The Saber-Tooth Curriculum can be considered a satirical version of modern day education. In the story, a character called New Fist is trying to construct a basic curriculum on how to “grab fish with bare hands,” “horse clubbing,” and finally “saber tooth tiger scaring with fire.” He would be considered a progressive educator, by our modern day standards, because of his desire to improve and invoke change into the current system. As he put it, the children had no purpose in their play, and he felt the need to structure their activities. It would also serve the future of the tribe in that the children would acquire the skills for the survival of themselves and the tribe.
His system seemed to work until some of the conservative elder members of the tribe resisted the modernization or change. They can be equated to several members of the educational community (administration, board members, veteran teachers), or even associates of education (parents) who feel that current values are fine and in no need of improvement. Usually those that are reluctant to change have either implemented the current system and do not feel it is flawed, or are just afraid to partake on new ventures because of complacency in their lives.
Then as years go on, the system in the satire became obsolete, and needed updating, as similarly in the current move to invoke technology into all curriculums. But what is missing is the need to teach the basics, the concepts that will get them to the point where they can build and improve on curriculum.
We are so caught up in teaching modern, new-improved lessons, as well as upper level concepts to students at earlier ages and grades every year. We often take for granted that the basic concepts are the most important aspect that we should be instilling. Anything taught above that will have its rightful place later.
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3 comments:
Carl, we do need to incorporate basic fundamentals and life skills into our lessons. As we add new courses and concepts to our curriculum, we have a tendancy to overlook some skills that have been reduced on the scale of importance, such as spelling, grammar, math computation, and trade skills.You are right, I think it is necessary to prepare our youth for there future, but I am not quite sure that our system is doing justice to our society as a whole. Good point!
Isn't it hard to prepare kids for the future and future jobs when in many cases, we don;t know what those jobs are or skills they will need for them!
Maybe those basics should go back to Greek times such as the fundation of philosophical inquiry and rational judgment. Once students master these skills, any future iamagined job is theirs for the taking!
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