| Subject: Re: Questions about the nation's curriculum |
Author:
victim
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Date Posted: 01:11:57 12/15/99 Wed
In reply to:
Former teacher
's message, "Questions about the nation's curriculum" on 04:07:36 12/14/99 Tue
> Who now develops the nation's curriculum?
There must be a branch or division of curriculum in the national department of education designing/developing education curriculum for the whole country.
>
> Why is it so uninspiring?
If it is so uninspiring, it must have been because I was a victim. I did not see any connection between what teachers were teaching and where I was living in the village. So the whole experience was so painful, I mean the schooling experience was because I would rather be out in the canoe, fishing or be with my folks clearing the jungle for our vegetable gardens than be in school. But there must have been connections somewhere which were never revealed to us, at least in lessons we took. We had Raka and Ranu but now I don't know what is being taught.
>
> Why aren't the most important basics, such as basic
> ways to deal with malaria, building houses to last,
> etc., taught by Grade 6, dealing with the reality that
> few people in the village advance beyond Grade 6?
Is this what Sir Matane means by education for living? I think his education philosophy is now twenty years old but it seems, nothing or little of it has been applied if at all. It seems there's no room for variation from the teachers' guide because there are penalties through the inspection system which does not reward the creative application of the guide to the everyday happenings of the surrounding communities and the experiences of the children.
>
> Has there ever been a thought to providing different
> resource materials and/or different curriculum in
> rural schools vs. urban ones?
That is a very good point. Shouldn't the curriculum design be decentralized now that other functions are decentralized to the provinces? Perhaps the national curriculum is too cumbersome because it tries to make uniform, what is essentially individual experiences and understandings into a single set of learning experiences.
What would be the advantages and disadvantages of a provincial or regional based curriculum unit. I see one advantage as that which you make, of making the curriculum relevant for different target groups, urban v. rural, coastal v. highlands, province A v. province B. And maybe by competition and adoption of best practice, tempered by perhaps national or regional subject exams, the education system in total can become more interesting for the students and teachers.
One disadvantage is the cost of such undertakings.
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