What is Curriculum?

As we begin this course of 21st century curriculum of all of the concepts we have been asked to reflect upon, I think the question of "What is Curriculum?" is the most interesting and relevant to me.

Somewhere in the course material it said we should write down our one sentence definition as to what curriculum is and a few things came to mind; one was curriculum is "what" we teach, but not "who" or "how" we teach. The thought that immediately followed was that in so many ways, in my grade 8 classroom, the curriculum is irrelevant; I mean this in the sense that the topics are at times provided as curriculum but it is the skills, choices and decisions that the kids are making that is the true teaching, and that can be reached regardless, or in some cases despite, the curriculum.

Then feeling a little bit confused as to how to answer this question I went to the dictionary. First I looked at my old, thick classroom dictionary that is duct taped over the name and spine, and it states, "Curriculum is the course offered by an educational institution." (no citation available because I am not getting up, bad English teacher, bad). And I thought, okay that does not tell me very much.

Then I went to dictionary.com and among several definitions I liked the one that stated, "the regular or a particular course of study in a school, college, etc." I particularly like the word "regular" because I have no idea what that is supposed to mean.

What I also liked on dictionary.com was the explanation of the origin of the word, "[Origin: 1625–35; < class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">curr(ere) to run + -i- -i- + -culum -cule2] ."

In many ways that "what" I teach of the curriculum fits the origin of the word the best as there is a natural course of action to much of what I do (at least to me and I hope to my students); it feels as though there is a progression of both skills and topics. But I still don't have a definitive answer to the question, "What is curriculum?"

This year I am teaching Social Studies and L.A. and the vastly opposite natures of the curriculum never ceases to amaze me, nor does it help to clear up any of the confusion I have around the topic.

The grade 8 SS curriculum is History and Ancient Civilizations. This is now my sixth year teaching it, and even as the new curriculum came out a couple of years ago, very little has changed. In grade 8 SS I am supposed to cover as much as I can from the history of the prehistoric man, through Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and onward. I have a textbook (that I/we use sometimes) and it is very straight forward.

Through this curriculum we also practice critical reading and thinking, note taking skills, study skills, test taking skills, research skills, public speaking and presenting, confidence, organizational skills, developing a work ethic, and a whole bunch of other stuff, and the curriculum or topics are seocndary to these underlying lessons and work behind it. So which part of this is curriculum?

In LA it was the complete opposite and the following was something I wrote as part of my narrative for another class:

In my first year teaching English Language Arts, I was completely surprised by the freedom I had within the curriculum in Language Arts. When I asked what I had to teach specifically, I was told that beyond the general objectives, it was entirely up to me. The school had novel sets, and other materials I could use, but I could also order the books of my choice, and pretty much delve into any topic I wanted. I was both amazed and awed by this responsibility, and it continues to be another privilege that I do not take for granted. Teaching Language Arts allows me the unique opportunity to bring myself and my personality to the subject matter. I certainly weigh the needs, abilities and interests of my students, but I also make choices that relate to my own experience, and allow me to bring my strengths and expertise, as well as my passions, to the classroom.

I still appreciate this very much today, but it still doesn't really answer the question, "What is curriculum?" but more and more, as I write all of this, I think that I was on the right track with one of my first insticts, in that it doesn't really matter.

Because ultimately I may talk about and delve into a whole bunch of different topics, and I may also strive to creat opportunities for the development of skills and ideas, but what I teach is not actually a what, but a who, and who I teach are my students.

This is not a completed thought but I am out of time and posting for today