Before:

I have not really thought about the way that curriculum was developed. It always seemed to be this list of things that just appeared in teachers hands or their mailboxes when we talked about it in past education classes. There has to be someone or more than one someone who develops curriculum and makes the decisions on what students are to learn. I think some sort of panel or committee of people educated enough to know what should be taught makes a list of the things they value and that they want to have students learn. After that there is deliberation and the needless topics and pieces of information are weeded out. The order in which the topics of the curriculum are probably vaguely in order of what is most important to least important so that if only the first few points are read the more important information is seen.Cultural, political, and religious biases are most likely injected into the importance and weight put onto some topics and not others. The document is then worded and polished into a mess of words that really don’t have a clear vision of what is to be taught. Fancy letterhead is added to make it official and after that, it is deemed the new curriculum for that age group of students in that specific place. It is handed out to every teacher in that specific place and is taught even though it doesn’t entirely make sense. Since it is now the curriculum it cannot be argued and there can be no clarifications for points that are too ill-defined for teachers to actually know what it is they are to teach.

After:

the curricula for schools is created by positions in the federal government system. People in cabinet positions specialized in education are tasked with developing the curriculum but there are others who may have a say in the content of the document. other political leaders may input their ideas into what should be on the list of things to teach or if there is a deliberation process more people may see the workings of the curriculum. Implementation of the curriculum is the job of the education administration

In reading this chapter I gained a new understanding of how the curriculum is created. It changed my view of the process. The creation of curriculum has a little more substance than just one individual impacting the learning of an entire country or province. The influence of government and politics is overwhelming to me because I am not one to get involved in politics due to the sensitive subject matter involved. Due to the heavy linkage of curriculum to policy and politics, there is an aspect of curriculum that is always changing. Teachers will need to be able to adapt to these changes that come into the curriculum with the changing of political leaders and As I progress into my teaching career my goal is to become more involved with political topics and to become more of an activist for changes I believe in involving education.

What are the most worrisome aspects of education changing with the tides of politics? How much can curriculum change with the ringing in of a new politician?