Jacquelyn Morran- Blog 5

This chapter focuses on the role of curriculum in education. While this is obviously an important element of education, I'll admit I find it rather boring... I should probably work on that.

The first thing that caught my attention in this chapter was the statement that "parents are a major source of influence on the curriculum, as are political/cultural organizations and corporations." (131) While this makes sense, I guess I've never really thought about what influences the things we have to learn and teach. I guess I assumed the curriculum was something set in stone that has to be agreed with no matter what.
It made more sense when I read that "the challenges parents have are often rooted in religious beliefs they feel are being undermined by curricular content." (131) I can sympathize with this, because I grew up in a very conservative family and in an area where Christian values are very important. My own faith is what directs my life- I serve God first. It is getting harder and harder to uphold the values I was raised with in today's society without being called intolerant or hypocritical, etc.
Even the sentence in the text that says "Darwin's theory of evolution and the Big Bang Theory can be viewed as problematic by certain religious groups who believe that the universe was created by a supreme being," makes it sound as though we believe some kind of made up story and need to keep our views to ourselves. That really frustrated me actually- because I don't just believe it, it is truth that God created both the world and us. Though I will teach what is in the curriculum, I will not go against my beliefs and I will make it clear to my students that they are welcome to hold whatever beliefs they choose regarding anything they are taught. I think that is how we should approach all learning, with an open mind, not just blindly accepting what we are told. I applaud people who stand up for what they believe in, even if it does go against the norm. As long as they do so in a way that does not cause harm to others.

Now I will climb back down off this soapbox- but this is the section of the chapter that stood out to me the most, because I have beliefs that run contrary to sections of the curriculum, just as the parents who are mentioned do. I wish that was not seen as a negative thing, and I think that rational discussions about these issues are necessary in education, because we are going to have students in our classrooms from all backgrounds and beliefs, and they need to be taught in a way that respects that.