhls Lype
of learnlng envlronmenL Some
educaLors ln Lhelr efforLs Lo lmprove
educaLlon have swlLched from a slngle
grade classroom sLrucLure Lo a mulLlage
one 1he mulLlage sLrucLure
purposefully places sLudenLs of dlfferenL
ages LogeLher ln Lhe same classroom
whlle supporLlng an lndlvlduallzed
conLlnuous progress lnsLrucLlonal
model Whlle changlng Lhe sLrucLure of
Lhe classroom mulLlage educaLors also
change Lhe lnsLrucLlonal meLhods Lhey
use ln order Lo beLLer maLch Lhe needs
of Lhelr dlverse group of sLudenLs 1hey
have found LhaL (c)urrlculum deslgned
for use ln slnglegrade classrooms ls noL
always adapLable Lo envlronmenLs ln
whlch wholeclass dlrecL lnsLrucLlon ls
noL Lhe norm Allowlng for flexlble
grouplngs academlc dlverslLy and
lndlvldual paclng are needs LhaL are
cenLral Lo mulLlage pracLlces (?aLes
Currlculum ln MulLlage Learnlng
LnvlronmenLs 2000) 1he lnsLrucLlonal
meLhods used by Lhese Leachers
necesslLaLe LhaL currlculum be
organlzed ln a compaLlble manner
1he 8ases for Curr|cu|um |ann|ng
When plannlng for currlculum
lmprovemenL Lwo caLegorles of bases
should be undersLood Lhose LhaL are
lnsLlLuLlonal ln naLure and Lhose LhaL
affecL people dlrecLly 1he lnsLlLuLlonal
bases for currlculum plannlng lnclude
plannlng domalns Lhe conLexL or
characLerlsLlcs of Lhe school slLuaLlon
Lhe lmpacL of currenL Lrends and lssues
and Lhe use of sLraLeglc plannlng 1hose
bases of currlculum plannlng LhaL affecL
people dlrecLly lnclude sLudenL and
Leacher needs local currlculum
problems Lo be addressed
compeLencles of Lhe planners and
pressures from lnslde and ouLslde Lhe
school (uoll 1996 p362378) All of
Lhese bases affecL Lhe currlculum
plannlng process ln varlous ways and Lo
dlfferlng degrees 1hey can also vary
wlLh each slLuaLlon over Llme
As of Lhls wrlLlng a currenL educaLlonal
lssue ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes ls LhaL of
sLudenL performance and preparaLlon
for Lhe workplace 1he Lrend ls for sLaLe
governmenLs Lo creaLe sLandards of
compeLence LhaL are LesLed aL varlous
polnLs ln sLudenLs educaLlonal careers
and Lo make schools and sLudenLs
accounLable for Lhelr performance on
Lhese LesLs 1esL scores are frequenLly
reporLed ln Lhe local medla and Lhls may
lead Lo pressure from Lhe local
populaLlon belng broughL Lo bear on Lhe
school Lo lmprove lLs currlcula 1he
conLexL of Lhe school may be LhaL lL ls
wlLhln a dlsLrlcL LhaL hasnL passed a
school levy for a number of years and
Lhus has noL been able Lo budgeL money
Lo work on lmprovlng Lhe currlcula
durlng LhaL Llme 1hls noLuncommon
scenarlo shows how a comblnaLlon of
facLors can become Lhe bases for and
can lnfluence Lhe currlculum plannlng
process
Cr|ter|a to |an Deve|op and
Imp|ement Curr|cu|a
8onald uoll llsLs eleven prlnclples of
declslon maklng and process as lL
relaLes Lo Lhe evaluaLlon of currlcula
and pro[ecLs 1hese prlnclples form Lhe
crlLerla of a quallLy currlculum
developmenL process LhaL lncludes Lhe
sLages of plannlng developmenL and
lmplemenLaLlon
Currlculum declslons should be made
1 for valld educaLlonal reasons
2 on Lhe basls of Lhe besL
avallable evldence
3 ln a conLexL of broadly
concelved alms of educaLlon
4 wlLhln a conLexL of
prevlously made declslons
and of needs for addlLlonal
declslon maklng so LhaL
balance and oLher lmporLanL
currlculum conslderaLlons
may be safeguarded
3 by achlevlng a resoluLlon of
forces orlglnaLlng ln Lhe
naLure and developmenL of
learners Lhe naLure of
learnlng processes demands
of Lhe socleLy aL large
requlremenLs of Lhe local
communlLy and Lhe naLure
and sLrucLure of sub[ecL
maLLer Lo be learned
6 cooperaLlvely by persons
who are leglLlmaLely lnvolved
ln Lhe effecLs of Lhe
declslons
7 Laklng lnLo accounL new facLs
of human llfe such as Lhe
prollferaLlon of knowledge
and a need for a new sense
of unlLy wlLhln our dlverslLy
8 Laklng lnLo accounL Lhe many
dlfferences among learners
9 wlLh a reallsLlc vlew of
cerLaln organlzaLlonal or
englneerlng maLLers LhaL can
affecL Lhe quallLy of Lhe
declslons Lhemselves
10 wlLh some foreLhoughL
abouL ways ln whlch Lhey
may be communlcaLed and
shared
11 only wlLh reference Lo
sub[ecL maLLer and pupll
experlences LhaL cannoL be
offered as saLlsfacLorlly
ouLslde Lhe school (uoll
1996 p293296)
ow Va|ues Can Inf|uence Curr|cu|um
|ann|ng
Soclal forces LhaL can lnfluence
currlculum plannlng come from far and
wlde 1he ldeas and values of varlous
groups of people may lnclude Lhelr
soclal goals ldeas abouL culLural
unlformlLy and dlverslLy soclal
pressures ldeas abouL soclal change
Lhelr plans for Lhe fuLure and Lhelr
concepLs of culLure (CouLLs 1999) An
example of Lhls can be seen when
conLrasLlng Lhe clkNet and
Lhe cotolyst volces of cblcoqo 5cbool
kefotm webslLes 1he cbllJteo ootb
ooJ lomllles Jocotloo ooJ keseotcb
Netwotk webslLe clkNet ls deslgned
Lo provlde program evaluaLlon and
Lechnology asslsLance for chlldren
youLh and famlly communlLybased
programs 1he webslLe ls a
collaboraLlve pro[ecL LhaL ls funded
(by) Lhe uS ueparLmenL of
AgrlculLures CooperaLlve SLaLe
8esearch LducaLlon and LxLenslon
Servlce and Lhe CooperaLlve LxLenslon
SysLem (CooperaLlve LxLenslon SysLem
2000) 8ecause of Lhls many of Lhe
currlculum llnks are Lo agrlculLural and
4P educaLlonal acLlvlLles ln conLrasL
Lhe cA1Al51 volces of cblcoqo 5cbool
kefotm webslLe sponsored by Lhe
CommunlLy 8enewal SocleLy works
Lo creaLe raclally and economlcally
[usL communlLles (CommunlLy 8enewal
SocleLy 2000) lLs focus ls on Chlcago
area urban educaLlonal lssues
especlally ln regards Lo race and Lhe
economlcally dlsadvanLaged lL provldes
lnformaLlon Lo help lnfluence
educaLlonal declslon maklng as lL relaLes
Lo Lhe organlzaLlons mlsslon Cn Lhe
one hand ls a group LhaL wlshes Lo
lnfluence educaLlonal pollcy (and Lhus
currlculum) Lo beLLer meeL Lhe needs of
chlldren ln an urban envlronmenL and
on Lhe oLher a group Lrylng Lo do Lhe
same for rural chlldren AlLhough Lhere
may be a few communlLles where Lhe
Lwo groups compeLe wlLh one anoLher
Lhey do lllusLraLe how Lhe values and
lssues of varlous soclal groups can Lry Lo
lnfluence currlculum plannlng
Curr|cu|um Ioundat|on
AL Lhe foundaLlon Lo every currlculum
lncludlng Lhe plannlng deslgn and
lmplemenLaLlon sLages ls Lhe
educaLlonal phllosophy of Lhose dlrecLly
lnvolved ln Lhe process CfLen Lhls can
lnfluence Lo a greaL exLenL Lhe dlrecLlon
a school or school dlsLrlcL Lakes wlLh lLs
currlculum and lnsLrucLlon AL Lhe
school dlsLrlcL Lhls wrlLer has been
employed wlLh Lhe phllosophy has
allowed for a dlverslLy of lnsLrucLlonal
sLyles as a way of meeLlng a dlverslLy of
chlldrens learnlng sLyles 1hls has led ln
Lhe elemenLary school Lo several
educaLlonal opLlons avallable for
sLudenLs and parenLs slnglegrade
slnglegrade clusLers mulLlage looplng
and homeschool hybrld educaLlonal
envlronmenLs 8ecause some of Lhese
educaLlonal sLrucLures have dlfferenL
lnsLrucLlonal deslgns Lhan oLhers Lhere
are avallable dlfferenL currlcular
maLerlals CLher nearby schools offer
only a slngle cholce and a slngle
currlculum 1he basls for Lhese declslons
can be found ln Lhe above menLloned
facLors as well as ln Lhe educaLlonal
phllosophles of Lhe declslon makers
l llke Leachlng because
I'm happy that my
profession is to teach
English to all ages specially
teenagers. I enjoy this job
so much and my happiness
reaches its utmost degree
when I deliver a lesson and I
feel it resulted in a great
effect on my students. I feel
that I open windows for
them and lower walls in their
realm of education.
I think most teachers feel
that they have a mission
and an ideal. Personally, I've
decided to be a teacher
because I believe only
education can help us to
construct a better world and
a better future.
The teacher has a sacred
mission which he should
believe in and of course
without teachers there won't
be any other jobs that help
construct our world so we
are the most important
profession yet still there are
those who don't believe in
our job and mission yet. It's
great to have such a
wonderful dialogue with you.
The teacher has a sacred
mission which he should
believe in and of course
without teachers there won't
be any other jobs that help
construct our world so we
are the most important
profession yet still there are
those who don't believe in
our job and mission yet. It's
great to have such a
wonderful dialogue with you.
i like English language
myself, and i like teaching.
being a teacher, i myself
always feel young because i
always face the youth.
This is the most interesting
reason for being a teacher.
Yes, I do agree with you
teaching means youth .You
are young all the time, you
meet young people while
you teach them you live
their ags and you feel
young.
Teaching is not only a
matter of methodology but a
perfect understanding
between a teacher and a
student. If the teacher was
able to bridge the gap
between him and his
students then the teaching
process would be so easy to
achieve. You said you didn't
plan to be a teacher but you
succeeded to be a good
teacher and that's a great
thing. If one loves his job,
he will excel in it and
succeed in it. Love what
you do then you'll succeed.
It's a spiritual feeling that
arises between a teacher
and a student. Don't lose
hope teachers: our job is the
most sacred one.
I loved the words "teaching
makes life worth living".
Yes, it's a sacred profession:
a profession of giving more
than waiting to take Yes, it's
great to be a teacher, to be
loved by your students who
expect to learn a lot from
you. Yes, teaching is a
creative profession, it's a
lovely profession if you love
it and understand its
mission.
Crafting a
SchooI
CurricuIum
Through
Teamwork
If the reason behind a
school curriculum is for the
school to meet the academic
needs of the needs of
students, doesnt it make
sense if the school
administrators just make the
curriculum themselves?
After all, they are the ones
running the school. But how
is a curriculum created?
What are the guidelines to
making an effective
curriculum?
Every school needs a good
curriculum in order to
ensure academic excellence.
Unfortunately, designing a
topnotch curriculum cannot
be done overnight. In fact,
most extremely well
designed curricula were
developed for years.
There are schools however
that despite spending
months of preparation and
brainstorming, the teachers
and staff still feel
overwhelmed with the task -
they are unable to develop a
well thought-of and a well
crafted curriculum that will
help them maximize the
potential of the students.
Should teachers just pick
one method from textbooks
and follow it? Why should
teachers bother to improve
an existing method of
teaching lessons? Isnt their
jobs are just to teach?
Despite the vast resources
that we have today, there
are still some teachers and
staff who are battling this
dilemma. While it is not
really imperative for
teachers to come up with a
good curriculum from
scratch, there are still others
out there who feel the need
to modify and improve the
system in order to better
serve the students. But
teachers cannot do that by
themselves; without the
help of the school
administrators, the goal will
not be achieved.
The school and its teachers
should work hand in hand in
crafting a school curriculum
because when they do,
teachers are given the
opportunity to voice out
their opinions about their
field, their students, and
ways to improve certain
classroom practices.
Developing a curriculum is
and should be a two way
process. Both the teachers
and the school
administrators should
contribute and participate.
They should work as a team.
Approach an
experienced school
consultant now to know
these things.