How can the children’s ideas and interests be respected?
With the publication of A Nation at Risk in 1983, which described a “rising tide of mediocrity,” priorities shifted almost entirely away from “undemanding and superfluous high school offerings.” The report quoted survey results that described what the American public wanted curriculum to include:
More than 75 percent of all those questioned believed every student planning to go to college should take 4 years of mathematics, English, history/U.S. government, and science, with more than 50 percent adding 2 years each of a foreign language and economics or business. The public even supports requiring much of this curriculum for students who do not plan to go to college (National Commission on Excellence, 1983). The public response to this report ultimately led to the writing of state academic standards and the No Child Left Behind legislation of 2001.
Many believe that this development has occurred at the expense of other valuable parts of the curriculum, especially the arts and physical education. Advocates for these curriculum areas point to an increasing body of research that documents the ways in which the arts (Chapman, 2005, 2007; Jalongo, 2002; Whitfield, 2009) and physical education (Prosser & Jiang, 2008; Smith & Lounsbery, 2009; Tremarche, Robinson, & Graham, 2007) support cognitive functioning and academic performance. Early childhood educators, as discussed in Chapter 1, continue to fight for curriculum content that is developmentally appropriate and balances children’s interests and experiences with what adults think they need to know. As we explore different curriculum options later in this chapter, consider how the question of “what’s worth knowing” can vary significantly from one curriculum to another. Think about how the experiences children bring to the early childhood education setting will vary by culture and circumstances. Look for indications about how each curriculum responds to this challenge.
Implementation
“An official curriculum is meaningless unless it is translated by teachers into an operational curriculum” (Posner, 2004, p. 191). The delicate dance of choosing and acting out strategies that ensure desired learning in real preschool and school settings may be the hardest part of teaching. Research shows that perhaps the best predictor of high-quality education is the skill with which curriculum is implemented (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). All decisions about the technical aspects of implementing curriculum that we mentioned at the beginning of this section must be made with respect to the context and culture of the classroom, school, and community.
As we look at different early childhood curricula, imagine implementing them yourself.
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