Curriculum and Society: Rethinking the Link

Curriculum and Society: Rethinking the Link Author(s): Alicia de Alba Source: International Review of Education / Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft / Revue Internationale de l'Education, Vol. 45, No. 5/6, Education, Equity and Transformation (Nov., 1999), pp. 479-490


First off, I don’t understand how people type papers like this one. This research is nothing but $500 words that lose me half way through a paragraph. I wish there were cliff notes for articles like this because I need this information in laymen’s terms. I read this entire article and the following is what I got out of it and how I feel about what I think I read.

The article talks about social influence and we should change the way we approach and teach given subjects. Society and the media play a big role in what schools teach I think.I have never seen the phrase “Curricular Overdetermination” but I really like it. It makes me think about schools teaching to a test. Beliefs, opinions and ideas are thrown out the window and what is proven and tested is what is taught. As teachers we have to avoid ‘touchy’ subjects or emotional subjects. We have to take the pledge of allegiance out of school, we better not talk about any ‘powers to be in the sky’ and we also should never say we get two weeks off for Christmas because it is winter break.

I think schools are dumbed down in order to get the most students through as quickly and painlessly as possibly. I think society plays too much into the decisions made in schools. I think the school systems, curriculums and practices worked just fine in my parents and grandparents generations, but the direction that schools have gone is scary. I don’t know if anyone has the answer to fix the problems but I am open for suggestions.