I enjoyed the conversations about metaphors....the funny thing is that I love this topic because I am a very concrete and linear thinker. My father in law told me that was a terrible thing to say about myself! I'd say that I "get" metaphors, but never initally go looking for them.
My question for discussion is about the Kliebard article. It appears that he is suggesting that curriculum is a metaphor, theory, idealistic, not practical. That's kind of ironic, isn't it? Teaching is a practial thing and yet the guide we use is not. It's kind of funny to me. At the same time, I appreciate that completely because it give me tons of freedom in terms of methods and style of teaching. So my question is...what is curriculum's use?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
A quick tangent (i mean potential outcome) from your message. I believe that metaphors although not tangible can be extremely practical. I think Kliebard did mention some examples of metaphors/models in science that help foster practical understanding.
ReplyDeleteExamples: Bohr's model of the atom - atoms are NOT clusters of tiny charged balls with electrons circling them in nice neat layered orbits. The model does however provide a powerful tool to predict the behavior of atoms in a variety of situations.
The metaphor as curriculum as process/journey may for some people provide the idea that transforms the binder of pages into a practical instructional tool.
I think curriculums are only seen as a metaphor if one sees it as that. I wonder how often curriculums are created with metaphor in mind. Seeing the curriculum as metaphor gives us license to explore the curriculum in more meaningful ways. But, what happens when the intended metaphor from the curriculum developer does not connect with the philosophical views of the teacher who must implement it?
ReplyDeletehey lana...perhaps another way to look at it would be to consider a school system without a curricula...my sense is that we need some overall plan...and i think in some areas there is a responsibility to be somewhat prescriptive...provincial exams were put back in in part to address this issue...but if we want to make our courses and classes alive we need to empower our teachers to take bold steps and be innovative...i like the idea that you know where you are going but are not sure of which mode of transport you will use...that was a bit like me when i was doing AP bio...good for you
ReplyDelete