For our first assignment, I have chosen to explore the hidden curriculum. An article by Cassie J. Bronwell entitled “Starting where you are, revisiting what you know: A letter to a first-year teacher addressing the hidden curriculum” has offered an excellent starting point into this topic. Bonwell begins by explaining the concept of hidden curriculum, and describes it as, “the learning that is not directly reflected within the official school curriculum,” (2018). She goes on to describe some its effects on students, particularly in regard to reinforcing a classist society which oppresses and marginalizes certain students over others. Highlighting the work of other scholars, Bronwell explains that while hidden curriculum can be a tool for maintaining the status quo from generation to generation, understanding its effects can help schools to be a place “for contestation and resistance,” (2018). 

Bronwell then discusses her own experiences that helped further her understanding of how hidden curriculum can be enforced in schools in relation to racial oppression. At her first school, where the students were predominantly people of colour, she explains that the teachers were focused on physical control of their students and enforced the idea of racial oppression, while at her new school, where the students are predominantly white, the teachers allowed the students complete control over their bodies and far more freedom in moving about the school. While this is anecdotal, she expresses the importance that, “all of us—from teachers and teacher educators to parents and policymakers—must not only recognize the hidden curriculum of school, but also examine, justify, and understand our own values through a critical lens,” (2018). 

While this offers a great starting point for the first assignment, more research is required. Bronwell draws attention to several scholars in particular on the subject of hidden curriculum, including Jean Anyon and Jane Martin; my next steps will include reading more on the topic of hidden curriculum by these authors in order to find suitable articles for the assignment. I am especially interested in the notion of using schools as a space for contestation of reproducing the status quo, and also the effects of hidden curriculum on reproducing racial oppression. Perhaps I will be able to locate articles that encompass both of these topics for my Critical Summary.

Cited:
Cassie J. Brownell (2017) Starting where you are, revisiting what you know: A letter to a first-year teacher addressing the hidden curriculum, Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, 14:3, 205-217, DOI: 10.1080/15505170.2017.1398697

Our current ideas and practices of curriculum development are largely based on the work of Ralph Tyler, and are starting to seem outdated. Curriculum is viewed as a product, with less focus on curriculum as a process or praxis. The article, “Curriculum Theory and Practice” by Mark Smith outlines the issues of viewing and practicing curriculum in this way. One issue is that it focuses too heavily on a premade plan, which tends to place most value on the “products of [educators’] actions,” and places next to no value on the interactions that may occur with the learners, (Smith, M.K. 1996, 2000). Another issue is that the Tyler rationale places too much value on the trivial objectives of the curriculum and overlooks the overall desired outcomes of learning, (Smith, M.K. 1996, 2000). This leads to the third problem outlined by Smith, that teachers often have difficulties in relaying the objectives to students, and this takes away from the interactions which can occur between educators and learners, (1996, 2000). And lastly, viewing curriculum as a product overlooks the result of those interactions that occur in the classroom and takes value away from the learning that can occur in those interactions, (Smith, M.K. 1996, 2000). 

One of the limitations of the Tyler rationale is that it focuses mainly on the actions of the teacher; it places most value on whether or not the teacher can accomplish a set list of objectives. This takes responsibility away from the student in regards to their own learning. In my own schooling experiences, I scored well on tests and assignments, and demonstrated my knowledge of course content, but I was often regurgitating information that was “told” to me by my teachers. It wasn’t until I got to university that I was pushed to learn for myself, and my questions to my professors were/are often answered with other questions or vague statements to focus my learning and place more responsibility for that learning on myself. Another limitation of the rationale is that it takes power away from learners in deciding what is a part of their education. For example, if a student asks a question that is related to the content of the lesson, yet not a part of the content, sometimes a teacher will not take the time to answer the question because it is not a main objective of the lesson. This focus on a list of objectives can quash the natural curiosity of students. 

Looking back on my learning, some of my most memorable exchanges with teachers were not directly related to the curriculum. For example, my high school biology teacher taught me some of my most important note-taking, reading, and studying skills which I still implement today to help me learn and retain information better. This was not directly a part of the curriculum, but perhaps this was one benefit of my schooling experience mainly following the Tyler rationale; that is to say, if the importance of that class not been learning a preset list of objectives, perhaps she would not have taught us strategies with which to learn those objectives so effectively. Another benefit of the Tyler rationale is that it gives a general baseline of skills and information that students are expected to know upon graduation. This allows for a more even starting point when entering into the workforce later in life; though much of the specific information may be quickly forgotten, having learned that information in the first place can allow us to move on to higher learning and critical thinking when entering university or learning a new skill set for a career. 

Cited:
Smith, M. K. (1996, 2000) ‘Curriculum theory and practice’ the encyclopedia of informal education, http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm.

The article, “The Problem of Common Sense” brings forth many points that are essential for a new teacher to begin to think about in order for us to work towards the goal of anti-oppressive education. Kumashiro describes common sense as the ideas, values, and norms that are taken-for-granted, and what everyone should know; those common sense ideas define what, when, why, and how we teach. That is to say, “common sense tells us that this and only this is what schools should be doing,” (Kumashiro, 2009). These embedded ways of thinking often reinforce oppression in schools by favouring certain students or groups, and disadvantaging others. They allow us to keep the status quo and avoid dealing with uncomfortable thoughts, discussions, and changes that could transform or school system to be anti-oppressive.

Common sense ideas of what is normal in our school system and classroom will ultimately affect and determine not only what, but how we teach. Paying attention to what we consider as common sense is very difficult; sometimes it is simply difficult to recognize a certain way of thinking/acting, and sometimes it is recognizable but difficult to want to change, as those common sense ideas can be very comforting to us. However, it is important to see these ideas in order to challenge the current prescribed methods of teaching. It is necessary to challenge them because, “research suggests that moral and social issues arise whether or not teachers intend to address them,” (2009). Therefore, it is important to pay attention to and ultimately change our common sense ideas in order to improve the experiences of our students that are treated differently or harmfully in our current system; address and change the knowledge that students have about those who are labelled, consciously or unconsciously, as different; and challenge the dynamics in our society that privilege certain groups and marginalize others. 

There are some common sense ideas surrounding curriculum and pedagogy that I will bring into my career as a teacher. One idea is the notion that proper grammar is not only professional, but necessary to be enforced in schools. While this is somewhat true, as far as getting one’s point across, it marginalizes many students who struggle with arbitrary spelling and grammar rules that are seen as professional and upper-class. This is something that reinforces classism in society. Another common sense notion I’ve recently become aware of is what is important to be taught in high school history class; based on my personal experience and discussion with others from Saskatchewan, our social and history classes tend to focus on early Canadian history and Western European history. Perhaps this is because many people in Saskatchewan have emigrated from that area. However, the common sense idea that this is what is important to know and be tested on perpetuates the notion that those who are White are dominant in society, and tends to ignore many other cultures that are just as prevalent in Saskatchewan as those of White European descent. Some other common sense norms that I carry include the idea that age and grade milestones are appropriate for everyone, testing is an effective way to demonstrate learning, and that our curriculum covers the content that is crucial for students to learn. Going forward, it will be crucial to step back and think about what I am learning and doing in my classroom in order to challenge my own common sense notions about teaching, and work to undo some of them in order to move towards a more anti-oppressive learning environment. 

Cited:
The problem of common sense (From Kumashiro. (2009). Against Common Sense: Teaching and Learning Toward Social Justice, pp. XXIX – XLI).