Wow....lots to talk about (Prof. Hlynka, you missed a good one!!)I finally get what everyone means by our "American Curriculum". Okay, I'll eat my words. However, now I am wondering if that is true in every industry. Is our rapid progress in health care (specifically cancer care) due to American research as well? It seems quite deflating to think about that. So, why aren't Canadians conducting more research? Is it simply a representation of our population? I guess we'll have to get cracking guys!
Secondly, the article/curriculum the Orest gave us was certainly interesting. I can understand the perspective of the church. They are an institution that is grounded in some long standing values, but what I don't understand is why are they opposed to the whole thing? For example, there is a section about violence toward women. I would think the the church would want their children to learn about this. It is an equality issue. On that note....I was baptized and confirmed in a Christian church. I went through Sunday school and confirmation classes. We were taught to accept everyone, not to judge people and most importantly forgive and forget. So, the way I'd look at this curriculum is to accept the content because I was taught to accept people no matter what their preferences are. This leads me to the idea of postmodernism. I heard recently from a colleague (after a lengthy conversation about students of today's society) that the number of people who attend church has dropped significantly (I'm not sure whether that is in Canada, Manitoba or locally in this area). I wonder if it due to postmodernism and all the accepted views of topics today or the lack of time on parents' parts, or a general disregard for religious values. Either way, if people aren't going to church as much, how much weight does the church have in public school education. (keep in mind that I'm not disrespecting the church, just asking a question)
Lastly, I thorougly enjoyed the Science curriculum analysis (it didn't have cubes or anything though....)Just kidding. Great job!
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this whole discussion brings up and interesting issues about private schools. What do private schools have the right to teach their students? Obviously, as outlined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms a school can not teach hate. That begs the question....does rejecting a curriculum that is seemingly aimed at fostering acceptance suggest they are now currently teaching unacceptance?
ReplyDeletePersonally, i don't think so (that doesn't mean i don't think they should teach the Gender Course..i'm not sure yet) but i'm guessing that is what the public is thinking.
I agree with you Lana, that the principles of Christianity, as i have been taught and understand them as outlined in the scriptures, center on love and acceptance. However, we've all commented many times how the moral fiber of our students (and society in general) seems on a steady decline and you mentioned that church membership and attendance is also on the decline. Is it that crazy an assumption to feel those two situations are related? Do the last few generations lack the internal "compass" Graham mentioned in his blog? Is it because they don't have a single path to follow....and they are tempted by the multiple paths allowed in a postmodern society?
This issue is a tough one? on one hand i always fear the church changes too slow in response to society...on the other hand society is so obviously on the wrong path (social, environmental, economical issues).... tough one.