White’s Curriculum Aims

His explanation is expressed around the headings of personal fulfilment, social and civic involvement, contribution to the economy and practical wisdom.

The sort of people I want the education system to produce are well rounded adults. They need to the skills necessary for careers, family, social situations and be able to deal with difficult situations effectively. Students should have empathy for others and have a understanding of who they are. This gives them  confidence and ability to accept others for who they are. They must be organised, know how to study and work in a team. They should have an awareness of people and the world around them, how their actions affect others and vice versa. Students should have an awareness of health and diet and the risks of drug taking, alcohol and smoking; but they should still have the freedom to choose to partake or not. They should know the value of relationships; family, friendships and sexual. They should be aware of different cultures and religions. It is also important that they have a good knowledge of history and how past events have effected who we are today. But most importantly they have to be free thinkers who believe in the equality and wellbeing of themselves and others. Students should be able to pursue careers in their choice with the necessary writing, reading and IT skills. They should be able to use a wide range of multi media but also understand the importance of it and the rate at which it changes.

Overall Curriculum Aims

We want all young people to have a successful life. This means success in worthwhile activities and relationships which they have freely engaged in and which they pursue wholeheartedly.                                                                                      (White, 2007: 26)

Personal self-fulfilment is very important as an educational aim. Students should feel they have achieved something relevant to their needs in the future. This means that they have to be challenged by the curriculum because if it is to easy they will not feel as if they have achieved much. The curriculum must cater for every aspect of the students needs, not just a qualification. They should feel they have gained life skills and have become a well rounded person.

Students should feel they have developed relationships with friends, adults and members of the opposite sex. They should understand who they are and how others view them. It is important that they experience a wide range of emotions which may be inherited through life learning. If a student can show empathy for and feel confidence when interacting with others they will have a solid foundation for future work, academic, family and social life.

Wholeheartedness is extremely important for the school, teacher and students. Everyone has to be enthusiastic and sincere when adapting and fulfilling a curriculum for it to be effective. If there is any lack of motivation this feeling will spread to everyone involved making learning a challenging task.

So what counts as worthwhile? I would view the worthwhile activities as thouse which benefit the students and relate to their interest. The activities and relationships they engage in must be healthy and cater for the students wants. For example, there is no need trying to encourage a student who is an artist to pursue activities in Chemistry. Students should find there own vocation and explore the skills necessary to be successful, this will also provide scope for relationships with peers who have the same interest.  The activities and relationships should encourage enthusiasm for individual investigative learning which will last for a lifetime.

What should the education system aim to achieve?

http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=2348252

What Schools Are For and Why by John White

Personal fulfilment

Experience many absorbing activities

Engage in close relationships

Live a healthy life and understand what makes for this

Make competent decisions in relation to managing money

Social and civic involvement

Communicate with other people appropriately

Play is a helpful part in the life of the school and community

Critically assess the role of the media

Reflect on human nature, its commonality and diversity Contribution to the economy

Work collaboratively in the production of goods or services for the school or community

Be aware of the rights of workers and employers

Critically examine how wealth is created and distributed

Be aware of the impact of science, technology and global markets on work prospects

Practical wisdom

Sensibly manage desires

Learn to cope with setback, change of circumstance and uncertainty

Resist pressure from peer groups, authority figures and the media

Strike a sensible balance between risk-taking and caution

White’s view is that schools should be inculcating knowledge relevant to modern society, such as the ability to live healthily, to manage money and to find fulfilment.

I very much agree with Whites view on what education should aim to achieve. I think schools should offer a range of subjects suitable to students needs, abilities and learning styles. I think that schools should offer a range of subject in different areas  such as languages, humanities, arts, technical and vocational.  Students  should be able to choose more than one subject but it should be mandatory that they choose at least one in each area. Subjects such as English, Maths, Science should also be compulsory. Extra curricular subjects should be offered in the form of afterschool activities so students can put extra time into subjects they enjoy and will most likely utilise in later life. It is important that students have a wide range of choices and feel like they are part of the decision making process when mapping out their education, this is more realistic to real life, makes them more motivated and keen to learnt.

From my experience of school, we were offered a range of subjects at A Level but these subjects were ore academically related rather than relevant to modern society. This was great for students who would go on to Oxford or Cambridge but for students like myself I felt disillusioned about what path I could take to a career. Not any of the subjects offered were vocational. I wanted to study Information Technology and went to great lengths to arrange lessons with a college outside of school but in the end my proposal was denied. In the end I was lucky enough to be offered subjects which were mostly project based which suited my learning needs, but I still wonder I my life would be different if i was allowed to do the IT A Level.

It is important that children have skills necessary for life such as managing money, socialising, showing empathy to others and  decision making. This should be achieved through the community of the school. A school must give students the opportunity to prepare for future life by immersing them in real life activities such as work experience, expeditions, social events; possibly  let the students plan these events themselves. Studies should be related to real life situations. Teachers must also take the time to find out what is happening in their students life so they do not create a barrier between adults and students, schools must be able to cater to their needs and students will therefore relate to teachers and view school as a place which understands them and their needs. A place that will prepare them for everyday situations which we encounter as adults. 

All school staff must lead by example with the hope that students will follow. As teachers we must prepare students for real life situations; mentally, physically, emotionally and socially. Schools should make students aware of themselves and the world around them. We should teach the importance of  money management and practical wisdom and we must create an environment for students to explore who they are and develop the necessary skills; career, family and socially related,  in later life.

The Hidden Curriculum

Issues in the study of curriculum in the context of lifelong learning

The Hidden Curriculum is for students  to learn to conform not just to the formal rules of the school but also to the informal rules, beliefs and attitudes perpetuated through the school's processes of socialisation.

For example, schools may encourage students to compete or collaborate, to refrain from bullying, to value order, formal knowledge or common sense.

The intended hidden curriculum comprises those things that are not part of the formal curriculum but which teachers actively and consciously pursue as learning goals for their students.

There is a further hidden curriculum which is not consciously intended by teachers, and indeed may run counter to either or both of the intended hidden curricula. An example is of primary school teachers who tell pupils that it is important to work hard and concentrate but, in practice, value flair and natural ability more highly.

So this leads me to consider the following:

Is the hidden curriculum necessarily harmful?

In my opinion I do not think it is harmful if used correctly. From my experience I find the students that excel are those that have the organisational skills necessary to be prepared for classes. This will include the ability to meet deadlines, note take and store all hand outs in a safe place. I constantly try to enforce this so students can keep track of what they are learning and can always refer back to the material if they do not understand a given task. Another important part of the hidden curricula which I try to teach is study skills. The students must know how to study but first of all they have to know what type of learner they are so I always encourage them to investigate this and to use what works for them.

I have seen first hand students fail because the hidden curriculum has not been taught. An example of this is two boys in our year 12 who failed all of their AS Level exams. I believe that the reason for this was because school rules were not enforced for these boys. These boys did not value order. They were able to miss school, sometimes for weeks at a time. They never got involved socially and emotionally within the school and because the school rules were so relaxed they had the freedom to procrastinate. Another downfall was the fact that their were only two boys in that year, so they therefore had no competition, another downfall of my school which tries to ‘mother’ pupils to much rather than give a realistic view of the real world.

This mothering instinct is at the other end the spectrum of the hidden curriculum, teaching the children that it is ok to fail as long as they try hard. This is the damaging aspect of it. I have also witnessed this. Although teaching the skills of empathy, understanding, social skills are very important, they are not as important as teaching students value of order, respect and study skills necessary to gain qualifications, the other skills can taught at home and socially so parents and teachers must work together to provide children with the positive aspects of the hidden curriculum.

Deschooling Society

Many students, especially those who are poor, intuitively know what the schools do for them. They school them to confuse process and substance. Once these become blurred, a new logic is assumed: the more treatment there is, the better are the results; or, escalation leads to success. The pupil is thereby "schooled" to confuse teaching with learning, grade advancement with education, a diploma with competence, and fluency with the ability to say something new. His imagination is "schooled" to accept service in place of value. Medical treatment is mistaken for health care, social work for the improvement of community life, police protection for safety, military poise for national security, the rat race for productive work. Health, learning, dignity, independence, and creative endeavour are defined as little more than the performance of the institutions which claim to serve these ends, and their improvement is made to depend on allocating more resources to the management of hospitals, schools, and other agencies in question.
(Deschooloing Socity, Illich, 1971: 1)

Ivan Illichthat argues that there was a 'hidden curriculum' in Western education that indoctrinated pupils, smothered creativity, induced conformity and encouraged an acceptance of the 'status quo'.

This view is very similar to Pete Seeger's in the song ‘What did you Learn in School Today’ posted in my previous post. I agree that both of them had a realistic view of schools during that era but I think that was because their was not as many job choices back then. Jobs were more vocational and I believe the schools were only preparing children for these vocational jobs. With the inventions of new technology and changing times perhaps the schools became out-dated and these hidden curriculums no longer suited the needs of children.

I think that for a hidden curriculum to work in a school it has to suit the needs of the children and be more realistic.  It would work by issuing a code of conduct that outlines the rules and regulations of the school, but these rules have to be realistic and there has to be a reason that represents the best needs of staff and students. The hidden curriculum would have to be lead by example, so teachers or older year students must abide to it and put it to good practice which will then make the students follow. Certain topics can be interlinked with subjects, for example; an ESL lesson on cyber bullying. A school must have an ethos or adapt a motto in which it outlines how students are expected to behave. In an effort not to hinder any flair and creativeness by making students work harder and concentrate a range of subjects and classroom activities must be offered in order for the students to apply each skill effectively and in the right situation.

Teachers and schools might exercise a constructive control over both positive and negative features of the intended and unintended hidden curriculum by educating all staff on the matter and holding regular meetings to discuss any issues or new opportunities. Schools can also introduce different themes to each month such as empathy, confidence, stress; the teachers will then teach these aspects of the hidden curriculum through regular class activities.  A code of conduct must constantly adapt to changing times and student needs. Anti bullying campaigns should be introduced and the school must adapt pastoral care lessons where a tutor mentors a group of students in physical, emotional and health education. This tutor can be the go to person when students are having difficulties or if students are not conforming to the ethos of the school. These tutors should also be in contact with parents to maintain the same hidden curriculum out of school hours, which also gives scope into controlling the effectiveness f the efforts made.

Changing Curriculum Principles

What did you learn in school today?

 

I have very vague memories of the curriculum I followed when I was at primary school because I moved to lots of different schools in many different countries. The work I remembered that made the biggest impact was project work. For every topic we covered we had a project which really made me think for myself and learn in a more creative way. I still have some of those projects stored away at home in England which really hammers home the idea that if you, as a teacher, make the extra effort, these learning tools can turn into future nostalgia. If I compare my primary education to the primary education at my school I can see a lot of similarities, for example; no testing and learning through inquiry, although through my experience and observation of primary children at my school, I am not convinced that this is an effective method and believe that a happy medium of teacher led learning with testing and student led research learning in best. Not just one or the other.

When I moved to Secondary School I followed the GCSE  and A Level Cambridge system, similar to what my students are studying today. In total I did 10 GCSE’s and 3 A Levels. The aims of my school curriculums were to teach the topics in the syllabus and the exam skills necessary to get satisfactory grades at GCSE and A level. Each subject was different and I really responded well to subjects which included hands on activities, group work and project based assignments. The curriculums at my school gave students the freedom to pick subjects which were more suited to them, for example, you wouldn’t find mathematicians doing the arty subjects. The curriculum mostly stuck to the national standards and I did not get the impression that ideas were expanded on in a more in depth manner. Teachers had the freedom, in some subjects, to choose which set texts or topics would be covered but it would have been more effective if the students were involved in this decision process.

All in all the aims of the secondary curriculums were met and were very effective. Perhaps going more into depth would have confused me as a student and knowing enough to pass was enough. I don’t think y Primary curriculums were effective but this is most likely because of the instability of going to 4 different schools.

The curriculum I followed in Secondary is very similar to the curriculum I teach now with the overall aim of covering the course curriculum. I try to incorporate imaginative and innovative ideas to deliver the topics I cover and unlike the school I went to, I avoid using one core text, instead I try to incorporate a variety of multi media, magazines, newspapers, class outings and lots of various books to convey the units of study the IGCSE course requires. I try to involve my students as much as I can giving them various web links to the curriculum or summary hand outs so they have a clear and concise expectation and overview. This was a major difference with my education, I as a student, was never involved in the planning process..