Jennifer Provencher- Blog 5

            This week’s chapter entailed learning all about the role of the curriculum. I did not know parents could have an opinion on the curriculum and what was being taught in school.  The Freedom of Expression Committee was something that I have never heard of before. I think that it is great that the committee “monitors censorship issues in Canada, including books that parents have made cases for removing from school curricula” (131). I think that school is a place were every student should feel secure in what they are learning. Moreover, if a book is offensive to a particular family or religion I think that it is more than acceptable to remove that book from the school and pick a different book to study.

            Another thing that the textbook touched was the controversies around large-scale assessment. I went to school in the suburb just outside of Winnipeg, where we were all white and upper to middle class. I was never subjected to any other races or immigrant children. However, in my university education I have been. I realize the importance that “socioeconomic background, immigrant status, and parental education” has on classrooms (144). With that being said, I think it’s extremely important that large-scale assessments take those factors into consideration when they release the test scores.

            Another thing I didn’t know about was the Africentric school in Toronto. When I first read about it I thought it was a little bizarre to segregate the children from the general population. However, after reading the reasons why the opened the School I changed my opinion. I think it is great for that “pedagogical practices are used to make the subject matter more relevant to Black students” so that they can become familiar with their culture (155). I feel that as a future teacher we need to cater to everyone’s culture and history so that they feel engaged in what they are learning.

Discussion question: What are your thoughts on The Freedom of Expression Committee?