Teachers and the Curricula

I think that the standardization of the school curricula has disempowered teachers to some extent. The standardization of the curricula has taken away a lot of the creativity that teachers can bring to the classroom, which is what an all encompassing education should exhibit. Teachers worry so much about teaching so that students will pass the tests that they create a narrow knowledge base, which is something that they don’t want to do. It’s hard for teachers to balance educating for the test and education for knowing and thinking; it can’t be mindless test drills and repetition all the time. Students need to learn how to think creatively and critically in order to lead successful and productive lives.

These skills of thinking and reasoning should be taught and practiced by everyone in every content area. Moreover, although teachers may feel that they are disempowered in their practices as professionals they need to try and incorporate the creativity even though they have an outlined set of information that they need to teach in order for their students to pass standardized tests; ultimately re-empowering themselves. I am willing to push myself to make science meaningful for my students and to teach them a new literacy to include within the repertoire of literacies that they carry; this will teach them to be thoughtful, critical, and reflective individuals.