Week 1

So I ended up posting at the Core Knowledge Blog, a blog which delves into general issues facing today's educators, as well as issues surrounding the implementation of a national curriculum in the United States. Core Knowledge is a non-profit organization which advocates for a national curriculum for the United States. Nearly all European countries have a national curriculum, as well as Japan, whereas in the United States, states traditionally have had jurisdiction over what is taught in their schools.

I first commented on an article that was posted on March 3. In a nutshell, the article highlighted that the idea that the United States implement a national curriculum once was extremely taboo, but now, the nation's governors, a growing numbers of education leaders, and even the new Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, are backing the idea. Having once taken an undergraduate class on education reform, I chimed in by saying that the highest performing countries (academically) have a national curriculum. I believe that there are many benefits to a national curriculum. So many states have standards that are deemed to be inadequate, and the incentive for state's to implement high standards are very low given NCLB's mandate that all school's make adequate yearly progress.

I added that there is a lot to be gained if 100,000 eighth grade math teachers (as an example) taught to the same standards. So many resources could be built geared towards improving performance nation-wide. We have thousands of competing curriculums in the United States, and this deters companies and organizations from profitably producing quality resources. One streamlined curriculum could ensure that all teachers be trained adequately in their area. It allows teachers from all over the country to share best practices, and given the mobility of our population, it ensures that students can pick up from where they last left off when they move. Also, parents can be brought on board in a more meaningful manner, since they will know exactly what their children are responsible for in each grade.

I cautioned that a national curriculum should mandate "what to learn" and not "how to learn." It would be a crushing imposition on the nation's schools if particular educational philosophies and programs be adopted. I, for one, would be very upset if the "workshop model" be universally adopted. As a math teacher, I believe very strongly that students must master the standard algorithms for each topic in mathematics. While discovery and experiential learning can make learning more meaningful, at the end of the day, students must be exposed to the right way (or ways) of doing things. I do not want a national curriculum to stifle the way I approach teaching mathematics.

A gentleman responded to my post, echoing my sentiment that "what" should be learned is the appropriate jurisdiction for the national government. He also said that the movement towards a national curriculum is heating up, as Sen. Chris Dodd has already drafted legislation towards that end. He said that the constitutionality of the matter is not in question, since the legislation does not specifically mandate that states adopt the curriculum (this might violate states' rights), but that it will withhold funding if states do not (a little loophole in federalism).