This is the time of year when alternating moments of planning and panic can be seen in social media groups, both for homeschool parents and those whose children are going to public or private school:
| "This is my first year of homeschooling! What curriculum should I use for second grade?" "Finishing up my curriculum purchases and thinking about doing something new for science. What do you recommend for biology?" "We SO need to change our boxed curriculum! Tell me what works for you!" "My child starts school next week - pray that she finds her tribe and makes good choices!" "Does anyone have experience with Mrs. Brown for fourth grade? We were hoping for someone else, but this is where our daughter was assigned!" |
Implicit in these cries for help is the idea that the choice of "curriculum" is primarily a consumer decision of what to purchase for the coming year, and that the "right" choice will make or break the year to come.
Interestingly, while homeschool parents agonize over this topic, parents whose kids are in public or private school tend to gloss over it entirely. After all, the "curriculum" is already in place, so what can a parent do about it anyway, except for occasional protests or "opting out" of an objectionable book?
But there are five things that ALL parents need to understand about curriculum in order to make choices for their children that will have great implications for their future!
Interestingly, while homeschool parents agonize over this topic, parents whose kids are in public or private school tend to gloss over it entirely. After all, the "curriculum" is already in place, so what can a parent do about it anyway, except for occasional protests or "opting out" of an objectionable book?
But there are five things that ALL parents need to understand about curriculum in order to make choices for their children that will have great implications for their future!
There are eight kinds of curriculum, and they aren't all in books.
The first curriculum type is the recommended curriculum. That is the goals, learning outcomes and "standards". In a traditional school system, these are set by the state, the school district, or the private school board. In a homeschool environment, these are going to be the various philosophies of education presented by publishers, co-ops, tutoring programs, and hybrid programs - and by parents who have thought it through, as well as by state legal homeschooling requirements. Some states have minimal requirement (South Carolina, for example, only requires that the broad levels of reading, writing, science, social studies, and math be taught), while other states have much more specific requirements (such as requiring state history or a certain number of hours of PE or computer science).
The second curriculum type is the written curriculum. In all school settings, this is the actual published books and materials adopted by the state, district, private school, co-op, tutoring program, university model, or homeschool parent This is what most people think of when they hear the word "curriculum", and is typically chosen to support the goals and learning outcomes of the "recommended" curriculum.
The third curriculum type is the taught curriculum, which is always more or less than what is in the published curriculum. Perhaps the classroom teacher skips a section of the textbook because it doesn't align with the state standards or because they run out of time because of state testing or other factors in the school year. Perhaps the homeschool parent does the same because of lack of time or lack of interest. Or he or she may decide to expand on what is in the textbook because of a student's interest in a certain area.
That leads us to the fourth type of curriculum, the supported curriculum. This includes all of the additional "materials", including field trips and other experiences that are not written down. These are in support of the written and recommended curricula, and it becomes part of the taught curriculum.
The fifth curriculum type is the assessed curriculum. This is the portion that is assessed through tests, quizzes, papers, etc. Some curriculum publishers will note in the teacher materials what points or what definitions will be on a test - that is clearly part of the assessed curriculum. (That does not mean that other points are not important, but not everything can be assessed on a practical level.) Some public schools spend a great deal of time on state assessment, which may or may not be helpful in evaluating a student's actual learning.
The sixth curriculum type is the learned curriculum. When all is said and done, this is the actual content, skills, and ideas that the student has acquired, whether or not it was on a test, whether or not it was part of the taught curriculum. This is dependent on SO many factors - how well it was taught, what kind of materials supported it, how much effort the student put into it, whether or not there were learning challenges and how those were met, how much time was spent on one subject compared to others, what other things were going on emotionally and physically that supported or countered learning - and so on!
The seventh curriculum type is the excluded curriculum. Newsflash - no curriculum includes everything. Those parts that are excluded are sometimes left out because they do not support the goals of the recommended curriculum. For example, public school generally exclude anything related to religious education because that is not part of the public school's goals. Many topics are excluded for lack of time - no history text book, for example can present everything that happened in every place and time. No literature class can cover more than a certain number of books in a year. Other topics, especially in more student-centered environments, are excluded for lack of interest. Every learning program will have gaps. You cannot avoid that.
The final curriculum type is the hidden curriculum, and this is the one that is so often missed by parents, regardless of their children's learning environment. The hidden curriculum is what is actually taught to students without specific intention. It consists of the unspoken biases, values, beliefs, and norms of the administrators, teachers, peers, and learning environment. It can be seen in a traditional school's extracurricular activities, choices of materials, decorations, and rules about technology. In a homeschool, it can be found in the choice of a co-op or other learning program, in other activities, in the family culture, and in activities with friends. Every learning environment has a hidden curriculum.
The second curriculum type is the written curriculum. In all school settings, this is the actual published books and materials adopted by the state, district, private school, co-op, tutoring program, university model, or homeschool parent This is what most people think of when they hear the word "curriculum", and is typically chosen to support the goals and learning outcomes of the "recommended" curriculum.
The third curriculum type is the taught curriculum, which is always more or less than what is in the published curriculum. Perhaps the classroom teacher skips a section of the textbook because it doesn't align with the state standards or because they run out of time because of state testing or other factors in the school year. Perhaps the homeschool parent does the same because of lack of time or lack of interest. Or he or she may decide to expand on what is in the textbook because of a student's interest in a certain area.
That leads us to the fourth type of curriculum, the supported curriculum. This includes all of the additional "materials", including field trips and other experiences that are not written down. These are in support of the written and recommended curricula, and it becomes part of the taught curriculum.
The fifth curriculum type is the assessed curriculum. This is the portion that is assessed through tests, quizzes, papers, etc. Some curriculum publishers will note in the teacher materials what points or what definitions will be on a test - that is clearly part of the assessed curriculum. (That does not mean that other points are not important, but not everything can be assessed on a practical level.) Some public schools spend a great deal of time on state assessment, which may or may not be helpful in evaluating a student's actual learning.
The sixth curriculum type is the learned curriculum. When all is said and done, this is the actual content, skills, and ideas that the student has acquired, whether or not it was on a test, whether or not it was part of the taught curriculum. This is dependent on SO many factors - how well it was taught, what kind of materials supported it, how much effort the student put into it, whether or not there were learning challenges and how those were met, how much time was spent on one subject compared to others, what other things were going on emotionally and physically that supported or countered learning - and so on!
The seventh curriculum type is the excluded curriculum. Newsflash - no curriculum includes everything. Those parts that are excluded are sometimes left out because they do not support the goals of the recommended curriculum. For example, public school generally exclude anything related to religious education because that is not part of the public school's goals. Many topics are excluded for lack of time - no history text book, for example can present everything that happened in every place and time. No literature class can cover more than a certain number of books in a year. Other topics, especially in more student-centered environments, are excluded for lack of interest. Every learning program will have gaps. You cannot avoid that.
The final curriculum type is the hidden curriculum, and this is the one that is so often missed by parents, regardless of their children's learning environment. The hidden curriculum is what is actually taught to students without specific intention. It consists of the unspoken biases, values, beliefs, and norms of the administrators, teachers, peers, and learning environment. It can be seen in a traditional school's extracurricular activities, choices of materials, decorations, and rules about technology. In a homeschool, it can be found in the choice of a co-op or other learning program, in other activities, in the family culture, and in activities with friends. Every learning environment has a hidden curriculum.
There are implications for each of these curriculum types.
Parents need to be aware of and have an opinion about all of these, beginning with the recommended curriculum.
Parents of children in public and private school need to know what the goals and guiding philosophy are for the system that is educating their students. Ideally, they should have adopted their own preferred educational philosophy with which they can evaluate the one in use. They should be aware of what materials are being used, both those officially adopted and others used in the classroom, in order to understand what is being taught and what is being excluded. If parents find items in the excluded curriculum that are of importance to their own educational philosophy and goals, they need to make plans to include them outside of school hours - through sports, clubs, lessons, service organizations, and faith-centered activities.
Homeschool parents need to understand that their children's education will consist of so much more than just what they purchase in the summer. Being aware of how these different curriculum types work together can help parents strategically and purposefully plan how what to exclude, how to assess, and extra activities to support their own recommended curriculum. This can free the homeschool parent from the trap of seeing the textbooks and the adopted "program" as the boss rather than a tool.
All parents need to be aware of the hidden curriculum that often has a greater impact on one's child than what is published and public. For many homeschool parents, this is one of the factors that drives them out of the traditional school environment, citing negative peer influences or negative attitudes toward faith or special needs as reasons for choosing to homeschool. But homeschool parents need to also be aware of the hidden curriculum present in co-ops, hybrid schools, athletic settings, churches, friendships, and the media to which our children are exposed. That hidden curriculum can be positive or negative, and the wise parent will be aware of that and keep it in mind in making decisions for how to use their limited time, energy, and resources in teaching their children.
Parents of children in public and private school need to know what the goals and guiding philosophy are for the system that is educating their students. Ideally, they should have adopted their own preferred educational philosophy with which they can evaluate the one in use. They should be aware of what materials are being used, both those officially adopted and others used in the classroom, in order to understand what is being taught and what is being excluded. If parents find items in the excluded curriculum that are of importance to their own educational philosophy and goals, they need to make plans to include them outside of school hours - through sports, clubs, lessons, service organizations, and faith-centered activities.
Homeschool parents need to understand that their children's education will consist of so much more than just what they purchase in the summer. Being aware of how these different curriculum types work together can help parents strategically and purposefully plan how what to exclude, how to assess, and extra activities to support their own recommended curriculum. This can free the homeschool parent from the trap of seeing the textbooks and the adopted "program" as the boss rather than a tool.
All parents need to be aware of the hidden curriculum that often has a greater impact on one's child than what is published and public. For many homeschool parents, this is one of the factors that drives them out of the traditional school environment, citing negative peer influences or negative attitudes toward faith or special needs as reasons for choosing to homeschool. But homeschool parents need to also be aware of the hidden curriculum present in co-ops, hybrid schools, athletic settings, churches, friendships, and the media to which our children are exposed. That hidden curriculum can be positive or negative, and the wise parent will be aware of that and keep it in mind in making decisions for how to use their limited time, energy, and resources in teaching their children.
Education is not morally neutral.
You should be able to see in all of these curriculum types that no educational approach is morally neutral. All start with "recommended" goals and philosophies and make decisions from there that support those values. Parents who are unaware of these, or who do not develop their own, will inevitable allow the values of others to influence their children - and homeschoolers are not immune to this. It is critically important for parents to intentionally decide what is important as they raise their children and then to evaluate how their chosen education system is, or is not, supporting those values. One reason we homeschool is because it is a better use of our limited resources (time, money, and energy) to direct our children's education ourselves than to counter all of these curriculum types outside of the traditional public or private school day. At the same time, we have carefully chosen the activities in which our children invest their time to support those values and goals that are most important to us.
Education is not limited to "school".
In our busy culture, it is so tempting to outsource our children's learning. We outsource academic learning to schools, online classes, or co-ops. We outsource mentoring to coaches and extracurricular teachers. We outsource spiritual learning to churches and youth programs. We outsource character development to programs or even to the media and peer relationships. Not all of these are wrong, per se, but in the process of outsourcing, we need to remember that we are our children's first teachers, and that while much learning begins in school, it continues outside of those traditional academic hours. If our children's spiritual growth is one of our highest values, we have to be intentional about that.
The common denominator in all of these curriculum types is YOU, the parent.
If your child is in a traditional learning environment, you may not be able to control most of the curriculum types shared here, but you can develop and adopt your own educational philosophy and values. You can educate yourself not only about the books being used, but on the teachers and the environment supporting the goals of the system you have chosen for your child (and yes, public school is a choice). You can understand what is included and excluded so that you can counter or add to it at home.
If you are a homeschool parent, you must also study and develop your own ideas and beliefs about education, and understand how those ideas inform the development of written curriculum options. What does it mean when materials and books are advertised as "Charlotte Mason" or "classical" or "traditional" or "unit studies"? Why might Latin be a part of it and does that matter to you? What does it mean when a online or in-person academic program is described in those terms? How much of your children's learning are you comfortable outsourcing to others, and what philosophy do they have? What hidden curriculum is influencing your children in your own home and neighborhood, and are you okay with that?
If you are a homeschool parent, you must also study and develop your own ideas and beliefs about education, and understand how those ideas inform the development of written curriculum options. What does it mean when materials and books are advertised as "Charlotte Mason" or "classical" or "traditional" or "unit studies"? Why might Latin be a part of it and does that matter to you? What does it mean when a online or in-person academic program is described in those terms? How much of your children's learning are you comfortable outsourcing to others, and what philosophy do they have? What hidden curriculum is influencing your children in your own home and neighborhood, and are you okay with that?
Moving forward!
As you start your school year, be aware of these types of curriculum influencing your children. Be creative about how you are going to support, augment, or counter them in your home. And be intentional with how you will be your child's primary teacher, coach, and cheerleader in your journey to bring him or her up in the discipline of the Lord!
RSS Feed
