Educational Philosophy & Curriculum Definition

One’s educational philosophy affects many of one’s professional choices. From the choice of what to teach to the preference of where to work, people draw on the framework of their personal educational philosophy. I tend toward the essentialist approach, where education is based on cognitive and intellectual skills. Students should be taught to understand and observe the world. However, there is a pragmatic side to my philosophy. That is, I want to teach in a way that is relevant and leads to authentic problem solving. I think these philosophies merge well because the next step after observing and understanding is to apply the knowledge to solve real problems. We should do everything we can to produce higher level thinkers who can work out solutions to unique problems. These problem solvers will be productive citizens. Thus, the merging of the essentialist and pragmatist philosophies.

Of all the curriculum definitions in our assignment, the best I found was Evelyn Sowell’s: Curriculum is “what is taught to students, both intended and unintended information, skills, and attitudes.” This encompasses everything we do at school. The curriculum includes the phonics, number sense, comprehension, and map skills and their corresponding state standards codes in our lesson plan book. But the curriculum also includes the social skills of getting along in groups, standing in lines, taking turns, respecting authorities, and valuing learning. This set of skills is sometimes referred to as the “hidden curriculum”, a term first used by Philip Jackson in 1968. In some ways, the hidden curriculum is as important as the skills and facts. I want to make sure that the message I am sending in my hidden curriculum is that all students can learn, everyone should try to work to the best of his/her ability, and no one should settle for less than they are capable of. I do not want to be guilty of teaching students they are only good enough for a particular place in society, whether it be on the top rung of the ladder or the bottom.

To sum it up, my personal definition of curriculum is everything I teach, whether explicitly, through modeling, or discussion. This includes all the standards and benchmarks for content as well as attitudes towards school and learning.