LetterofEpiphanyofLearning

KaraStucky
EDCI803
KansasStateUniversity
Summer2015

DearICSMiddleSchoolTeachers,
Thissummer,Ihavebeentakingaclassoncurriculumdevelopmentformymasters
programatKansasStateUniversity.Thereadingsanddiscussionsforthisclasshavechallenged
mybeliefsaboutcurriculumandhaveinspiredmetoreflectonmyprofessionalpractice.I
wouldliketosharewithyouafewoftheepiphaniesthatIvehadthroughoutthiscourse.These
includeabroaderviewofwhatconstitutescurriculum,aclearerunderstandingofhow
curriculumshouldbefocused,andtheimportanceofplacingthechildatthecenterofthe
learning.Ihopethatyouwillfindtheseideasthoughtprovokingandwillconsiderhowtheycan
applytoyourteachinginthecomingschoolyear.
Whatdoyouthinkofwhenyouhearthewordcurriculum?Typically,Itendtothinkof
thecontentweteach,selectedfromthestandardsandtextbooksforacourse.Thisisactually
calledtheexplicitcurriculumandwhileitisessentialtoourinstruction,thisisnotallthatwe
teachourstudents.Thereisalsoanimplicit,orhidden,curriculumthatistaughtthroughthe
culturecreatedbytheexpectationsandrulesofaschool.InTheThreeCurriculaThatAll
SchoolsTeach,Eisner(2002)explainstheimplicitcurriculumincludingaschoolsreward
system,organizationalstructure,andphysicalcharacteristicswhicharepervasivefeaturesof
schoolingandthereforewhattheyteachmaybeamongthemostimportantlessonsachild
learns(Eisner,2002,p.97).Beforereadingthis,Ihadntseriouslyconsideredwhatstudents
werelearningfromschooloutsideoftheexplicitcurriculum.Itisapparenttomenowthatas
educators,everythingwesay,do,orevenimplyspeakstoourstudents.Thiscanbeanything
fromthecoldanduncomfortablefurnituretotherigidschedulethatwesticktowithoutfailday
afterday.Iwonder,whatexpectationsdoweholdatICSthatgiveourstudentsanegativeor

oppressiveviewofschooling?Arewetrainingstudentstobecompliantteacherpleasers,rather
thanthoughtful,creative,andpersistentlearners?
Teachersandschoolsalsomakedecisionsonwhattoleaveout,thisisthethirdtypeof
curriculumcalledthenullcurriculum.Haveyoueverthoughtaboutwhyweteachcertaintopics
andnotothers?Someofusmaychoosetoteachsomethingthatisoutsideofthecurriculum
becausewefinditinterestingorenjoyable,butforthemostpart,westicktoaspecificsetof
contentforourcourses.Eisner(2002)statesthatcertainsubjectmattershavebeentraditionally
taughtinschoolsnotbecauseofacarefulanalysisoftherangeofotheralternativesthatcouldbe
offeredbutratherbecausetheyhavetraditionallybeentaught(Eisner,2002,p.103).Thiswas
shockingtome,butasIbegantothinkaboutit,theAlgebraclassthatIteachnowislargely
similartotheAlgebraclassthatItook15yearsago.Whyisitthatschoolscontinuetoteachthe
samecontentoutofhabit?Consideringthemanychangesthathavetakenplaceinoursociety
withtechnologyandaccesstoinformationthroughtheinternet,itseemsanupdateinthe
curriculumisnecessary.
Asaresultofthiscourse,Inowhaveabroaderperspectiveofcurriculumandcansee
howeveryaspectofschool,includingwhatisleftout,contributestoastudent'slearning
experience.Therefore,weneedtobeintentionalwhendesigningthephysicalarrangements,
rules,andexpectationsforourclassrooms.Beforefocusingonwhattheydointheclassroom,
wemustexaminehowstudentsfeelaboutschool(Jackson,2013,p.126).WhenIthinkbackto
myschooling,Idontrememberthespecificlessonsmyteacherstaught,butratherhowmy
teachersmademefeelintheirclass.Ifondlyrememberthoseteacherswhocreatedasafe
environment,gavemeaningfulassignments,andchallengedme.Icanrememberthe

PythagoreanTheorem,butIcannotrememberwhichteachertaughtittome.Itsimportantto
notethatJacksonmentionsexamininghowstudentsfeelbeforedecidingwhatstudentswilldo.
Haveyoueverthoughtaboutwherecurriculumshouldbefocused?Atfirst,thisquestion
seemedtrivialtome.IfIteachmath,thenmycurriculumshouldbefocusedonjustthat,math.
AsIreadMarsh&Willischapteroncurriculumhistory,Ibegantohaveaclearerunderstanding
howcurriculumshouldbebalancedbetweenthesubject,society,andindividual.Thefirstfocal
point,subjectmatter,placesanemphasisonwhattopicsshouldbetaughtandorganizingthese
topicsinalogicalway.CreatingasubjectcenteredcurriculumstartedintheColonialEraand
hascontinuedtodrivecurriculum,evenuptotoday.Thesecondfocalpoint,society,hasthe
goalofhelpingstudentsfitintosocietyanddesirestocreateacurriculumthatcanbeappliedin
theworld.Thethirdandfinalfocalpoint,theindividual,desirestomeettheinterestsandneeds
ofeachuniquestudent.AccordingtoMarshandWillis,inthehandsofanaccomplished
teacher,pedagogycouldbechildcenteredyetstillhonorallthreefocalpointsofthecurriculum
(Marsh&Willis,2007,p.46).Thisreinforcestheimportanceofaholisticeducation,promoting
theeducationofthewholechild.Howcanweseektotakeamorebalancedapproach
concerningthesubject,society,andtheindividual?Personally,Iwillnolongerthinkabout
AlgebraasthecoursethatItookinthe90switharigidsetofcontent.Instead,Iwilltakeinto
considerationourcurrentsocietythatismoreadvancedintechnology,whilealsomodifyingthe
curriculumtomeettheindividualneedsofmystudents.

Thechildisthestartingpoint,thecenter,andtheend(Dewey,1902,p.107).Thisisa
quotestruckmebecauseoftheemphasisitplacesonthechildinthelearningprocess.Too
often,IgetgoingthroughthemathcontentandforgetthatIneedbeintouchwithmystudents

andknowwheretheyareintermsoftheirlearning.Dewey(1915)saysthatthechildisalready
intenselyactive,andthequestionofeducationisthequestionoftakingholdofhisactivities,of
givingthemdirection(Dewey,1915,p.25).Haveyoueverbeenfrustratedbecauseourmiddle
schoolstudentshavesomuchenergy,yettheydontapplyittowardstheirschoolwork?Whatif
wesoughtoutstudentsinterestsandusedtheseintereststocatapultthemintolearninginour
contentareasandacrossthecurriculum?Curriculumshouldbecreatedwiththeindividual
studentinmind.Noteverychildisthesame,thereforecurriculumshouldnotbeuniform,but
moreflexibletoappealtoeachuniquestudent.Byremainingacademicallyfocused,schoolsare
cateringtoaspecifictypeofstudentwhoisacademicallyinclined.Academicsareimportant,but
therearemanyotherskillsthatwillhelpourstudentsbecomesuccessfulmembersofsociety.
Letsencourageourstudentstodeveloplifeskills,suchascreativity,perseverance,andapassion
forlearning.
Inordertokeepthestudentatthecenteroflearning,itisessentialtorememberthat
learningtakesplacethroughtheactivebehaviorofthestudentitiswhathedoesthathelearns,
notwhattheteacherdoes(Tyler,1949,p.63).Achildcenteredcurriculumplacesstudentsin
anactivecommunityofchildrenwhoparticipateinpracticalexperiencesandexplorationsto
facilitategrowth.Bymakingstudentsactiveinthelearningprocess,theteachernowtakesona
differentrole,oneinwhichtheyfacilitateandguidestudentsthroughthelearning.Insteadof
beingthesourceofknowledgeandpouringinformationintostudents,theteachersjobbecomes
theorchestratorofexperiences.Deweyexplainsthattheteacherwilllayholduponthe
rudimentaryinstinctsofhumannature,and,bysupplyingapropermedium,sotocontroltheir
expressionasnotonlytofacilitateandenrichthegrowthoftheindividualchild(Dewey,1915,

pp.3738).Theteacherisnolongergoingthroughapredeterminedsetofmaterial,butrather
seekingtostimulatetheinterestofeachchildanddirectittowardsomethingvaluable.AsI
learnedaboutthis,itremindedmeofProjectBasedLearning(PBL)andmademeexcitedforour
stafftrainingthisSeptember.
Inconclusion,IrealizethatIhaveaskedmorequestionsaboutcurriculumthanIhave
givenanswers.Myhopeisthatthesequestionswillmakeyouexcitedaboutthefreshstartofa
newschoolyearwhilealsochallengingyoutoconsiderthedecisionsyoumakedailyabout
curriculum.Weareoftenverybusyoncetheschoolyearstartsanditiseasytojumponthe
hamsterwheelwithouttakingmuchtimetobeintentionalaboutwhatandhowweteach.I
challengeyoutotakesometimeoverthenextmonthtothinkthroughoneofthequestionsIve
askedaboutcurriculumandchildcenteredinstruction.Whatstep(s)willyoutaketocreatean
environmentforstudentsthatfosterstheirinterestsandencouragesthemtobelifelonglearners?
Sincerelyyourcolleague,
KaraStucky

References
Dewey,J.(1902).
Thechildandthecurriculum
.Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress.
Dewey,J.(1915).
Theschoolandsociety,
(Rev.ed.).Chicago,Ill.:TheUniversityofChicago
Press.
Eisner,E.(2002).Chap.4TheThreeCurriculathatAllSchoolsTeach.
TheEducational
Imagination:Onthedesignandevaluationsofschoolprograms
(pp.87107).Upper
SaddleRiver,NJ:Pearson.
Jackson,P.(2013).Thedailygrind.InFlinders,D.J.&Thornton,S.J.(Eds.),
Thecurriculum
studiesreader
(4thed.,pp.117126).NewYork,NY:Routledge.
Marsh,C.&Willis,G.(2007).4thEd.Chap.2.Curriculumhistory.
Curriculum:Alternative
approaches,ongoingissues
(pp.2367).UpperSaddleRiver,NJ:Pearson.
Tyler,R.(1949).
Basicprinciplesofcurriculumandinstruction
.Chicago:UniversityofChicago
Press.