Feb 24. Is curriculum design merely a method to deliver propaganda?

Or, how can we know whether we are teaching "the right stuff?" It is well and good to show how we can select, design , teach, and evaluate content. And we always give "lip service" to critical thinking skills. But do we really examine why we do what we do, and whether we are teaching the right material? Most often, we don't have time for such considerations. We, in the words of the Nike slogan, "just do it".

So, I would like to take some time examining simple things we miss.

The assumption in what follows is that curriculum lies between what we teach and how we teach it. 

1. I have just purchased a copy of the Manitoba Encyclopedia. Now here is a unique curriculum resource that Winnipeg Foundation has given free to every school in the province. Pretty nice. So in class, I will go over a few bothersome issues for me. At some level, the bothersome issues may take over from the value of the book. I will demonstrate in class...

2. I am also a reviewer for a Grade 3 set of math books. My task is to help assure that the book is culturally appropriate for Canadian audiences. Again, we shall take a look...

3. CBC Sunday Edition of Feb 24, 2008 began with a 3 minute editorial on the purposes of education... an editorial by Robert Enright. We will listen to the blog of that broadcast and relate it to "curriculum."

4. To get back to Marshall McLuhan, time permitting, I want to provide you with a concrete example of "the medium is the mesage." I will present (like last day, through music) a message... using two different media. If it works to you, then the message will be different in both cases, though the message is identical! in fact. I will present the message in three ways!