{"id":7656,"date":"2026-03-03T04:17:58","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T09:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stager.tv\/?p=7656"},"modified":"2026-03-03T04:21:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T09:21:22","slug":"educations-most-dangerous-idea-curriculum-2006","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stager.tv\/?p=7656","title":{"rendered":"Education\u2019s Most Dangerous Idea? Curriculum (2006)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"\/<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Let\u2019s trick \u2018em into learning!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Not published by District Administration – October 2006
\u00a92006 Gary S. Stager<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A friend called a few months back and asked me to tell him my most dangerous idea. What a great question I thought! My answer, \u201cCurriculum is bad.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allow me to make the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can turn to almost any page in a textbook, article or website and find an outlandish, inaccurate or confusing idea some curriculum writer thought was brilliant. Even the most well-intentioned efforts at relevance or context stretch credulity, often in a hilarious fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indigestion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A recent article in Edutopia<\/em>(July 2006) presented a new method for making connections between art and math, called Aesthetic Computing. The following example demonstrates how the method might be used to teach teens about slope intercept form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aesthetic computing attempts to reach those frustrated by traditional math instruction by presenting abstract mathematical concepts in a more creative and personal way\u2026 For example, a standard equation for graphing lines on a slope such as y = mx + b might become a hamburger, with y representing the whole burger, m referring to the meat, and x standing in for spices. Multiplication is indicated by the fact that the meat and spices are mixed together, and b is added to represent hamburger buns. Students then write a story about the burger or draw a picture of it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What?<\/em> How is drawing a burger related to slope? One abstraction (slope) is replaced by even greater abstractions. The concept of variable is muddled and equations are presented wrongly as recipes. Worst of all, this is referred to as a hands-on project when it\u2019s just coloring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fumble!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Corporations often write curriculum tie-ins to their products. Some are shameless marketing ploys while others are more altruistic. The NFL recently announced a $1.5 million marketing campaign to get kids more active and fight obesity –  a noble public service gesture. It\u2019s not their fault that curriculum is bad. They\u2019re just playing along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A language arts lesson has students create and perform a rap that demonstrates action verbs. A science lesson has kids play scooter tag, with one group of students representing cholesterol and another representing healthy hearts.<\/em> (Associate Press, 10\/19\/06)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NFL might solve two problems simultaneously. The Kansas City Chiefs can become the Cholesterols and the Redskins, the Healthy Hearts. Racist mascots could be replaced with scientific models while local school kids rap about vascular plaque. Multiple-choice comprehension questions appear on the Jumbotron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lola Falana Math<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Textbook publishers use graphics and word problems to recycle old content. Units often begin with \u201creal-life\u201d content to help students make \u201cconnections.\u201d One 7th<\/sup> grade math text has a photo of Walter Matthau dressed as Einstein. I know what the curriculum designers are thinking. Kids are just nuts<\/em> for Walter Matthau!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text below the photo reads something like, \u201cIn the classic motion picture, I.Q., Matthau plays Albert Einstein. Meg Ryan is his niece and Tim Robbins is a mechanic with a crush on her\u2026 Later in the film Tim Ryan\u2019s character asks the niece, \u2018How old is your uncle?\u2019 Einstein overhears the question and yells from the other room, \u201910 times 2 to the third.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get it? They\u2019re teaching exponents. What a hoot! All of the film stuff was unnecessary trivia that distracts from what should have been a simple arithmetic problem \u2013 not that anyone would ever<\/em> express their age in exponential form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The point of exponential notation is what? How does it work? Why?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surely, the mere invocation of Einstein in the passage makes this a science lesson too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I Know What You\u2019re Thinking<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gary is against \u201cbad\u201d curriculum like the examples above. No, I oppose all of it. Curriculum is the arrogant folly of adults who don\u2019t know the children who will play cholesterol scooter soccer, yet are self-ordained to prescribe what those students should know and when they should know it. Curriculum is the weapon of choice for ranking, sorting and labeling children. It is indifferent to individual needs, talents or desires. Worst of all, curriculum creates an impermeable barrier between teacher and student. Without curriculum, failure would more difficult as would the assorted pathologies of discipline problems, drop-out rates and violence that plague too many schools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s trick \u2018em into learning! Not published by District Administration – October 2006\u00a92006 Gary S. Stager A friend called a few months back and asked me … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[446,427,429,431],"tags":[664,432,473],"class_list":["post-7656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-classic-stager","category-education-policy","category-project-based-learning","category-teaching","tag-constructionism","tag-gary-stager","tag-school-reform"],"yoast_head":"\nEducation\u2019s Most Dangerous Idea? 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