Learning Community

Introduction

There are an endless number of acronyms and common terminology that is used on a routine basis within the inner realms of the education discipline. One of these terms that carry an exorbitant amount of attention is the term known as curriculum. What exactly is curriculum and why does this particular element of the educational system receive such grand attention? The first stages of understanding the wide scope of importance of curriculum would first be to attain an adequate definition of the term. Curriculum simply put is a plan for achieving goals (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2013). Merely defining such terminology is not sufficient enough, fully engulfing its perceptions, the magnitude of the role it plays, inception of curriculum, curriculum mapping/planning, also have to be taken into consideration. Curriculum derives from the Latin word which means “a course for racing” ("Teacher's mind resources," 2011). Professionals such as teachers, administrators, among others within the profession truly embrace this derivative of the term curriculum especially in current times when our “curriculum” is driven by state and federal mandates as well as holding individual schools, teachers, and administrators accountable via legislation such as No Child Left Behind, and tying curriculum goals and outcomes to standardized testing such as the American College Test(ACT) and the Scholastic Aptitude test(SAT) both are mainstay instruments that measure a schools performance; curriculum based performance. The question remains as we define and explore curriculum, who sets the plan or curriculum? How is it organized? Are there philosophies that segregate unique perspectives?

American public schools have seen multiple changes in standardiz...

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...ves that existentialism is the superior educational curriculum theory, in practice and in theory, this student centered basis for setting goals if implemented correctly will be an experience the learner will own, own for the rest of their lives, not mere memorization but fundamentally sound experiences. This not only is the primary reason for making it my choice of theorems, but also ties into my own personal philosophy of education, a belief that each student should be given ownership of their destiny, a choice. This researcher is a strong proponent of the Socratic method, allowing students a choice in activities, to become self aware, more open to experience new ideas and exposure to different cultures, it is less rigid and more open to the world they (current and future students) will be thrust into as they graduate and decide which trek their lives will take.