Response for 9/29

What responsibility do teachers have in being active contributors to the debates, development, and implementation of policies that impact curriculum and classroom practice?

This question can really be broken down into two separate parts. What responsibility do teachers have in the creation of classroom standards or curriculums and what responsibility do teachers have in those standards implementation in the classroom? It is definitely two different questions!

In regards to the first question, I believe teachers should take a much larger responsibility for what is being decided in regards to the standards and curriculum changes that are being made. Unfortunately, the way that the standards system is set up in this country right now, as evident by Ross's article, do not leave room for teachers' opinions in the planning process. This is unacceptable. Who better to help plan curriculum changes in this country than the teachers who are going to be teaching those curriculums. Teachers are the ones with the experience of being in the classroom and teaching the children. They know what the kids will and won't respond to, and they have seen what has had the strongest impact on the students and how it has affected them. It is clear through his writing that Ross agrees with this. He states that, "...curriculum reform efforts must tackle head-on the conditions of teaching and learning in schools and must embrace, rather than marginalize, teachers as the key element in any transformation of curriculum." (221) This is not to say that the government officials, historians, and researchers should not play any part in the curricular planning process. I do see how they are very helpful in their knowledge of the current educational trends and the bigger educational picture, but not including the opinion of teachers whatsoever downplays their role in the classroom to that of "implementer."

In regards to the second question, I believe the teachers should hold the majority of the responsibility of how the curriculums are implemented in the classroom. It is their classrooms after all and I don't believe it should be the right of anyone to tell a teacher "how" they should teach. On the other hand, I do believe that there are a few other who deserve some say in the matter as well. The school administrators should be given some say in that, just as it is the teacher's classroom, it is the administrators' school. In the end, the learning that is or is not going on in that school ultimately falls onto their shoulders. The other party that I think should have some say is the parents of the children who are being taught. They are paying money (whether it be through tuition or taxes) to give their children the education they think they deserve and therefore should have some say in the matter. While I believe the majority of the responsibility should most definitely lay with the teachers, these other groups should have some say.

though these are valid questions, the current system we are in does not allow for the use of their answers. As much as I may believe that teachers should have a say in the planning and implementation of new curriculums, it does not do much good if the system is pushing in the opposite direction. The system is going to have to change before we can put the answers to these questions into practice!!!