there’s plenty of room for
dissatisfaction with the current state of our schools. An awful lot
is wrong with them: the way conformity is valued over curiosity and
enforced with rewards and punishments, the way children are
compelled to compete against one another, the way curriculum so
often privileges skills over meaning, the way students are prevented
from designing their own learning, the way instruction and
assessment are increasingly standardized, the way different avenues
of study are rarely integrated, the way educators are systematically
deskilled .
Michelle Krill on 09 Feb 10"ISSUE: Many educators and advisory groups emphasize high standards as an important factor in improving the quality of education for all students. As a result, schools and districts are looking at ways to develop a high-quality curriculum that is based on standards. An important starting point for this effort is a carefully thought-out curriculum framework that reflects the standards and goals for which the education community is willing to be held accountable. Developing a standards-based curriculum requires changes in the way teachers teach and schools are run, so care must be taken to build capacity for all educators and to provide adequate time for implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the curriculum. The curriculum-development process also should provide opportunities for reflection and revision so that the curriculum is updated and improved on a regular basis. "
