INRTO Curriculum Theory-Schiro

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Curriculum Theory:
Conflicting Visions
and Enduring
Concerns
by Michael Stephen Schiro
he activities are organized and presented in such a way that they extend the ideas
T presented in each chapter in the book. Click on a chapter below and you will be
taken to the extension activities related to that chapter. The last several links take you
to items described in the extension activities for certain chapters.
To: Faculty Teaching Courses on Curriculum Theory
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Curriculum Ideologies Extension Activities
Chapter 2: Scholar Academic Ideology Extension Activities
Chapter 3: Social Efficiency Ideology Extension Activities
Chapter 4: Learner Centered Ideology Extension Activities
Chapter 5: Social Reconstruction Ideology Extension Activities
Chapter 6: A Comparative Overview of the Curriculum Ideologies Extension Activities
Chapter 7: Individual Perspectives on the Curriculum Ideologies Extension Activities
The extension activities on this Web site are designed to complement and extend the ideas
presented in the book.
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2 ❖ EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
Special Items:
Curriculum Ideologies Inventory

Curriculum Scope, Sequence, Integration, and Continuity Simulation
Curriculum Materials Examination With Respect to the Nature of Knowledge
A Play About Children
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To: Faculty
Teaching Courses on
Curriculum Theory
From: Michael Stephen Schiro
his Web site contains activities designed to extend the ideas presented in my book
T Curriculum Theory: Conflicting Visions and Enduring Concerns. The activities are
designed to allow students to personally confront issues, reflect on issues, and extend
their knowledge of issues. They are designed to enable students to experience and par-
ticipate in current debates about curriculum. I have written them to help you use my
book in teaching a course on curriculum. I invite you to assign to students the activi-
ties as they are written, to rewrite the activities to suit your needs before assigning them
to students, or to adapt the activities for your own use while you are teaching.
I have used all of the activities at different times over the last 25 years, depending
on the nature of the students who were in my course at the time. At times, my course
contained only school administrators; at other times it contained only undergraduate
education majors. For several years it was the first course in curriculum offered to doc-
toral students. Frequently my course has only practicing teachers in it. Recently it has
contained a combination of practicing teachers and preservice teacher education grad-
uate students.
Activities such as debates are social activities that should be engaged in by groups.
Activities such as Web sites to examine, movies to watch, simulations to engage in, cur-
riculum materials to evaluate, and books and articles to read can be pursued individually,
but they are also designed to provide the substance for rich group discussions. When I
have students do individual activities outside of class, I almost always have them discuss
the results of their explorations during class in small groups, and after the discussion ask
them to add handwritten notes to the answers they wrote at home to let me know how
the class discussions influenced their thinking. This helps to keep the discussions focused
and to let students know that I expect them to learn from the discussions.
There is no expectation that any student will work through all of the extension activ-
ities related to a chapter. There is also no expectation that the activities must be done only
3
at the time a chapter is read. For example, the activity relating to the history of curricu-
lum in the extension activities for the first chapter is carried out throughout my course
on curriculum, the activity on students’ philosophy of education in the extension activ-
ities for the last chapter is given to students during the first class session in my course
with the assignment due date being the last class session, and I use the activity associated
with Chapter 6 on determining the degree to which certain textbooks and other instruc-
tional materials express the intentions of different ideologies several times during the
semester with respect to carefully chosen materials that I bring to class.
Extension activities are not just used for homework assignments. I use many activ-
ities during class to present the nature of the ideologies and to stimulate discussion
about current educational issues. The movies, educational software, and Web sites are
particularly useful for this purpose.
One of the ways in which I use Curriculum Theory: Conflicting Visions and Enduring
Concerns and the extension activities in my curriculum courses is outlined in the fol-
lowing course outline. Descriptions of several of the components of the course give a
better idea of how I use the activities. As you can see from the course outline, quizzes,
debates, and readings on the ideologies take place in a regular 3-week sequence.
During the first week of studying an ideology, my students read articles and books
by educators who advocate an ideology as well as material on the history of curricu-
lum that elaborates further on the ideology. I currently use Kliebard’s The Struggle for
the American Curriculum to present the history of the field of curriculum, but I have
also used Tanner and Tanner’s History of the School Curriculum. It is possible to reverse
the order in which students read what advocates of the ideologies have written and
what I have written. For example, the sequence of readings for sessions 2 and 3, 5 and
6, etc., can be reversed.
During the second week of studying an ideology, my students read about the ideol-
ogy in my book and then complete a take-home quiz that contains questions from the
extension activities. A sample of a take-home quiz that I give for the Social Efficiency ide-
ology is provided below. All of the quizzes include a variation of the first activity on this
quiz—which involves having students summarize, compare, and comment on the ideol-
ogy’s beliefs. After completing the first activity at home, students discuss the results of
their comparisons and comments in class in small groups. This helps them learn the
meaning of different words and ideas within each ideology. Almost all of the quizzes
have students write a play. My intent here is to have students practice using the language
and ideas of each ideology, as adherents of the ideology would, in order to (a) clearly see
how educators use words such as knowledge in very different ways, (b) be able to identify
an advocate of an ideology by the way that person uses language, and (c) be able to speak
with a person who holds a particular ideology using that person’s language.
When students come to class with their plays already written, I have them meet in
small groups, take on the roles of the characters in their play, and then put on the play
in their small group by pretending to be in a teachers’ room talking with other teach-
ers. As part of this activity, students give each other feedback about how adequately
they are using the language of an ideology. All of the quizzes include a contemporary
To: Faculty ❖ 5
comment on education—in the form of an item from the Internet, a recent journal, a
recent report by a national committee, or something similar—related to the ideology
being studied that week. All quizzes have students analyze and comment on one or
more of the readings, written by advocates of the ideology, that I assigned for the pre-
vious week. I give this question to students during the week they are doing the read-
ing so that they can complete a rough draft of their answer, discuss it in small groups
during class that week, and then revise their answer for the following week when the
quiz is due. All quizzes also have students comment on the reading I assigned regard-
ing the history of curriculum the previous week. I give this question to students dur-
ing the week they are doing the reading as well, so that they can complete a rough draft
of their answer, discuss it in small groups during class that week, and then revise their
answer for the following week when the quiz is due.
During the third week of studying an ideology, my students participate in a debate
about the ideology. The take-home quiz, due the previous week, makes sure that
students have completed all of the readings before they prepare for the debate. In my
classes, which run for 3 hours, each debate consists of the following:
One “for” argument lasting a maximum of 5 minutes

One “against” argument lasting a maximum of 5 minutes
Four “for” rebuttals lasting a maximum of 4 minutes each
Four “against” rebuttals lasting a maximum of 4 minutes each
Students either voluntarily choose or are assigned a position for or against an ide-
ology the week before the debate. I suggest that students argue for the ideology they
like least and against the ideology they like most, so that they can experience what they
like least and most from a different perspective. Before class, students prepare a writ-
ten statement (in the form of a paper, outline, or notes) that formulates their argument
and possible rebuttals, and after the debate they hand it in. The students who will pre-
sent the arguments and rebuttals are chosen at random just before the debates begin.
Students are put in their “for” and “against” groups prior to the beginning of the
debate and are given about 5 minutes to discuss what should be contained in the main
arguments. After each set of main arguments and rebuttals, students meet with their
“for” or “against” group for between 5 and 10 minutes to discuss what was said by the
other side and to jointly plan the next rebuttal. After a debate is complete, we have a
discussion during which students do not have to be on either side. No winner is ever
declared for a debate—the main purpose is to help students better understand the ide-
ologies. A secondary purpose is to help them learn the public speaking skills required
for standing in front of a group of peers and arguing for or against a curriculum issue.
When my classes are large, I run two debates simultaneously so that everyone gets a
chance to present an argument or rebuttal at least three times during the course (the
discussion times between presentations let me move between the groups, which I put
in different classrooms that are near each other).
Curriculum Theory Assignments

Session Assignment
1. Complete the curriculum ideologies inventory during class
2. Readings by advocates of the Scholar Academic ideology
Readings on the history of curriculum
Schiro, Chapter 1: “Introduction to the Curriculum Ideologies”
3. Schiro, Chapter 2: “Scholar Academic Ideology”
QUIZ
4. DEBATE
5. Readings by advocates of the Social Efficiency ideology
6. Schiro, Chapter 3: “Social Efficiency Ideology”
QUIZ
7. DEBATE
8. Readings by advocates of the Learner Centered ideology
9. Schiro, Chapter 4: “Learner Centered Ideology”
QUIZ
10. DEBATE
11. Reading by advocates of the Social Reconstruction ideology
12. Schiro, Chapter 5: “Social Reconstruction Ideology”
Schiro, Chapter 6: “A Comparative Overview of the Curriculum Ideologies”
QUIZ
13. DEBATE
14. Peddiwell, The Saber-Tooth Curriculum
Schiro, Chapter 7: “Individual Perspectives on the Curriculum Ideologies”
15. Curriculum philosophy project and life history paper due
16. Curriculum philosophy paper and philosophy project revisions due
To: Faculty ❖ 7
Sample Social Efficiency Quiz

1. As you read the chapter on the Social Efficiency ideology, think about and take notes
on the meaning that this ideology gives to the following concerns: the overarching aims
or purposes of education, the nature of the child or student, the way learning in school
takes place, the role of the teacher during instruction, the most important kind of
knowledge with which schools should be concerned and the nature of this kind of
knowledge, and the nature of evaluation. After you read the chapter, create and fill in
a table with the following structure that describes the above items in the following
order. Do not use more than one or two sentences, or about 40 words, to summarize
the meaning of each item for this ideology.
Social Efficiency Ideology
Aims:
Child:
Learning:
Teaching:
Knowledge:
Evaluation:
After completing the above table, put your tables for the Scholar Academic and Social
Efficiency ideologies next to each other, and then provide the following descriptions:
• Briefly describe how the aims of the two ideologies are different.
• Describe one advantage and one disadvantage of each aim.
• Briefly describe how the views of knowledge of the two ideologies are different.
• Describe one advantage and one disadvantage of each view of knowledge.
2. Write a short three-act play in which a Scholar Academic teacher argues with a Social
Efficiency teacher in a teachers’ room. The first act should be about what the purpose
of schooling should be. The second act should be about what is important about
children. The third act should be about what is the most important type of knowledge
for schools to value. Each act should have at least three exchanges between the teach-
ers. In your play, use words such as learning, teaching, children, knowledge, and evalua-
tion in the way in which members of each ideology would use them.
3. In 2004, the Teaching Commission published a report called Teaching at Risk: A Call to
Action, which is available at on the Internet. Read the report, then write a short essay in
which you argue that this document promotes the Social Efficiency agenda. In your
essay, discuss such things as the report’s approach to the goals of education, knowledge,
teaching, learning, and assessment.
4. Read the following three items, written by adherents of the Social Efficiency ideology at
three different times during the last century. Based on your reading of these items,
describe how the Social Efficiency ideology has changed over the last century.
• Bobbitt, F. (1924). The new technique of curriculum making. The Elementary School
Journal, 25(1), 45–54.
• Gagne, R. M. (1970). The conditions of learning (2nd ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart
& Winston. Read pages 237–265.
• The Teaching Commission. (2004). Teaching at risk: A call to action. Washington,
DC: The Teaching Commission. Available on the Internet.
5. Read Chapters 3 and 4 in the following book: Kliebard, H. (2004). The struggle for the
American curriculum: 1893–1958. New York: Taylor & Francis.
• Based on your reading of these chapters, describe two important issues or ideas devel-
oped or discussed by curriculum workers during the period under consideration.
• How did each of the things you describe impact your education as a student?
• How has or how might each of the things you describe affect your professional
endeavors as an educator?
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Extension Activities
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Curriculum Ideologies
E1.1 Complete the curriculum ideologies inventory in the Appendix. Then answer the
following questions and discuss them with your classmates, colleagues, or friends. Try
to graph the curriculum ideology of friends or colleagues before you discuss your
results with them, using the curriculum ideologies inventory, so that you can compare
their ideology to yours. Additional copies of the inventory and its graphing sheets can
be found on the home page of this Web site.
1. How accurate is the graph of your ideology?
2. When you were in elementary school, did you ever have a teacher who you think
taught in accordance with the Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner Centered,
or Social Reconstruction ideology? Describe the teacher(s).
3. When you were in middle or high school, did you ever have a teacher who you
think taught in accordance with the Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner
Centered, or Social Reconstruction ideology? Describe the teacher(s).
4. When you were in college, did you ever have a teacher who you think taught in
accordance with the Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner Centered, or
Social Reconstruction ideology? Describe the teacher(s).
5. If you went through a teacher-preparation program, did any of your professors
try to convince you that you should believe in one of the ideologies? If so, did that
teacher or those teachers also teach in a manner consistent with the underlying
assumptions of the ideology?
E1.2 Draw the following two illustrations and then complete the subsequent activities.
• Draw an illustration that depicts what the most common classroom looked like
when you were a student in either elementary or secondary school: draw the ele-
mentary school illustration if you are or want to be an elementary school teacher,
and draw the secondary school illustration if you are or want to be a middle or high
school teacher. Include children and a teacher in the illustration.
• Draw an illustration that depicts what you would like your ideal classroom to look
like in the future. Include children and a teacher in the illustration.
1. Compare your two illustrations and try to determine what they say about your
philosophy of education.
2. If you have completed the curriculum ideologies inventory, compare your illus-
trations to its results and try to determine what they say about your curriculum
ideology.
3. Compare your illustrations to those that your friends, classmates, or colleagues have
created. Discuss what you perceive to be the differences in the illustrations in terms
of (a) classroom layout and structure and (b) the roles of students and teachers.
9
4. Keep your illustrations so that you can compare them to illustrations you
might make after reading Chapter 7.
E1.3 Reading about the history of curriculum provides an important perspective on
philosophical and ideological issues. Read one of the following histories of curricu-
lum along with this book and answer the subsequent questions after reading each
chapter.
• Kliebard, H. M. (2004). The struggle for the American curriculum: 1893–1958. New
York: Taylor & Francis.
• Tanner, D., & Tanner, L. (1989). History of the school curriculum. New York:
Macmillan. (Much of the material in this book is also found in Curriculum
Development: Theory Into Practice by the same authors.)
1. Based on your reading of this chapter, what do you think some of the most
important people, issues, and ideas developed by curriculum workers were
during the period under consideration?
2. How did each of the things you describe impact your education while you were
a student?
3. How do the things you describe in the above question affect your professional
endeavors as an educator?
E1.4 Curriculum workers use different “educational languages” when they speak. It is
important to recognize these languages and their specialized vocabulary. For example,
when educators use the word knowledge, they might mean “concepts or information
that people understand” (Scholar Academic language), “skills that people perform”
(Social Efficiency language), “personal meaning that people construct” (Learner
Centered language), or “social values that guide people to act in society” (Social
Reconstruction language). It is important to be able to recognize the different lan-
guages and to speak in each by using its words and concepts. Doing so can help you
to better comprehend what other educators are saying and to make yourself better
understood when speaking to others. In future extension activities, it is suggested that
you write plays and rewrite parts of the curriculum ideologies inventory to develop
your ability to quickly identify and fluently speak the language of each ideology. To
start learning the different language of the ideologies, conduct an Internet search
using the phrase “reading wars” or “math wars.” Choose several sites and see if you can
determine whether they use the word knowledge to mean (a) ideas, information, or
concepts that people understand or comprehend, (b) skills or behaviors that people
perform, or (c) personal meanings that people construct in developmentally appro-
priate ways or natural growth that they undergo through self-actualization.
E1.5 The idea of the “hidden curriculum” is important to understand in studying curricu-
lum. Read the sections on the hidden curriculum in one or more of the books listed
below, or look up the term “hidden curriculum” on the Web using a search engine
such as Google, and then complete the following descriptions.
• Anyon, J. (1980/1994). Social class and the hidden curriculum of work. In
J. Kretovics & E. J. Mussel (Eds.), Transforming urban education. Boston: Allyn
& Bacon. Also available on the Web through a Google search.
• Glatthorn, A., Boschee, F., & Whitehead, B. (2005). Curriculum leadership: Devel-
opment and implementation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Posner, G. (1992). Analyzing the curriculum. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Chapter 1: Introduction ❖ 11
1. Describe one aspect of the hidden curriculum of a school you have taught in.
2. Describe what might have been the “hidden” impact of this on students.
3. Describe one aspect of the hidden curriculum of the college or university you
have most recently attended. Describe how this has affected you.
4. Describe why curriculum workers think the hidden curriculum is important to
understand if one is to understand education.
5. Describe what you think some of the most significant components of the
hidden curriculum of schools are.
E1.6 Below are three projects you might engage in over an extended time.
1. Get involved in a curriculum project where you work. The project should involve
your working with other people. You might work on designing a curriculum,
redesigning a curriculum, designing supplementary curriculum materials, writing a
proposal to fund a project you want to implement (for example, new computers for
your school, an after-school program, or a special program for gifted students or
students with learning disabilities), evaluating some aspect of your school’s
program, deciding on a textbook or textbook series for your school, or writing a
school mission statement. If you are a student teacher, your project can be working
with your cooperating teacher to design and implement the instructional program
for your classroom. While working on the project, pay close attention to your col-
leagues’ ideologies and the ways in which their ideologies facilitate or inhibit the
progress of work on your project. Keep a diary of your observations. Think of ways
to facilitate the completion of your project and try them out. Periodically discuss
your diary entries with friends, classmates, or colleagues (other than those who are
involved with the project).
2. Develop a questionnaire to use in interviewing school principals, superinten-
dents, or other administrators about their curriculum ideology. Interview several
school administrators and try to figure out what their ideology is and why they
believe in that ideology. Try to speak with them using the language and concepts
of their ideology. (This involves assessing what their ideology is after only a few
minutes of conversation.) Acquiring skill in assessing people’s ideology and
speaking with them using the language and concepts of that ideology is useful in
such things as job interviews.
3. Visit teachers’ classrooms and observe how they teach. Informally interview them
to determine their ideology. Assess whether their teaching methods are consistent
with their ideology. Write up your findings. Do not be surprised if belief and prac-
tice are not highly correlated. For example, in Behind the Classroom Door, John
Goodlad, Frances Klein, and their associates conclude that there is great discrep-
ancy between teacher beliefs and practices related to individualized instruction.
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Chapter 2: Scholar Academic Ideology
E2.1 Have a debate with some friends, colleagues, or classmates about whether or not
everyone should accept the Scholar Academic ideology and whether or not it should
become the philosophy of education that dominates all of our schools from kinder-
garten to Grade 12. The debate can be as formal or informal as you like, but each
side (one for and the other against the ideology) should make one main presenta-
tion and at least two rebuttals. Main presentations describe the essential ideas of the
ideology and tell why those ideas are or are not beneficial. Rebuttals both present
arguments designed to discredit what opponents have said and introduce new argu-
ments designed to bolster or discredit the ideology.
E2.2 Go to the Web site http://www.wgquirk.com/content.html, in which Bill Quirk pre-
sents The Anti-Content Mindset: The Root Cause of the “Math Wars.” Explain, in
terms of the ideas introduced, the perspectives assumed, and the way in which lan-
guage is used (that is, the meaning behind words such as knowledge, assessment, and
learning), why you think this article speaks from the Scholar Academic perspective.
E2.3 Read Lynn Cheney’s American Memory: A Report on the Humanities in the Nation’s
Public Schools (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1988). Explain, in terms of the
ideas introduced, the perspectives assumed, and the way in which language is used
(the meaning behind words such as knowledge, assessment, and learning), why you
think this report to the National Endowment for the Humanities speaks from the
Scholar Academic perspective.
E2.4 Read Chapters 1, 5, and 8 of King and Brownell’s The Curriculum and the Disciplines
of Knowledge. The authors discuss five types of knowledge that could provide the
foundation for the school curriculum: intellectual, social, occupational, political,
and religious knowledge. Which of these five kinds of knowledge do you believe to
be of most worth for the school curriculum? Which do you believe to be of least
worth? Explain why you made these choices in terms of what you conceive to be the
major purpose of schooling.
E2.5 What words or phrases would you use in an Internet search engine (such as Google)
to discover educational Web sites that promote the Scholar Academic ideology? Try
these words and phrases out. You may want to use an advanced search. When you
find a site that you believe promotes this ideology, provide justifications for your
choice by referring to ideas promoted on the site, the intellectual perspectives
assumed, and the way in which the site uses words such as knowledge, teaching,
learning, and assessment.
13
E2.6 Below are two Scholar Academic Web sites with links to similar sites. Explore some
of the linked sites or articles that you find here. When you find something interest-
ing, describe why it supports this ideology by referring to ideas promoted on the
site, the intellectual perspectives assumed, and the way in which the site uses words
such as knowledge, teaching, learning, and assessment.
• http://www.wgquirk.com
• http://www.coreknowledge.org
E2.7 As you read this chapter, think about and take notes on the meaning that this ide-
ology gives to the following concerns: the overarching aims or purposes of educa-
tion, the nature of the child or student, the way learning takes place in school, the
role of the teacher during instruction, the most important kind of knowledge
schools should be concerned about and the nature of this kind of knowledge, and
the nature of evaluation. After you read the chapter, create and fill in a table with the
following structure that describes the above items in the order indicated. (This table
will be used to compare the meaning of the items mentioned above for this ideology
to their meaning for other ideologies.) Do not use more than one or two sentences,
or about 40 words, to summarize the meaning of each item for this ideology.
❖ Scholar Academic Ideology Diagram (To access this diagram for your own use,
visit www.sagepub.com/schiro_activities.)
Scholar Academic Ideology

Aims:
Child:
Learning:
Teaching:
Knowledge:
Evaluation:
E2.8 The curriculum ideologies inventory (in the Appendix and on the home page of this
Web site) contains six Scholar Academic statements, one in each of the sections on
the purpose of schools, teaching, learning, knowledge, childhood, and evaluation.
First, locate each of the Scholar Academic statements, then write your own versions
of these six statements. Use what you have learned from this chapter about the
underlying assumptions of the ideology and the meaning it gives to the ideas of edu-
cational purposes, teaching, learning, knowledge, childhood, and evaluation. When
writing your statements, be sure to use the ideas of this ideology and to use language
in the same way in which members of this ideology would. In doing this, try not to
simply paraphrase the existing statements in the curriculum ideologies inventory.
The intent of this activity is to help you think as members of this ideology would
and to use words and ideas in the same way they would.
Chapter 2: Scholar Academic Ideology ❖ 15
E2.9 Write a short one-act play, set in a teachers’ room, in which two teachers who believe
in the Scholar Academic ideology discuss their best and worst students. Have the two
teachers describe the attributes of their best and worst students and explain why they
view the students the way they do. If you so desire, you can add in a third teacher who
does not believe in this ideology and who has different opinions about the attributes
of good and poor students. Your play should have at least six verbal exchanges
between the teachers (at least 12 commentaries). Make sure that the Scholar
Academic teachers use Scholar Academic language and concepts. The purpose of
writing this play is to provide practice in speaking the way a person who believes
in the Scholar Academic ideology would—in using the language, concepts, and
assumptions of this ideology. A sample play in which teachers from all four ideolo-
gies argue about the nature of childhood exists on the home page of this Web site.
E2.10 Read the following book, which describes the history of curriculum in the U.S. over
the last 150 years from the Scholar Academic perspective: Ravitch, D. (2000). Left
Back: A Century of Battles Over School Reform. New York: Simon & Schuster.
• From the perspective of this ideology, what are some of the most important
issues, events, people, and ideas of the last 150 years? What does Ravitch think
are the good and bad ideas of the past? Who does she think are the heroes and
villains of the past? What do you think?
• What do you think about the impact of those issues, events, people, and ideas on
our educational system?
• How did one of those issues, events, people, or ideas affect your education when
you were a student?
• How is one of those issues, events, people, or ideas affecting you now that you
are an educator or prospective educator?
❖
Chapter 3: Social Efficiency Ideology
E3.1 Download a free demonstration copy of Type to Learn from Sunburst Technology.
Use this instructional software for at least 15 minutes to learn to type. Use different
instructional modules and games in the program. Explain why this is an example
of Social Efficiency curriculum. Be sure to discuss its view of learning, teaching,
children, knowledge, and assessment in your explanation.
• Download Type to Learn 3 from
http://store.sunburst.com/ProductInfo.aspx?itemid=176646
• Download Type to Learn Jr. from
http://store.sunburst.com/ProductInfo.aspx?itemid=176697
E3.2 The Teaching Commission recently published a report called Teaching at Risk: A Call
to Action, which is available on the Internet. Read the report, and then write a short
essay in which you argue that this is a document that promotes the Social Efficiency
agenda. In your essay, discuss such things as the report’s approach to the goals of edu-
cation, knowledge, teaching, learning, and assessment.
E3.3 The educational standards movement has recently grown popular, partly because of
the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. Below are some Web sites that shed
light on the call for educational standards:
• List of national standards: http://www.education-world.com/standards/national/
index.shtml
• List of state standards: http://www.academicbenchmarks.com/search/
Sites that are supportive of the standards movement include the following:
• http://my.execpc.com/~presswis/ (Explore its Links and Topics)
• http://www.ncee.org/index
Sites that are critical of the standards movement include the following:
• http://www.fairtest.org/arn/caseagainst.html
• http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/12_04/hill.shtml
• http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/11_03/edit.shtml
• http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/13_03/control.shtml
• http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/14_02/test142.shtml
Examine several of these sites. Read at least one article that is supportive of the standards
movement and one that believes the movement is harmful to children. Answer the following
questions:
1. Do you think Social Efficiency educators are supportive of the standards move-
ment? Why? Use quotes from what you read to support your reasoning. Be sure to
17
consider the Social Efficiency perception of the purpose of education and its view
of assessment when answering.
2. In what ways do you think the standards movement is beneficial to the lives of
children and teachers? In what ways is it detrimental?
E3.4 Many Web sites related to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) are on the Internet.
(Use “No Child Left Behind” when you search.) Read at least one article that supports
and one that criticizes NCLB.
1. Do you think Social Efficiency educators are supportive of NCLB? Why or why
not?
2. Where do you think the truth lies: in NCLB or in the attacks on it? Why?
The following sites are recommended.
Sites favorable to NCLB:
• http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/reports/no-child-left-behind.html#1
• http://www.collegeboard.com/parents/article/0,3708,703-704-0-28284,00.html
• http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml?src=pb
• http://www.ed.gov/nclb/accountability/ayp/testingforresults.html
Sites critical of NCLB:
• http://nochildleft.com/
• http://www.rethinkingschools.org/special_reports/bushplan/index.shtml
The No Child Left Behind Act itself:
• http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html (This is not much help,
but you can examine it to see what it is.)
E3.5 American schools and teachers are under attack. Three recent documents that typify
the attacks are A Nation at Risk, the No Child Left Behind Act, and Teaching at
Risk. A Nation at Risk is available at http://www.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/risk.html.
References to the No Child Left Behind Act and Teaching at Risk are listed above.
Read Chapters 1, 10, and 11 from On the Death of Childhood and the Destruction of
Public Schools (Heinemann, 2003), in which author Gerald Bracey mounts a coun-
terattack against the documents attacking American schools and teachers.
1. What are the major arguments for the claim that our schools are doing poorly?
2. Do you think adherents of the Social Efficiency ideology support the claims
against the effectiveness of our schools? Why or why not?
3. Where do you think the truth resides: in the attack against American schools and
teachers or in the counterattack? Why?
E3.6 The accountability movement has had a great influence on American education
(only partially through the No Child Left Behind Act). Do an Internet search for
articles on the “accountability movement.” Determine its history, ideological under-
pinnings, and aspirations. Discuss what you discover with other educators and see
what their reactions to your findings are. Two interesting historical documents, the
first of which advocates the movement and the second of which critiques it, are
Chapter 3: Social Efficiency Ideology ❖ 19
• Lessinger, L. (1970). Every kid a winner: Accountability in education. Palo Alto, CA:
Science Research Associates.
• Martin, D. T., Overholt, G. E., & Urban, W. J. (1976). Accountability in American
education. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Book Company.
everyone should accept the Social Efficiency ideology and whether or not it should
garten to Grade 12. The debate can be as formal or informal as you like, but each side
(one for the ideology and the other against it) should make one main presentation
and at least two rebuttals. Main presentations describe the essential ideas of the ide-
ology and tell why those ideas are or are not beneficial. Rebuttals both present argu-
ments designed to discredit what opponents have said and introduce new arguments
designed to bolster or discredit the ideology.
to discover educational Web sites that promote the Social Efficiency ideology? When
you decide on appropriate words or phrases, try them out. You may want to use an
advanced search. When you find a site that you believe promotes this ideology,
describe why by referring to ideas promoted on the site, the intellectual perspectives
assumed, and the way in which the site uses words such as knowledge, teaching, learn-
ing, and assessment.
E3.9 As you read this chapter, think about and take notes on the meaning that this ideology
gives to the following concerns: the aims of education, the nature of the child or student,
the nature of school learning, the nature of teaching, the most important kind of knowl-
edge, and the nature of evaluation. After you read the chapter, create and fill in a table
with the following structure that describes the above items in the order indicated. (This
table will be used to compare the meaning of the items mentioned above for this ideol-
ogy to their meaning for other ideologies.) Do not use more than one or two sentences,
or about 40 words, to summarize the meaning of each item for this ideology.
❖ Social Efficiency Ideology Diagram (To access this diagram for your own use, visit
www.sagepub.com/schiro_activities.)
Social Efficiency Ideology

Aims:
Child:
Learning:
Teaching:
Knowledge:
Evaluation:
After completing the above table, put the tables for the Scholar Academic and Social
Efficiency ideologies next to each other, and then provide the following descriptions:
• Briefly describe how the aims of the two ideologies are different.
• Describe one advantage and one disadvantage of each aim.
• Briefly describe how the views of knowledge of the two ideologies are different.
• Describe one advantage and one disadvantage of each view of knowledge.
E3.10 The curriculum ideologies inventory in the Appendix and on the home page of this
Web site contains six Social Efficiency statements, one in each of the sections on the
purpose of schools, teaching, learning, knowledge, childhood, and evaluation. First,
locate each of the Social Efficiency statements, and then write your own versions of
these six statements. Use what you have learned from this chapter about the under-
lying assumptions of the ideology and the meaning it gives to the ideas of educa-
tional purposes, teaching, learning, knowledge, childhood, and evaluation. When
writing your statements, be sure to use the ideas of this ideology and to use lan-
guage in the same way in which members of the ideology would. In doing this,
try not to simply paraphrase the existing statements in the curriculum ideologies
inventory. The intent of this activity is to help you think as members of this ideol-
ogy and to use words and ideas the same way they would.
E3.11 Read the following three items, which were written by adherents of the Social
Efficiency ideology at three different times during the last century. Based on these
items, describe how the Social Efficiency ideology has changed over the last century.
• Bobbitt, F. (1924). The new technique of curriculum making. The Elementary
School Journal, 25(1), 45–54.
• Gagne, R. M. (1970). The conditions of learning (2nd ed.). New York: Holt,
Rinehart & Winston. Read pages 237–265.
• The Teaching Commission. (2004). Teaching at risk: A call to action. Washington,
DC: Author. Available on the Internet.
E3.12 Write a short three-act play in which a Scholar Academic teacher argues with a Social
Efficiency teacher in a teachers’ room. The first act should be about what the purpose
of schooling is (to convey academic knowledge and cultural traditions or to prepare
for work within society). The second act should be about what is important about
children (what is in their minds or the behaviors they can perform). The third act
should be about whether understanding or skills is the more important type of
knowledge for schools to value. Each act should have at least three exchanges between
the teachers. In your play, use words such as learning, teaching, children, knowledge,
and evaluation the way members of each ideology would use them. The purpose of
writing this play is to practice speaking the way people who believe in these ideolo-
gies would, using the language, concepts, and assumptions of each ideology.
E3.13 Read the following book, which describes the history of curriculum in the U.S.
between 1900 and 1960 from the Social Efficiency perspective: Callahan, R. E. (1962).
Education and the cult of efficiency. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
1. From the perspective of this ideology, what are some of the most important
issues, events, people, and ideas between 1900 and 1960?
2. What do you think about the impact of those issues, events, people, and ideas
on our educational system?
Chapter 3: Social Efficiency Ideology ❖ 21
3. How did one of those issues, events, people, or ideas affect your education while
you were a student?
4. How is one of those issues, events, people, or ideas affecting you now that you
E3.14 Work through the “Scope, Sequence, Integration, and Continuity Simulation”
found on the home page of this Web site with three or four colleagues or classmates.
When you complete the simulation, answer these questions:
1. What are the two most important things you learned from the simulation?
2. What is most important about each of the following curriculum concerns:
scope, sequence, integration, and continuity?
3. When you were working on the simulation, did you ever discover that you were
thinking from the perspective of a curriculum ideology that was not your pre-
ferred ideology (as assessed by the curriculum ideologies inventory in the
Appendix)? If you did, why do you think this occurred?
E3.15 Answer the following questions about individualized instruction.
1. List several key words or phrases that you believe best describe individualized
instruction.
2. Have you ever experienced individualized instruction as a student or teacher?
If you have, when, and what was it like?
3. Circle the instructional levels from the following list at which you think indi-
vidualized instruction exists:
preschool undergraduate college
elementary school master’s level graduate school
middle school doctoral level graduate school
high school adult education
❖
Chapter 4: Learner Centered Ideology
E4.1 Watch the following 44-minute video of a middle school Learner Centered classroom in
action: Student Directed Learning: The Alpha Program (Resource Center for Redesigning
Education, 1993). Periodically stop the video and write notes on ideas expressed in the
video that support the Learner Centered ideology.
1. Describe the major philosophical assumptions underlying the Alpha Program.
2. Describe its view of the child, teaching, knowledge, learning, and assessment.
3. Is Student Directed Learning an example of a Learner Centered classroom? Why
or why not?
4. Describe what you like most about the school.
5. Describe what you like least about the school.
6. Would or wouldn’t you like to teach in the school? Why?
7. Would you send your own children to the school? Why?
E4.2 Explore the Web site of the Sudbury Valley School at http://www.sudval.org. Pay
special attention to the “Basic Concepts—About Us” page. Read one of the articles
on the online library. Look at the “Other Schools” page to see if a school is located
near you that you could visit and to see how it portrays its philosophy of education
and instructional program.
1. Describe why you think the Sudbury Valley School is or is not a Learner Centered
school. Describe its view of the child, teaching, knowledge, learning, and assessment.
5. Would you send your own children to the school? Why?
everyone should accept the Learner Centered ideology and whether or not it should
garten to Grade 12. The debate can be as formal or informal as you like, but each side
(one for the ideology and the other against it) should make one main presentation
and at least two rebuttals. Main presentations describe the essential ideas of the ide-
ology and tell why those ideas are or are not beneficial. Rebuttals both present argu-
ments designed to discredit what opponents have said and introduce new arguments
designed to bolster or discredit the ideology.
to discover educational Web sites that promote the Learner Centered ideology? When
23
advanced search. When you find a site that you believe promotes this ideology, describe
why by referring to ideas promoted on the site, the intellectual perspectives assumed,
and the way the site uses words such as knowledge, teaching, learning, and assessment.
E4.5 As you read this chapter, think about and take notes on the meaning that this ideol-
ogy gives to the following concerns: the aims of education, the nature of the child or
student, the nature of school learning, the nature of teaching, the most important
kind of knowledge, and the nature of evaluation. After you read the chapter, create
and fill in a table with the following structure that describes the above items in the
order indicated. (This table will be used to compare the meaning of the items men-
tioned above for this ideology to their meaning for other ideologies.) Do not use
more than one or two sentences, or about 40 words, to summarize the meaning of
each item for this ideology.
❖ Learner Centered Ideology Diagram (To access this diagram for your own use,
visit www.sagepub.com/schiro_activities.)
Learner Centered Ideology

Aims:
Child:
Learning:
Teaching:
Knowledge:
Evaluation:
After completing the above table, put the tables for the Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, and
Learner Centered ideologies next to each other, and then provide the following descriptions:
1. Briefly describe how the views of the Scholar Academic and Learner Centered
ideologies on student evaluation are different.
2. Describe one advantage and one disadvantage of each view of student evaluation.
3. Briefly describe how the views of the Social Efficiency and Learner Centered ide-
ologies on the nature of learning are different.
4. Describe one advantage and one disadvantage of each view of the nature of
learning.
E4.6 The curriculum ideologies inventory in the Appendix and the home page of this
Web site contains six Learner Centered statements, one in each of the sections on the
purpose of schools, teaching, learning, knowledge, childhood, and evaluation. First,
locate each of the Learner Centered statements, and then write your own versions of
these six statements. Use what you have learned from this chapter about the under-
lying assumptions of the ideology and the meaning it gives to the ideas of educa-
tional purposes, teaching, learning, knowledge, childhood, and evaluation. When
writing your statements, be sure to use the ideas of this ideology and to use language
the same way members of this ideology would. In doing this, try not to simply para-
phrase the statements in the curriculum ideologies inventory.
Chapter 4: Learner Centered Ideology ❖ 25
E4.7 Read one of the following books by Marietta Johnson, written early in the 20th
century: Thirty Years With an Idea: The Story of Organic Education (University of
Alabama Press, 1974) or Organic Education (Book 1; Marietta Johnson Museum of
Organic Education, n.d.). When you read one of these books, keep in mind that
Marietta Johnson wrote a hundred years ago, and that at that time educators who
believed in developmental psychology held some ideas that we no longer accept
(such as that children are not ready to read or write until they are about 10 years
old)—try not to get overly distracted by such ideas of the past. After reading
Johnson, answer the following questions:
1. What do you like most about Marietta Johnson’s school?
2. What do you like least about Marietta Johnson’s school?
3. Would or wouldn’t you like to teach in Johnson’s school? Why?
4. Would you send your child to the School of Organic Education? Why?
E4.8 Read one of the following books and then answer the related questions.
• Dewey, E., & Dewey, J. (1915). Schools of tomorrow. New York: E. P. Dutton. (One
chapter is on the Web at http://www.infed.org/archives/e-texts/school-as-social-
settlement.htm.)
• Rugg, H. O., & Shumaker, A. (1928). The child-centered school. New York: World
Book.
1. What do you like most about the schools described?
2. What do you like least about the schools described?
3. Would or wouldn’t you like to teach in this type of school? Why?
4. Would you send your own child to this type of school? Why?
E4.9 Read Chapters 2, 3, and 4 of the following book: Hendrick, J. (Ed.). (2003). Next
steps toward teaching the Reggio way (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice
Hall. Then answer the following questions:
1. What do you think are the most important philosophical concepts presented in
these chapters?
2. Do you think the Reggio Emilia approach to education is a version of the
Learner Centered ideology? Why or why not? In answering, discuss its views of
the child, teaching, knowledge, learning, and assessment.
E4.10 Read the following article: Edwards, C. P. (2002). Three approaches from Europe:
Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 4(1).
(It can also be located on the Web at http://www.ecrp.uiuc.edu/v4n1/edwards.html).
After reading the article, use an Internet search engine to find out more about the
Montessori, Waldorf, and Reggio Emilia approaches to education. Then answer the
following questions:
1. Do you or don’t you believe that Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia are
examples of the Learner Centered ideology? Why or why not? Answer for each
approach separately.
2. If you could teach in one of these types of schools, which would it be? Why?
3. If you were to put your own children in one of these types of schools, which
would it be? Why?
E4.11 Write a short, two-act play in which a Learner Centered teacher, a Scholar Academic
teacher, and a Social Efficiency teacher argue among themselves in a teachers’ room.
The first act should be about how they feel about a child they all teach who has
moderate special needs. The second act should be about how to deal with issues
of cultural and racial diversity and children who are linguistically, culturally, and
racially diverse. Each act should have at least three exchanges among the teachers.
In your play, use words such as learning, teaching, children, knowledge, and evalua-
tion the way members of each ideology would use them. The purpose of writing this
play is to practice speaking the way people who believe in these ideologies would,
using the language, concepts, and assumptions of each ideology.
E4.12 The psychological theories underlying all of the curriculum ideologies have
changed greatly over the last hundred years. If you have read one of the books by
Marietta Johnson, you can compare her beliefs about children’s learning and devel-
opment to the currently popular Learner Centered theories, which are called con-
structivism. The following Web sites provide descriptions of different forms of
constructivism. Explore several Web sites, read several descriptions of construc-
tivism, and then answer the related questions. (Other sites on constructivism can be
found by searching the Internet.)
• http://www.uib.no/People/sinia/CSCL/HMM_Constructivism.htm
• http://www.sedl.org/scimath/compass/v01n03/welcome.html
• http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/math/ma3const.htm
• http://tip.psychology.org/bruner.html
• http://leo.oise.utoronto.ca/~lbencze/Constructivism.html
• http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/math/ma300.htm
1. What were Marietta Johnson’s major beliefs about how children learn and grow?
2. What are the foundational ideas of constructivism?
3. How are Marietta Johnson’s ideas and those of constructivism similar and
different?
E4.13 Many Learner Centered schools have Internet Web sites. Use a search engine (such
as Google) to try to find a Learner Centered school. Many can be found at http://
www.nais.org (click “Find a School” to locate schools.) The Web site of one Learner
Centered school is http://www.fayerweather.org.
1. Describe why you think the school is or is not a Learner Centered school.
5. Would or wouldn’t you send your own children to the school? Why?
E4.14 Watch the following movie that is located on the Web at
http://www.archive.org/details/why_do_these_kids_love_school. Stop the movie
periodically to take notes so you can answer the following questions.
1. What are the major defining characteristics of the schools in the movie?
2. What questions about the Learner Centered Ideology does the movie raise for
you?
3. Would you like to teach in one of the schools presented in the movie? Why?
4. Would you send your childern to one of the schools presented in the movie?
Why?
❖
Chapter 5: Social Reconstruction Ideology
to discover Web sites that promote the Social Reconstruction ideology? When
advanced search. When you find a site that you believe promotes this ideology,
describe why by referring to ideas promoted on the site, the intellectual perspectives
assumed, and the way the site uses words such as knowledge, teaching, learning, and
assessment.
E5.2 Below is a list of Web sites. Find one that you think best represents the Social
Reconstruction ideology and describe why. In your description, refer to ideas pro-
moted on the site, the intellectual perspectives assumed, and the way the site uses
words such as knowledge, teaching, learning, and assessment.
• http://www.rethinkingschools.org/
• http://www.globalvillageschool.org/indexg.html
• http://www.splcenter.org/
• http://salt.claretianpubs.org/
everyone should accept the Social Reconstruction ideology and whether or not it
should become the philosophy of education that dominates all of our schools from
kindergarten to Grade 12. The debate can be as formal or informal as you like, but
each side (one for the ideology and the other against it) should make one main pre-
sentation and at least two rebuttals. Main presentations describe the essential ideas
of the ideology and tell why those ideas are or are not beneficial. Rebuttals both pre-
sent arguments designed to discredit what opponents have said and introduce new
arguments designed to bolster or discredit the ideology.
E5.4 As you read this chapter, think about and take notes on the meaning this ideology
gives to the following concerns: the aims of education, the nature of the child or
student, the nature of school learning, the nature of teaching, the most important
kind of knowledge, and the nature of evaluation. After you read the chapter, create
and fill in a table with the following structure that describes the above items in the
order indicated. (This table will be used to compare the meaning of the items men-
tioned above for this ideology to their meaning for other ideologies.) Do not use
more than one or two sentences, or about 40 words, to summarize the meaning of
each item for this ideology.
27
❖ Social Reconstruction Ideology Diagram (To access this diagram for your own
use, visit www.sagepub.com/schiro_activities.)
Social Reconstruction Ideology

Aims:
Child:
Learning:
Teaching:
Knowledge:
Evaluation:
After completing the above table, put the tables for the Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency,
Learner Centered, and Social Reconstruction ideologies next to each other, and then pro-
vide the following descriptions:
1. Briefly describe the different views of children held by the Scholar Academic,
Social Efficiency, and Social Reconstruction ideologies.
2. Describe one advantage and one disadvantage of each view of children.
3. Briefly describe the differences among the Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency,
Learner Centered, and Social Reconstruction views of teaching.
4. Describe one advantage and one disadvantage of each view of teaching.
E5.5 The curriculum ideologies inventory in the Appendix and on the home page of this
Web site contains six Social Reconstruction statements, one in each of the sections
on the purpose of schools, teaching, learning, knowledge, childhood, and evalua-
tion. First, locate each of the Social Reconstruction statements, and then write your
own versions of these six statements. Use what you have learned from this chapter
about the underlying assumptions of the ideology and the meaning it gives to the
ideas of educational purposes, teaching, learning, knowledge, childhood, and eval-
uation. When writing your statements, be sure to use the ideas of this ideology and
to use language in the same way members of this ideology would. In doing this, try
not to simply paraphrase the statements in the curriculum ideologies inventory. The
intent of this activity is to help you think as members of this ideology and to use
words and ideas the same way they would.
E5.6 Watch the movie Paper Clips, available from many video stores and Web bookstores.
1. Does this movie provide an example of the Social Reconstruction ideology?
Why or why not?
2. What is this movie’s interpretation of social justice?
3. What kind of knowledge is valued most in this movie?
E5.7 If you teach or aspire to teach in an elementary school, watch the movie Just a Little
Red Dot. If you can’t find it in your school or town library or video store, you can
get it from Rethinking Schools (800–669–4192 or www.rethinkingschools.com).
Preview the movie and determine several places where you might stop it while
showing it to children to ask questions such as “How does what is happening make
Chapter 5: Social Reconstruction Ideology ❖ 29
you feel? Why?” “What would you do if you were in the situation in which the
children in the movie find themselves? Why?” and “What do you think will happen
next? Why?” After doing this, answer the following questions:
1. Does this movie provide an example of the Social Reconstruction ideology in
action? Why or why not?
2. How could a teacher use Just a Little Red Dot as a piece of Social Reconstruction
curriculum material in his or her classroom?
3. What is the role of the teacher in Just a Little Red Dot in helping children learn
how to stand up against injustice in their school and homes? Would you be will-
ing to take the types of action the teacher in this movie took?
E5.8 You can find Web sites that discuss a number of Social Reconstructionists on the
Internet. Use a search engine (such as Google) to look up information about one or
more of the following people: Henry Giroux, Paulo Freire, Michael Apple, and Peter
McLaren. For each person you find information about, write a short essay that describes
his major ideas, why he could be called an advocate of the Social Reconstruction ideol-
ogy, and what intellectual methods he uses to promote his beliefs.
E5.9 Obtain and examine the catalogs for one or both of the following organizations.
Why do these catalogs represent the Social Reconstruction ideology?
• Teaching for Change: 800–763–9131 or www.teachingforchange.org
• Rethinking Schools: 800–669–4192 or www.rethinkingschools.com
E5.10 Examine one of the following curriculum materials and then answer the related
questions. Samples can be downloaded from
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/publication/index.shtml
• Bigelow, B., & Petersen, B. (Eds.). (1998). Rethinking Columbus. Milwaukee, WI:
Rethinking Schools.
• Gutstein, E., & Peterson, B. (Eds.). (2005). Rethinking mathematics: Teaching
social justice by the numbers. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools.
1. Is this material a piece of Social Reconstruction curriculum? Why or why not?
2. Describe what you like most about this curriculum.
3. Describe what you like least about this curriculum.
4. Would or wouldn’t you like to teach using this material? Why?
5. Would you like to have you children taught using this material? Why?
E5.11 Read the following book: Adams, F., & Horton, M. (1975). Unearthing seeds of fire:
The idea of Highlander. Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Wait.
1. Describe why you think the Highlander Folk School is a Social Reconstruction
school. Discuss its view of the child, teaching, knowledge, and learning.
E5.12 Read the following book: Postman, N., & Weingartner, C. (1969). Teaching as a
subversive activity. New York: Delacorte Press.
1. Explain why you think this book speaks from the Social Reconstruction per-
spective. In doing so, refer to ideas presented by the book, the intellectual per-
spectives assumed, and the way in which the book uses words such as knowledge,
teaching, and learning.
2. Which ideas in the book appeal to you most?

3. Which ideas in the book do you like least?
E5.13 Several “radical educators” and “critical theorists” have inspired Social Reconstruc-
tionists. These include Freire, Apple, Giroux, McLaren, and Anyon. Read something
by these educators and then explain why Social Reconstructionists would be inter-
ested in what they write. Here are some suggestions:
• Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Seabury Press.
• Freire, P. (1998). Pedagogy of freedom. New York: Rowman & Littlefield.
• Examine Jean Anyon’s Web site at
http://web.gc.cuny.edu/urbaneducation/Anyon/index.html to see her areas of
interest and publications. Read “Class and School Knowledge” at
http://web.gc.cuny.edu/urbaneducation/Anyon/Papers/Social_Class_and_
School_Knowledge.pdf.
• Apple, M. (1996). Cultural politics and education. New York: Teachers College
Press.
• McLaren, P. (2007). Life in schools (5th ed.). New York: Longman.
• Giroux, H. A. (2006). America on the edge. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Giroux, H. (2005). Border crossings: Cultural workers and the politics of education
(2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.
E5.14 The history of the Learner Centered ideology and the history of the Social
Reconstruction ideology overlap. Read one of the following items describing the
history of Social Reconstruction curriculum endeavors:
• Cremin, L. (1961). Transformation of the school. New York: Knopf.
• Engel, B. S., & Martin, A. C. (Eds.) (2005). Holding values: What we mean by pro-
gressive education. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. (The relevant parts of the book
are on the Web at http://books.heinemann.com/products/E00724.aspx.)
• Weiler, K. (2004, Spring). What can we learn from progressive education?
Radical Teacher. (This article, which presents an overview of different perspec-
tives on the history of the Social Reconstruction Ideology, is located at
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JVP/is_69/ai_n6146721.)
1. Describe the commonalities and differences in the history of the Learner
Centered and Social Reconstruction ideologies. Why do you think the histo-
ries of these ideologies are considered to overlap?
2. From the perspective of the Social Reconstruction ideology, what are some of
the most important issues, events, people, and ideas of the last several centuries?
3. What do you think about the impact of those issues, events, people, and ideas
on our educational system?
4. How did one of those issues, events, people, or ideas affect your education
when you were a student?
5. How is one of those issues, events, people, or ideas affecting you now that you
❖
Chapter 6: A Comparative Overview of the Curriculum Ideologies
E6.1 Many schools post their mission statements on their Web sites. Much can be learned
from analyzing them and asking yourself whether you would or would not like to work
at such a school. Rate the mission statements of some of the private schools that belong
to the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). Their mission statements
can be found at the NAIS Web site at http://www.nais.org (click on “Find a School” to
locate schools). Rate schools according to the degree to which they express Scholar
Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner Centered, and Social Reconstruction visions for
education. Rate the statements by filling in this table for each statement:
❖ (To access this diagram for your own use, visit www.sagepub.com/schiro_activities.)
% Scholar % Social % Learner % Social

Academic Efficiency Centered Reconstruction
E6.2 Many public school systems post the mission statements for their individual schools
on their Web sites. Much can be learned from analyzing them and asking whether you
would or would not like to work at such a school. Search the Web site of a relatively
large school district near you. (If necessary, you can use the Web site of the school dis-
trict of Cambridge, Massachusetts, at http://www.cpsd.us. To find individual school
descriptions, click on “Our Schools.”) Find and then rate the mission statements of
its schools according to the degree to which they express Scholar Academic, Social
Efficiency, Learner Centered, and Social Reconstruction visions for education. Rate
the statements by filling in this table for each statement:

31
E6.3 Read the following article: Dewey, J. (1897). My pedagogic creed. The School Journal, 54(3),
77–80. You can find it on the Web at http://www.infed.org/archives/e-texts/e-dew-pc.htm.
Note that the article was written over a hundred years ago, before the first books on
curriculum theory were written.
1. Rate Dewey’s statement according to how much it expresses Scholar Academic,
Social Efficiency, Learner Centered, and Social Reconstruction ideas and aspira-
tions by filling in this table.

2. Locate phrases in Dewey’s statement that are precursors to current day Scholar
Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner Centered, and Social Reconstruction lan-
guage. List at least two for each of the ideologies.
E6.4 Obtain a student textbook and a teachers’ edition of that textbook (which includes a
description of the teaching philosophy of the textbook).
1. Examine at least three lessons in the textbook and then rate the degree to which
it expresses the Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner Centered, and Social
Reconstruction visions for education. Rate the textbook by filling in the following
table. Then describe why you rated it as you did.

2. Examine the front matter in the textbook that describes how the textbook should
be used and then rate the degree to which it expresses the Scholar Academic,
Social Efficiency, Learner Centered, and Social Reconstruction visions for educa-
tion. Rate the textbook by filling in the following table. Then describe why you
rated the material the way you did.
Chapter 6: A Comparative Overview ❖ 33

3. Compare your ratings for the front matter and the lessons in the textbook. If they
are not the same, try to explain why they might be different.
E6.5 Obtain some different types of curriculum materials from a school curriculum center,
your school, or the curriculum library of your school. Choose materials that seem to
be as different as possible (for example, perhaps a phonics-based reading textbook
and a whole language–based reading program). Examine the materials and then rate
the degree to which they express the Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner
Centered, and Social Reconstruction visions for education by filling in the following
table. Then describe why you rated the curriculum materials the way you did.

E6.6 See the “Columbus and Knowledge Simulation” on the home page of this Web site.
It contains curriculum materials written about Christopher Columbus from the
Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner Centered, and Social Reconstruction
perspectives. Carefully examine the materials to determine the nature of the knowl-
edge each ideology believes should be promoted in schools.
1. After examining the four materials, complete the questions at the beginning of the
material.
2. Describe how the Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner Centered, and Social
Reconstruction views of knowledge are embedded in their respective materials.
3. Distinguish among knowledge as understanding, knowledge as skills, knowledge
as meaning, and knowledge as values while making specific reference to the
Christopher Columbus curriculum materials.
E6.7 Proceed to this activity only after completing E6.6. The “hidden curriculum” of
schools has an enormous impact on children. Read one of the articles listed below.
Keep in mind the issues Jean Anyon raises as you answer the following questions
about the type (or form) of knowledge valued most by each ideology. Categories of
people to keep in mind when answering these questions include children who are
academically talented, those who are academically challenged, and those in between;
urban, suburban, and rural children; children from the working class, middle class,
and executive class; rich and poor children; and children with social, economic, or
political power and those without it.
• Anyon, J. (1980). Social class and the hidden curriculum of work [Electronic ver-
sion]. Journal of Education, 162(1), 67–92. Available at
http://www.pipeline.com/~rgibson/hiddencurriculum.htm
• Anyon, J. (1981). Social class and school knowledge. Available at
http://web.gc.cuny.edu/urbaneducation/Anyon/Papers/Social_Class_and_School_
Knowledge.pdf
1. Who has access to the type of knowledge valued most by each ideology?
2. Whose interests are best served by the type of knowledge valued most by each
ideology? Who benefits from each type of knowledge? Who loses from each
type of knowledge?
3. Which social groups are likely to promote and/or embrace the type of knowl-
edge valued most by each ideology?
E6.8 Read the following book, which describes the history of curriculum work during the
20th century: Marshall, J. D., Sears, J. T., & Schubert, W. H. (2000). Turning points in
curriculum: A contemporary American memoir. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
1. From reading this book, what do you think were some of the most important
events, people, and ideas developed by curriculum workers during the last century?
2. How did each of the things you described affect your education while you were a
student?
3. How might each of the things you described affect your professional endeavors as
a teacher, administrator, or other educational professional?
E6.9 Each of the four curriculum ideologies has had an impact on schools over the last
century.
1. Speculate about what some of the most important ways each of the ideologies has
influenced American schools over the last century were.
2. Speculate about how the ideologies affected your education while you were a
student.
3. Speculate about how each of the ideologies has affected, and will affect, your pro-
fessional endeavors as a teacher, administrator, or other educational professional.
❖
Chapter 7: Individual Perspectives on the Curriculum Ideologies
E7.1 Complete the following activities.

1. Write an essay that describes your “curriculum ideology life history,” beginning
with the time you first became interested in becoming an educator. (You might
start when you were 6 years old, if that is when you first thought of becoming a
teacher.) Describe each shift in ideology, the major influences that caused you to
undergo each shift, what it felt like when you made each shift, and how the envi-
ronment you were in did or did not support your new ideological development.
Project your ideological development into the future.
2. Draw a diagram that graphically portrays your “curriculum ideology life history”
and label it in such a way that it corresponds to your essay. (Before beginning your
diagram, examine the samples presented in this chapter for ideas.)
3. Share your essay and diagram with others and discuss how events in your life
compare with and contrast to events in their lives.
E7.2 Write a paper and create an artistic portfolio item that present your curriculum
philosophy, as described below.
1. Write a paper that describes the curriculum philosophy that you wish was yours
and how you might implement it in your work.
a. The part of the paper that presents your philosophy should be less than 10
pages. In it you should describe such things as the guiding myths that give
your belief system coherence, your view of the major purpose of schooling,
your conception of the nature of the most worthwhile school knowledge, your
view of learning (and it’s associated learning theory), your view of children,
your view of teaching and your “preferred instructional practices,” your
method of accommodating diverse learners, your beliefs about social justice,
and your educational heroes.
b. After describing your philosophy, describe how you might implement that phi-
losophy in your workplace. If you are a teacher, describe how your philosophy
can be translated into action by describing what your classroom would look
like and how it would function (that is, its physical layout and how students,
materials, and you—the teacher—would interact). If you are an administrator,
describe how your philosophy can be translated into action by describing how
you would relate to other educators in your workplace and the types of instruc-
tional practices in which you would encourage them to engage.
c. Draw an illustration that depicts what you would like your ideal classroom to
look like in the future. Include children and teacher in the illustration. If you
35
drew an illustration of your ideal classroom earlier, compare it to this new

illustration and discuss in your paper how and why they differ.
2. Create an artistic portfolio item that presents the important tenants of your phi-
losophy that you might use if you interview for a new job or your first teaching job.
The project can be a brochure (this is highly recommended if you are looking
for your first teaching job), Web site, PowerPoint presentation, mini-book, photo
album, or some other item that creatively presents you and your philosophy.
3. Share your paper and portfolio item with others and observe how they respond.
If you created a portfolio item to help you get a job, discuss with them how to
improve the item to better present yourself. If you do this as part of a class, revise
the item based on your examination of the portfolio items of others and the
insights you have acquired from seeing their items.
E7.3 Read the following book: Peddiwell, J. A. (1939). The saber-tooth curriculum. New
York: McGraw-Hill.
1. Locate individuals in the book who embody the ideas of each of the ideologies.
Tell why you think each individual provides an example of the corresponding ide-
ology. Pay careful attention to both the way language is used and the ideas that are
presented.
2. What is the most important issue that The Saber-Tooth Curriculum raises for you
as an educator? Why is this issue significant?
E7.4 Complete the curriculum ideologies inventory, located in the Appendix and on the
home page of this Web site.
1. If you graphed your ideology earlier, compare your current graph to the graph
you made earlier. Did anything change? If parts of your ideology changed, why do
you think this occurred?
2. If this is the first time you are graphing your ideology, answer the following questions:
a. How accurate is the graph of your ideology?
b. When you were in elementary school, did you ever have a teacher who taught
in accordance with the Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner Centered,
or Social Reconstruction ideology? Describe the teacher(s).
c. When you were in middle of high school, did you ever have a teacher who
taught in accordance with the Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner
Centered, or Social Reconstruction ideology? Describe the teacher(s).
d. When you were in college, did you ever have a teacher who taught in accor-
dance with the Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner Centered, or
Social Reconstruction ideology? Describe the teacher(s).
e. If you went through your teacher-preparation program, did any of your pro-
fessors try to convince you that you should believe in one of the ideologies? If
so, did those teachers also teach in a way that was consistent with the under-
lying assumptions of their preferred ideology?
E7.5 Imagine yourself in the following situation:
You have been teaching for 10 years in the same school. During those years your
school has had four new principals, each of whom began his job by introducing
a new curriculum innovation designed to improve instruction in your school and
asking all teachers to adopt it. Your school now has a new principal, the fifth in your
Chapter 7: Individual Perspectives ❖ 37
10 years in the school. That principal begins the year by introducing at the first fac-
ulty meeting a new curriculum innovation that he wants all teachers in the school to
adopt in order to improve instruction in the school. After the faculty meeting, anoth-
er teacher comments to you, “I can’t believe it: another new fad we’re expected to
adopt. No way!”
How would your thoughts and responses to this teacher’s comments be different if
you knew nothing about the ideologies discussed in this book, compared to what
they would be now that you are well aware of the ideologies and the differences
among them?
❖
Curriculum
Ideologies Inventory
nstructions for graphing the results and interpreting the results of the inventory are
I found on pages 216–218 of Curriculum Theory: Conflicting Visions and Enduring
Concerns, the book that accompanies this Web site.
39
Instructions
In each of the following sections you will find four statements with a blank in front of
each. Read each statement carefully and then rank the statements from 1 to 4, placing:
1 next to the statement that you like most
2 next to the statement that you like second most
3 next to the statement that you like third most
4 next to the statement that you dislike the most
Use each of the numbers (1, 2, 3, and 4) only once in each part of the inventory.
Place the numbers on the lines to the left of each statement. This is not a test. There is
no one right answer. Take your time.
Part 1
____ Schools should provide children with the ability to perceive problems in society, envi-
sion a better society, and act to change society so that there is social justice and a
better life for all people.
____ Schools should fulfill the needs of society by efficiently training youth to function as
mature constructive members of society.
____ Schools should be communities where the accumulated knowledge of the culture is
transmitted to the youth.
____ Schools should be enjoyable, stimulating, child-centered environments organized
around the developmental needs and interests of children as those needs and inter-
ests present themselves from day to day.
Part 2
____ Teachers should be supervisors of student learning, utilizing instructional strategies
that will optimize student learning.
____ Teachers should be companions to students, using the environment within which the
student lives to help the student learn.
____ Teachers should be aids to children, helping them learn by presenting them with
experiences from which they can make meaning.
____ Teachers should be knowledgeable people, transmitting that which is known to those
who do not know it.
Part 3
____ Learning best proceeds when the student is presented with the appropriate stimulus
materials and positive reinforcement.
____ Learning best proceeds when the teacher clearly and accurately presents to the
student that knowledge which the student is to acquire.
____ Learning best takes place when children are motivated to actively engage in experi-
ences that allow them to create their own knowledge and understanding of the world
in which they live.
____ Learning best occurs when a student confronts a real social crisis and participates in
the construction of a solution to that crisis.
Curriculum Ideologies Inventory ❖ 41
Part 4
____ The knowledge of most worth is the structured knowledge and ways of thinking that
have come to be valued by the culture over time.
____ The knowledge of most worth is the personal meaning of oneself and of one’s world
that comes from one’s direct experience in the world and one’s personal response to
such experience.
____ The knowledge of most worth is the specific skills and capabilities for action that
allow an individual to live a constructive life.
____ The knowledge of most worth is a set of social ideals, a commitment to those ideals,
and an understanding of how to implement those ideals.
Part 5
____ Childhood is essentially a time of learning in preparation for adulthood, when one
will be a constructive, contributing member of society.
____ Childhood is essentially a period of intellectual development highlighted by growing
reasoning ability and capacity for memory that results in ever greater absorption of
cultural knowledge.
____ Childhood is essentially a time when children unfold according to their own innate
natures, felt needs, organic impulses, and internal timetables. The focus is on children
as they are during childhood rather than as they might be as adults.
____ Childhood is essentially a time for practice in and preparation for acting upon society
to improve both oneself and the nature of society.
Part 6
____ Evaluation should objectively indicate to others whether or not students can or can-
not perform specific skills. Its purpose is to certify students’ competence to perform
specific tasks.
____ Evaluation should continuously diagnose children’s needs and growth so that further
growth can be promoted by appropriate adjustment of their learning environment. It
is primarily for the children’s benefit, not for comparing children with each other or
measuring them against predetermined standards.
____ Evaluation should be a subjective comparison of students’ performance with their
capabilities. Its purpose is to indicate to both the students and others the extent to
which they are living up to their capabilities.
____ Evaluation should objectively determine the amount of knowledge students have
acquired. It allows students to be ranked from those with the greatest intellectual gain
to those with the least.
Curriculum Ideologies Inventory Graphing Sheet

(To access this diagram for your own use, visit www.sagepub.com/schiro_activities.)
Graph:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
Purpose Teaching Learning Knowledge Childhood Evaluation
A-1
Scholar Academic
A-2
A-3
A-4
B-1
Learner Centered
B-2
B-3
B-4
C-1
Reconstruction
C-2
Social
C-3
C-4
D-1
Social Efficiency
D-2
D-3
D-4
Sorting Form:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
C ___ D ___ D ___ A ___ D ___ D ___
D ___ C ___ A ___ B ___ A ___ B ___
A ___ B ___ B ___ D ___ B ___ C ___
B ___ A ___ C ___ C ___ C ___ A ___

❖
Curriculum Scope,
Sequence,
Integration, and
Continuity
Simulation
Introduction
This is a simulation designed to help you understand some of the issues educators face
when they write curriculum. In particular, it is designed to force you to face some of
the questions and problems related to scope, sequence, integration, and continuity
that curriculum developers must face when they create curriculum. The assumption
underlying this simulation is that, by having to face and struggle with some of the
choices curriculum workers encounter, you will come to better understand the choices
and what is gained or lost by making certain decisions. In this simulation, you will be
asked to make choices similar to those that many curriculum developers and curricu-
lum committees confront. Please confront the questions you are given, and as you
answer them, figure out why you are making the decisions you are. The purpose of the
simulation is not just to get you to make decisions, but to get you to do so in a setting
where you can explain why you made the decisions you did and what you have gained
or lost by doing so.
You should engage in this simulation in groups of from two to six persons, so that
the decisions made must be negotiated and the reasons for taking a particular stance
or suggesting a particular course of action must be clearly specified. Work through the
simulation in the order in which the activities are given and make decisions before
moving on to later parts of the simulation; do not jump from earlier to later parts of
the simulation.
This simulation relates to issues of curriculum scope, sequence, integration, and
continuity. These four issues all relate to how to select and organize the essence of
a curriculum, be it content (things children understand and information children
43
acquire), learning experiences (out of which children make their own meanings and
that stimulate their own unique growth), skills (specific competencies that children
acquire), or values (moral and ethical stances and perspectives on our world).
• Scope relates to what should be taught or learned.

• Sequence relates to when different parts of the curriculum should be learned with
respect to the other parts of the curriculum.
• Integration relates to how different strands of a piece of curriculum relate to other
things occurring in students’ lives, either in other school subjects or outside school in
their homes and community.
• Continuity relates to how previous learnings and future learnings relate in terms of
cumulative effects of learning.
Within this simulation, you are to pretend that you are on a curriculum commit-
tee. You must decide which one of the following three grade levels you will be working
with: Grade 4, Grade 7, or Grade 10.
You are assigned the job of preparing a curriculum that will run for only 2 weeks (10
days) at your grade level for all of the teachers in your school system (not just yourself).
The curriculum will relate to the life and/or contributions of (a) George Washington,
(b) Abraham Lincoln, or (c) both men. You must assume that the children you will teach
know nothing of these men and that they will never again learn about them in school.
Yes, that is an unrealistic assumption, but one of the problems of curriculum planning
is a scarcity of time to do everything we might want to do, and that is the situation in
which you are being placed. Do not assume that your students already know about these
historical figures.
One of the first issues for you to confront relates to what to include in your cur-
riculum. This is an issue of scope. Two major problems exist with respect to scope.
First, there is more material to put into the school curriculum than time permits.
Second, people have different opinions about what belongs in the school curriculum.
For example, there are competing claims for the inclusion of occupational, political,
social, and intellectual knowledge in the curriculum. You are also learning about the
different opinions concerning philosophical or ideological intentions for the school
curriculum. In addition, our population in the U.S. comes from a wide variety of cul-
tural and religious backgrounds that have different hopes for our schools. One of the
American dilemmas is that the diversity of the American population makes consensus
very difficult to obtain. Many of our strengths and weakness stem from our diversity.
Curriculum Design Simulation

• First, you must decide which one of the following three grade levels you will be work-
ing with: Grade 4, Grade 7, or Grade 10.
• Second, you must decide on a very general level what your curriculum will be about. In
particular, will it relate to the life and/or contributions of (a) George Washington, (b)
Abraham Lincoln, or (c) both men? If you decide on (c), determine how you will allocate
your 2 weeks of time between Washington and Lincoln. Also determine, in a very general
way, what you wish to accomplish by having children learn about (a), (b), or (c). Here, you
Curriculum Scope, Sequence, Integration, and Continuity Simulation ❖ 45
must face several different decisions. One relates to going into depth about one important
topic versus having breadth and covering several important topics. In this simulation, and
life, you cannot have both. Another issue you must face relates to why you are having
children study Washington, Lincoln, or both men: to help them understand the lives of
the men, to help them understand U.S. history, to help them understand contemporary
U.S. society, to help them understand themselves, etc. You cannot have it all. Make your
decisions now. Come to a consensus in your group. Try to figure out why you decided as
you did. Is there a relationship between your preferred ideology and the decisions you
made? Try to understand what you gained and lost in deciding as you did. After making
your decisions and reflecting, discuss these things.
• Third, your curriculum can emphasize only one of the following four types of knowl-
edge: content (things children understand and information children acquire), learning
experiences (out of which children make their own meanings and that stimulate their
own unique growth), skills (specific competencies that children acquire), or values
(moral and ethical stances and perspectives on our world). You can have primary and
secondary emphases, but you can’t have it all. Decide which your curriculum will
emphasize. Then reflect on what motivated you to make your decision and what you
have gained or lost by making your decision. This is one of the most difficult decisions
related to scope for curriculum workers to make.
• Fourth, you now need to acquire the specific material that you might put in your cur-
riculum. What sources are you going to go to? In the past, curriculum workers have used
a variety of sources: the textbooks currently used in their school system, textbooks that
they used in college, scholars in a particular academic discipline (in this case, history),
teacher educators who are experts about a particular area or curriculum, professional cur-
riculum developers, behavioral or developmental psychologists, libraries (such as the
Library of Congress, which might have original sources, or the local community library,
which might have secondary sources), the Internet, toy stores (yes, curriculum developers
have found many wonderful things in toy stores—for example, many of the Elementary
Science Study materials, such as pattern blocks and meal worms, were found in toy
stores), etc. You have a limited amount of time and energy, so you cannot use all sources.
Which are you going to use? Also decide on what types of things you are going to search
for: wonderful experiences for children to engage in, the understandings that children
should acquire and events that they should know about, the values they should acquire,
the skills that they should learn, or the specific objectives your curriculum seeks to obtain.
You cannot have it all. The decision you must really make is what you will do first and what
will derive from the first things you do. For example, will you first find wonderful experi-
ences for children to engage in and then determine the specific knowledge for children to
acquire based on those experiences? Or will you first decide on the knowledge you want
children to learn and then search for experiences? Or, as Tyler suggests, will you first
determine your objectives, then acquire and organize learning experiences, so that you
can eventually evaluate whether or not you achieved your objectives? Again, you can’t have
it all. Decide which will come first and then what will flow from what you first search out.
Also, think about what you gained or lost by your way of proceeding.
• Fifth, as you acquire material to include in your curriculum, assume that you get much
more material than can fit into the 2 weeks you have. This is a problem almost all cur-
riculum workers face: too much material and not enough time. How do you determine
what to put in and what to leave out? Other than on a whim, that is. What criteria are
you going to use to help you decide which specific items to include or exclude? Here are
five traditional questions regarding new items going into curriculum:
1. Is an item significant to an organized field of knowledge?

2. Does the item stand the test of survival over time?
3. Is the item useful?
4. Is the item interesting to the learner?
5. Does the item contribute to the growth and development of a democratic society?
Which of these questions, or which set of questions, are you going to use to guide
you in your selection of material for your curriculum. Why? What do you lose or gain
by using some questions rather than others? Some curriculum theorists have said that
for something new to be added to a curriculum, all five of the above questions needs to
be answered in the affirmative. What do you think?
So far, you have considered yourselves to be the ones making the decisions about
what to include in your curriculum. This is not always the way things are. Think about
the following two issues:
• One of the questions that the field of curriculum is now struggling with is
“Where do you think decisions should be made about what to include or exclude from
the school curriculum: at the local level within the community where children live by
the members of that community, at the state level by those residents of the state most
qualified to make them (or politicians who have the power to make them), or at the
national level for the country as a whole by the nation’s best experts?” What do you
think? (These issues are sometimes phrased in such terms as national standards, state
standards, state-adopted textbooks, and local, teacher, or school empowerment.)
• Who do you think should decide what to include or exclude from the school
curriculum: teachers, parents, children, school boards, university scholars, politicians,
professional curriculum designers, the special interest groups who care most about the
material that children might learn, or some other group?
• Sixth, you are now going to have to decide how to sequence the material you are placing
into your curriculum (be it content, experiences, skills, or values). Despite the popular
belief that there is only one natural way of sequencing the material within a curriculum,
there are in fact many different ways of sequencing. Knowing that there are a variety of
sequencing algorithms is one thing; deciding on which to use is another. What system
are you going to use to sequence the material? What do you lose or gain from using your
system over others?
simple to complex chronological
easy to difficult developmental
prerequisite learnings close at hand to far away
whole to parts easy to difficult
parts to whole known to unknown
• Seventh, you must decide how you will provide for continuous and cumulative growth
of the scope of your curriculum and of the learner who will engage your curriculum.
While continuity is usually an issue we think about in multiyear terms, we also need to
think about it in short-term situations. How are you going to provide for continuous
and cumulative growth over time, both within your 2-week curriculum and from this
year to next year, of the scope of your curriculum and the learners themselves? How are
your going to ensure that your curriculum provides students with opportunities to give
Curriculum Scope, Sequence, Integration, and Continuity Simulation ❖ 47
progressively more demanding performance, acquire progressively greater depth and

breadth of understanding, engage in progressively more exacting analysis of what they
read and listen to, develop progressively more sophisticated value systems, be present-
ed with progressively more complex material, etc.? The need for continuity has been
written about in the research literature, but few practical strategies have been proposed
other than the “spiral curriculum” in which topics are revisited repeatedly over the years
at increasingly greater levels of sophistication. What are you going to do?
• Eighth, curriculum integration is a problem that arises because many parts of the school
curriculum exist and it is not easy to relate them to each other. How are you going to
relate what you do in your 2-week Washington and/or Lincoln curriculum to what is
going on in math, science, English, physical education, and the other classes that
students in your school system are taking? How are you going to relate what you do in
your 2-week Washington and/or Lincoln curriculum to what is going on in your
students’ home lives, their community life, and in the society in which they live? These
questions need to be answered, or we need to decide to ignore them. How are you going
to answer them, or are you going to ignore them? If you choose to ignore them, how
can you justify doing so?
(For your information, we used to teach penmanship, public speaking, grammar,
composition, writing, reading, and literature as separate subjects, but now we have inte-
grated all these into the language arts. Similarly, we used to teach history, civics, and
geography as separate subjects, but now we teach the social studies. Are we better off
now that we have integrated these subjects, or were we better off when the subjects were
taught separately?)
Who do you think should be responsible for doing the integrating of the material
presented by your Washington and/or Lincoln curriculum: children, teachers, or the
curriculum developers? And where do you think the integration should take place?
Usually the choices boil down to the following:
• Within the individual child and by the individual child
• Within the curriculum itself by the curriculum developers
• Within the instructional arena by teachers
We often think of integrated curriculum as either a product (an integrated curricu-
lum) or a process (the process of learning how to relate the material presented by differ-
ent parts of the curriculum). How do you choose to think about curriculum integration:
as a set of relationships that the curriculum, teacher, or child defines, or as a process by
which one learns to make relationships and see relationships? Decide this and then reflect
on how your answers to the previous several questions agree with your perspective.
❖
Curriculum
Materials
Examination With
Respect to the
Nature of
Knowledge
he following four types of curriculum materials on Christopher Columbus have
T been designed to help you sharpen your understanding of the different ways in
which adherents of the Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner Centered, and Social
Reconstruction ideologies view the nature of the knowledge that they consider to be of
greatest worth for inclusion in the school curriculum. Each set of materials begins with
the essay on Christopher Columbus, The Christopher Columbus Story, and then contin-
ues with games and activities. Carefully examine the materials in order to determine the
nature of the knowledge that each ideology believes should be promoted in schools.
1. Distinguish among knowledge as understanding, knowledge as skills, knowledge as

meaning, and knowledge as values while referencing specifics in the Christopher
Columbus curriculum materials.
2. Describe how the Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner Centered, and Social
Reconstruction views of knowledge are embedded in their respective materials.
Curriculum workers’ concepts of the types of knowledge that are most valuable
and most worthy of inclusion in curriculum are of great importance. The positions
they hold can be ascertained by asking the following questions:
• What is the nature of knowledge?

• What kinds of abilities does knowledge give to a person?
• What is the source of knowledge?
49
• From where does knowledge derive its authority?

• How is knowledge’s truth verified?
The types of answers that can be given to these questions vary. Possible answers in
random arrangement and very brief description follow. Identify which answers are
associated with which ideology (Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner Centered,
or Social Reconstruction). Reference the Christopher Columbus materials to justify
your answers.
• What is the nature of knowledge?

personal meanings
capabilities for action
intelligence and a moral stance
didactic statements
• What kinds of abilities does knowledge give to a person?
to actualize oneself
to do
to understand
to interpret and reconstruct society
• What is the source of knowledge?
individuals’ subjective interpretation of society’s past, present, and future
objective reality as interpreted by the academic disciplines
individuals’ personal creative response to experience
normative objective reality as socially interpreted
• From where does knowledge derive its authority?
the objective information within the academic disciplines, which embody our cul-
ture’s essential knowledge
the subjective meaning it has to its possessor
the ability of specific performances, which individuals can acquire, to perpetuate society
individuals’ subjective visions of the future “good society”
• How is knowledge’s truth verified?
by checking the degree to which it reflects the essence of an academic discipline and
the information valued by our culture
through the personal insights of those individuals who possess it
by seeing if it corresponds to society’s view of the nature of empirical reality
through individuals’ personal beliefs in its ability to improve society
Curriculum Materials Examination ❖ 51
The Christopher Columbus Story

Christopher Columbus was born in the Italian city of Genoa in 1451. His father was a
weaver. But Christopher was more interested in sailing ships than in weaving wool, and
when he was 14 years old he left home to sail the seas. He had many adventures as a
seaman. One of Christopher’s early adventures occurred in 1476, off the coast of Portugal.
French pirates attacked the ship Christopher was sailing in. Sailors on the ships shot
canons and guns at each other for several hours. Eventually Christopher’s ship caught on
fire and sank. To save his life, Christopher swam 6 miles to the shore of Portugal.
About 200 years before Christopher Columbus began sailing the seas, Marco Polo
traveled to China and introduced Europe to the wonderful spices and silks that could
be obtained from China, India, and the other countries that formed the part of Asia
Europeans called the Indies. For many years, Europe got spices, silks, and other trea-
sures from the Indies from traders who carried them on camels and horses across the
land from the Indies to Europe. Europeans became very fond of the spices and silks that
they got from the Indies. But eventually the Muslim states that existed between Europe
and the Indies blockaded trade between Europe and the Indies. In 1453, Constantinople
(now Istanbul) was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, and trade between Europe and
the Indies became almost nonexistent. Europeans were very upset to lose their ability to
get spices and silks from the Indies. They set about trying to find other routes to reach
the Indies that did not involve traveling across the land between Europe and the Indies.
At the time that Christopher Columbus swam to Portugal after pirates sank his ship,
the Portuguese were trying to sail around Africa to reach the Indies. If they could sail
around Africa, Europeans would have a new way of getting spices and silks from the Indies.
When Christopher was in Portugal, he decided that there was a better way to reach the
Indies and obtain its spices and silks than sailing around Africa. He decided that it made
more sense to sail to the west across the Great Ocean that separated Europe and the Indies.
Christopher Columbus calculated that the earth was 19,000 miles around and that
there was 2,400 miles between Europe and the Indies. He decided that he could sail
that distance to reach the Indies faster than he could reach it if he traveled around
Africa. Christopher went to the Portuguese king and tried to get him to pay for him to
travel across the Great Ocean to the Indies so he could bring back silk and spices. The
Portuguese king said, “No,” because his advisers told him that the earth was about
25,000 miles around, that the distance from Europe to the Indies was about 10,500
miles, and that none of the ships that existed at that time were large enough to carry
supplies that would allow them to travel across an ocean that was 10,500 miles wide.
Christopher Columbus did not give up. He asked the kings of England, France, and
Spain to pay for his sailing trip across the Great Ocean to the Indies. They all said, “No.”
They thought the distance was too great for ships of that time to cross. Eventually, the
king of Spain decided to see if Christopher Columbus’s calculations about the size of
the earth were correct and offered to pay for a trip to the Indies. He gave Christopher
three ships, the Santa Maria, the Nina, and the Pinta, and money to hire sailors and buy
food. On August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain for the Indies.
Christopher Columbus’s trip to the Indies was difficult. One of his ships, the
Pinta, was damaged during the trip. Luckily, it could be repaired during the trip. His
sailors were afraid of many things that might happen to them. They were afraid that
they might be eaten by a giant sea monster or that their ship might be sucked down
into a giant whirlpool and that they would drown. They were also afraid that they
would sail so far from Spain that they would run out of water and food and that as a
result they would starve to death or die of thirst. To keep his crew from becoming too
fearful and mutiny, Christopher Columbus kept two logs on his ship. The logs
recorded what happened and how far he traveled each day. In his private log, which
only he read, Christopher Columbus accurately recorded how far he traveled each day.
In the ship’s log, which was public and which all of his crew could read, Christopher
Columbus lied and recorded that he traveled a shorter distance each day than he actu-
ally did travel. He hoped that this would keep his crew from being afraid that they had
traveled too far from Spain, and that if they could not find the Indies they would be
unable to return to Spain without starving to death or dying from thirst.
On October 7, 1492, Christopher Columbus reached land that he thought was the
Indies. He described the people he found there as quiet, gentle, peaceful, and generous.
He also wrote that they wore no clothing and painted their faces and bodies.
Christopher called the people that he discovered living on the land “Indians,” because
he though they were the inhabitants of the Indies—that they were the people who
lived in China, India, and Japan.
Christopher Columbus had many adventures during his trip to the New World and
back to Spain. On December 25, 1492, the Santa Maria ran into some rocks and sank.
On the way home, Christopher got caught in a big storm and was so afraid that his ship
would sink without his being able to tell the people of Europe what he had discovered
that he put a description of his travels and discoveries in a barrel, sealed it closed, and
threw it overboard—in hopes that Europeans would read about his discoveries even if
he drowned. When Christopher Columbus did arrive back in Spain and described how
he had discovered the Indies, he was given the titles of “Admiral of the Ocean Sea” and
“Viceroy of the Indies.” Christopher Columbus quickly became famous for his discov-
ery that it was possible to sail across the Great Ocean and reach the Indies.
Christopher Columbus was wrong about what he discovered. He had not reached the
Indies. He had reached the Americas. Christopher Columbus’s belief about his ability to
sail from Europe to the Indies was incorrect in two ways. First, he though the earth was a
lot smaller than it actually is. The circumference of the earth is about 25,000 miles, not
19,000 miles as Christopher Columbus thought. The advisers to the Portuguese king were
correct, and ships of that time would not have been able to carry enough food and water
to travel across an ocean 10,500 miles wide. The second error that Christopher Columbus
made, and that all of the educated Europeans made in 1492, was thinking that there was
nothing but ocean between Europe and the Indies. The continents of North America and
South America were in the middle of the ocean that separated Europe from the Indies.
Even though Christopher Columbus was incorrect in two ways, he made an
important discovery that had an enormous effect on the world. He discovered that if
you sailed west from Europe, you would reach a place that had many natural resources
that were of great value—resources that Europe was eager to exploit. He made that dis-
covery because he had faith in what he believed, and because he had the courage to
pursue what he believed to be true—even though he was incorrect.
Christopher Columbus did not “discover” the New World—the lands we now call
North America and South America. Ancestors of the Native Americans traveled to the
New World from Asia thousands of years before Christopher Columbus arrived.
Northern Europeans from Scandinavia also settled in the New World 500 years before
Christopher arrived. But Christopher Columbus began an age of discovery when he
found the New World at a time when Europe was ready to expand and begin taking
advantage of what he found.
Christopher Columbus’s discovery changed many things for the people of the
World. Europeans and Asians got corn, potatoes, beans, and tomatoes from the New
World—they did not exist in Europe or Asia before Christopher’s discovery. Native
Americans got horses, cows, sheep, bananas, and coffee from Europe—they did not
exist in the New World before Christopher Columbus arrived. Many Europeans left
their homes to come to the New World to enrich their lives as a result of what
Christopher Columbus discovered. Many Native Americans died because of the dis-
eases that the Europeans brought with them to the New World. Christopher Columbus’s
discovery—that a New World existed in the middle of the ocean between Europe and
Asia—was important to all of the people of the World.
Christopher Columbus From the Scholar Academic Viewpoint

Read “The Christopher Columbus Story.” In studying history, we must search more deeply
than such statements to understand Christopher Columbus’s life and accomplishments.
In this project, you will first see what facts you can find out about Columbus by
examining an entry in an encyclopedia.
You will then read a short book about Columbus and create a time line that
describes the major events in his life. You will then select one event in his life and
explore it in greater depth by reading what a well-respected historian has to say about
that event, and you will write a short research report that describes the place of that
event in Christopher Columbus’s life. (Check with the teacher to make sure no one else
in the class is reporting on the same event you are.) We will conclude this part of our
investigation into Christopher Columbus’s life by constructing a class book on the
life of Christopher Columbus that contains entries from everyone’s time lines—
constructed using our TimeLiner Software 5.0 from Tom Snyder Productions—and
everyone’s research reports on events in Columbus’s life.
You will then read an original document written by Christopher Columbus. In
doing historical research, we use original documents to get the facts whenever possi-
ble. You will read Christopher Columbus’s ship’s log in which he describes what hap-
pened during his first trip to the New World. You will select an event (such as damage
to one of his ships, complaints by sailors, or the sighting of land, birds, or fish) that
occurred during his trip and prepare an oral report that describes what occurred dur-
ing a day or a several-day period. (Check with the teacher to make sure no one else
in the class is reporting on the same event you are.) We will conclude this part of our
investigation into Christopher Columbus’s life by having a conference on Columbus’s
first trip to the New World, during which students will give accurate oral reports to the
class on actual events that occurred on his trip.
Finally, you will read another original document written by Columbus: the letter he
wrote to the king and queen of Spain upon returning from his first voyage to the New
World. You will answer some questions about what he wrote in that letter to demonstrate
your understanding of his life and contributions.
First, locate an encyclopedia and read its description of the basic facts of the life of
Christopher Columbus. An excellent Internet encyclopedia is Wikipedia. Its entry on
Christopher Columbus can be found at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus.
Second, get a better understanding of Christopher Columbus by reading more deeply
about his life and constructing a time line that sequences historical events and puts them
in context. To do this, read a short book about Christopher Columbus. As you read the
book, create a time line that lists events in his life. When the time line is complete, choose
an event in Columbus’s life that you are interested in finding more about, and read more
deeply about it in a book written by a scholar. Then write a short, one-page research
report about the event you chose to study. You will report what you have found during a
scholarly conference on Christopher Columbus that we will have in our classroom.
1. Create a time line that lists the major events in Columbus’s life. The time line should
extend from Christopher Columbus’s birth in 1451 to his death in 1506. Two types of
resources can help you do this.
a. Time lines that describe Columbus’s life have been created by historians in the past.
Historians always use what others have studied and written about when they begin
to explore new topics. You can use someone else’s time line to get you started on
making your own time line. Time lines can be found on the Internet. One is located
at http://www.abcteach.com/MonthtoMonth/October/timeline.htm
b. Many short books have been written by people who have studied Christopher
Columbus. There are many books about the life of Christopher Columbus in our
classroom library, the school library, our town library, and on the Internet. Choose
one and read it. Some books can be obtained free on the Internet. These are some
of the books available on the Internet or in our classroom library:
• The True Story of Christopher Columbus by Elbridge S. Brooks (Kessinger, 2004, or
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext98/ttscc10.txt)
• Christopher Columbus by Mildred Stapley Byne (BiblioBazaar, 2006, or
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext04/chclm10.txt)
• Christopher Columbus: The Life of a Master Navigator and Explorer by David West
and Jackie Gaff (Rosen, 2005)
• Christopher Columbus by Tanya Larkin (Rosen, 2001)
• Christopher Columbus: Master Italian Navigator in the Court of Spain by Martha
Kneib (Rosen, 2003)
2. Historians always go to original documents that give the actual facts, which allow them
to acquire a true understanding about events. The following books, written by histori-
ans who are experts on Christopher Columbus, go into greater depth about events in
Christopher Columbus’s life. When you decide what event you are going to examine in
depth, consult one of these books to find out more about the event. (Check with the
teacher to make sure no one else in the class is reporting on the same event you are.)
Once you have a deep understanding of the facts about the event, write a short research
report in which you describe them. Use quotes in your report as needed to give the true
flavor of what occurred in history.
• Cohen, J. M. (1992). The four voyages of Christopher Columbus: Being his own
log-book, letters and dispatches with connecting narrative drawn from the life of the
Admiral by his son Hernando Colon and others. Penguin Classics.
• Jane, C. (Ed.). (1988). The four voyages of Columbus. New York: Dover. [Required
reading for any serious student of Columbus.]
• Morison, S. E. (1942). Admiral of the Ocean Sea. Boston: Little, Brown. [Pulitzer
prize–winning biography of Columbus by USN’s premier historian.]
• Young, F. (1906). Christopher Columbus and the New World of his discovery. London:
E. Grant Richards. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/4116/4116-h/4116-h.htm
3. When you complete this part of the study of Christopher Columbus, you will have a
time line on the life of Christopher Columbus and will have written a research report
on one of the events on the time line. We will conclude this part of our investigation
into Christopher Columbus’s life by constructing a class book on the life of Christopher
Columbus that contains entries from everyone’s time lines (constructed using our
TimeLiner Software 5.0 from Tom Snyder Productions) and everyone’s research reports
on the events you have written about in Columbus’s life.
Third, read Christopher Columbus’s description of what happened during his first
voyage to the New World, which he wrote about in his ship’s log. Historians always try
to use original documents when attempting to understand what actually occurred in
the past. Prepare an oral presentation that describes an event that occurred during
Columbus’s voyage. You will present it to the class. Make sure your information is accu-
rate and that, if needed, you are ready to quote from the original document. (Check with
the teacher to make sure no one else in the class is reporting on the same event you are.)
We will conclude this part of our investigation into Christopher Columbus’s life by hav-
ing a conference on Columbus’s first trip to the New World, during which students will
give accurate oral reports to the class on actual events that occurred on his trip.
Columbus’s ship’s log of events on the first voyage can be found at the following
Web sites:
• http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cgi-bin/docviewer.exe?CISOROOT=/aj&CISOPTR
=4213
• http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/columbus1.html
• http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=523794
Fourth, read another original document written by Christopher Columbus: his

letter to Raphael Sanxis, treasurer to Ferdinand, King of Spain, written in 1494. You
can find slightly different versions of this letter on the Internet at the locations listed
below. First look at the original Spanish document, then the direct translation of the
letter into English, and then a rewrite of the letter into modern English.
Original copies in Spanish can be found at
• http://www.usm.maine.edu/~maps/columbus/facsimile.html
• http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?intldl/esbib:
@OR(@field(NUMBER+@od1 (rbesp+0001_0007)))
Direct translations into English are located at
• http://www.usm.maine.edu/~maps/columbus/translation.html
• http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?intldl/esbib:
@OR(@field(NUMBER+@od1 (rbesp+0001_0015)))
Rewrites of the letter into contemporary English are located at
• http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/columlet.html
• http://wilstar.com/holidays/columbus_letter.htm
Answer these two questions, based on what you read in Columbus’s letter, in a way
that demonstrates your understanding of the significance of Christopher Columbus’s life
and accomplishments: What are the most important reasons why Christopher Columbus
sailed to the New World? What did he believe would be the impact of his discoveries on
Europe?
Christopher Columbus From the Social Efficiency Viewpoint

Description of the Materials1
“The Christopher Columbus Story” is one of 200 stories in this individualized
instruction program.
Each story is packaged as part of a four-page booklet. Each booklet contains a
story followed by questions that students must answer on a sheet of bubble paper that
can be scanned and scored by a computer. The 200 booklets in this individualized
instruction program are sequenced from easy to difficult, and all students working on
this individualized instruction program must successfully complete all of the booklets
in the order in which they are sequenced. Students may take different amounts of time
to complete each booklet and the entire program.
Stories within the program cover a wide range of topics, from biographies of
famous people (such as Christopher Columbus) to events (such as World War II),
places (such as Yellowstone National Park), animals (such as the polar bear), inven-
tions (such as the computer), and political issues (such as global warming). No two
booklets have stories about the same topic.
After students finish reading each story and answering the questions that follow it
(on a piece of the special bubble answer paper that accompanies the program), they put
their answer paper through a scanner attached to a classroom computer. The computer
does several things. First, it grades student answers and informs students whether they
answered enough questions correctly and can proceed to work on the next booklet in the
instructional program or whether they did not answer enough questions correctly and
must repeat the booklet they just finished. Second, the computer prints out a record
sheet for the teacher that informs the teacher of the work submitted by every student on
any day, gives each student’s score on the work submitted, and provides a copy of any
written work that the program required students to complete but did not grade. Third,
for each day, the computer prints out a poster to be mounted on a bulletin board. The
poster lists from top to bottom the students most successful in the program to those least
successful in the program (based on how many booklets have been correctly completed).
Questions That Follow the Christopher Columbus Story

These are the questions that follow the Christopher Columbus story. The ques-
tions following the story in each booklet are similar in nature and format.
Getting Information From What You Read

Mark T on your bubble sheet if the statement is true according to the story. Mark
F on your bubble sheet if the statement is false.
1. Christopher Columbus wanted to cross the Great Ocean to get spices and silks from
the Indies.
2. Columbus was correct in his belief that the distance around the earth is 19,000 miles.
3. Columbus was the first person to discover the continents of North and South America.
On your bubble sheet, mark the letter of the best answer to each question.
4. What were the sailors on Christopher Columbus’s ship afraid of?
a. being eaten by a lion
b. being eaten by a sea serpent
c. being kidnapped by a flying saucer
5. What did Christopher Columbus do when French pirates sank his ship in 1476?
a. swim 6 miles to the shore of Portugal
b. climb into a lifeboat and row to Spain
c. sneak onto the pirate ship and pretend to be a pirate
Finding Information on the Internet

Do an Internet search using google.com to find the answer to the following ques-
tion. On your bubble sheet, mark the letter of the best answer.
6. When did Christopher Columbus die?
a. 1503
b. 1506
c. 1510
Finding the Meaning of Words in the Dictionary

Look up the following words in the dictionary. On your bubble sheet, mark the
letter of the best definition.
7. circumference
a. a fence that goes around a ball field
b. the distance around the edge of a circle or circular object
c. to find a way of avoiding someone or something
8. blockade
a. an organized action to prevent people or goods from entering or leaving a place
b. a drink like lemonade that is made out of the block flower
c. to help a person who is building a house out of wooden blocks
Studying Words2
All of the words listed below have the letter c in them.
cost city
cat cent
cut place
In the group of words on the left the c stands for the sound of k as in keep. This is
called the “hard sound” of c. In the group of words on the right the c stands for the
sound of s as in send. This is called the “soft sound” of c. Each of the words below has
a c in it. On your bubble sheet, indicate whether the c has a hard sound or a soft sound
by marking the correct letter.
9. record
a. hard sound of c
b. soft sound of c
10. voice
a. hard sound of c
b. soft sound of c
11. fact
a. hard sound of c
b. soft sound of c
Contractions
Doesn’t is a shorter way of writing does not. It is called a contraction. Each of the
phrases below has a contraction. Choose the correct contraction for each phrase.
12. could not
a. couldn’t
b. can’t
13. they are
a. they’d
b. they’re
Using a Book’s Index3

Some books have an index at the end of the book to help you find information in
it. An index is an alphabetical list of information in the book, with page numbers next
to each piece of information that tell you where to find it in the book. The index entry
below lists information about Christopher Columbus.
Columbus, Christopher
birth . . . 2–4
childhood . . . 20–50
death . . . 450–452
first trip to the New World . . . 176–210
second trip to the New World . . . 256–300
On your bubble sheet, mark the letter of the page numbers where you will find the
desired information about Christopher Columbus.
14. Information about Christopher Columbus’s birth
a. pages 2–4
b. pages 176–210
c. pages 450–452
15. Information about Christopher Columbus’s first trip to the New World
a. pages 2–4
b. pages 176–210
c. pages 450–452
Using Good Handwriting and Your Imagination

Using your best handwriting, copy the following sentence onto you bubble sheet
in the space designated for written answers. Fill in the blank space with a color that you
think was the color of Christopher Columbus’s eyes.
Christopher Columbus’s eyes were _____.
Christopher Columbus From the Learner Centered Viewpoint

Description of the Materials4
“The Christopher Columbus Story” is part of a curriculum package that contains
200 activity cards, a classroom library of children’s books, numerous movies, and
many different types of instructional objects that children can use (such as hand pup-
pets and dress-up clothing for pretending). The Columbus story is used as part of the
introduction to a series of seven activity cards related to Christopher Columbus.
Individuals, small groups of children, or large groups can use the activity cards.
(Size of group is noted at the top of the card, along with a brief description of the
activity.) Children select which activity card or cards they will work on based on
which interests them. Some children will complete one activity card in the time that
others complete three cards. Activity cards can be worked on in any sequence.
Students are assessed on their unique endeavors in the context of their own potential
and the goals they set for themselves, as demonstrated by the activities they engage in
or objects they create.
Below are five of the activity cards that relate to Christopher Columbus. The
remaining cards involve (a) reading part of Christopher Columbus’s ship log from his
first trip to the Americas and then writing one’s own log (with illustrations) describ-
ing what several days on the Santa Maria might have been like for a sailor and (b) writ-
ing a comic book about some of Christopher Columbus’s adventures.
Individual or Small Group Tell a Story From a Picture Book

1. Choose a book from the classroom or school library on Christopher Columbus that has
lots of large pictures.
2. Now read the book.
3. Now create your own story that tells the story that is told in the book and that describes
what is actually going on in the pictures. When you describe what is occurring in the
pictures, tell what you think the people in the pictures are thinking and feeling.
4. Have your teacher help you arrange to tell the story to some younger children, perhaps
children in the first, second, or third grade.
5. Have your teacher help you find a place to tell your story about Christopher Columbus.
6. Tell your story to some younger children while referring to the pictures and describing
what is occurring in each picture. When you describe what is occurring in the
pictures, remember to describe what you think the people in the pictures are
thinking and feeling.
Individual or Small Group Put on a Puppet Show

1. Choose one of the movies on the adventures of Christopher Columbus from the
classroom or school library. Watch the movie.
2. Now read Columbus’s description from his ship’s log for October 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13,
14, and 15 of the year 1492, which describe what happened when he arrived in the New
World. His ship log can be found at any of the following Web sites:
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=523794
http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/
cgi-bin/docviewer.exe?CISOROOT = /aj&CISOPTR = 4213
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/columbus1.html
3. Select puppets from the classroom set of learning materials to use in a puppet show
that describes what happened when Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World
and in the few days that followed his arrival. (You can make your own sock, glove,
stick, or papier-mâché puppet, if you desire. Ask your teacher for instructions on how
to create your own puppets if you want to make your own.) Some puppets must tell
what Christopher Columbus and the Spaniards did and thought of the New World and
the Native Americans they found living there. Some puppets must tell what the Native
Americans thought of what Christopher Columbus and the Spaniards did when they
arrived in the New World.
4. Now plan a puppet show that describes what happened when Christopher Columbus
arrived in the New World and in the few days that followed his arrival. Some puppets
must tell what Christopher Columbus and the Spaniards did, thought, and felt about
the New World and the Native Americans. Some puppets must tell what the Native
Americans did, thought, and felt about Christopher Columbus and the Spaniards.
5. Build a puppet stage. (Your teacher has instructions if you need them.)
6. Perform your puppet show for the class. You can also perform your puppet show for
some younger children, if you desire. (If you perform your show for younger children,
ask you teacher to help you arrange the performance.)
Small Group Produce a Video

1. Read one of the following books in your classroom library about what it was like to be
a Native American on the island where Christopher Columbus first landed when he
reached the New World: Morning Girl by Michael Dorris (Hyperion, 1992), The Tainos:
The People Who Greeted Columbus by Francine Jacobs (Putnam, 1992), or Encounter by
Jane Yolen (Harcourt, Grace, Jovanovich, 1992).
2. Read the sections of one of the following books in your classroom or school library that
describes how Christopher Columbus and the Spaniards treated the Native Americans:
Where Do You Think You’re Going, Christopher Columbus? by Jean Fritz (Putnam, 1997) or
Christopher Columbus: The Intrepid Mariner by Sean J. Dolan (Ballantine Books, 1989).
3. Go to the Web site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus and read

section 4.2 on Columbus’s second voyage to the New World and section 7.2 on
Columbus as villain. Pay particular attention to how Columbus treated the Native
Americans during his second voyage to the New World.
4. Go to the Web site http://www1.minn.net/~keithp/destruct.htm and read about

“Columbus and the Destruction of Native Peoples.”
5. If you can find the following book in your school library, read part of it: A Short
Account of the Destruction of the Indies by Bartolome de Las Casas (Penguin, 1992)
6. Now plan a play that you can record on videotape that describes what happened when
Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World and how over the next several years
he and the Spaniards interacted with the Native Americans they found inhabiting the
New World. Some performers must be Spaniards (and include Christopher Columbus).
They must describe what the Spaniards did, thought, and felt about the New World and
the Native Americans. Some performers must be Native Americans. They must tell
what the Native Americans did, thought, and felt about Christopher Columbus and the
Spaniards.
7. Get a video camera with a videotape. Perform your play and record it.
8. Show your video to your classmates and friends and observe their reactions to how the
Spaniards and Native Americans treated each other.
Individual Write a Newspaper Article

1. Read one of the following books in your classroom library about what it was like to be
a Native American on the island where Christopher Columbus first landed when he
reached the New World: Morning Girl by Michael Dorris (Hyperion, 1992), The Tainos:
The People Who Greeted Columbus by Francine Jacobs (Putman, 1992), or Encounter by
Jane Yolen (Harcourt, Grace, Jovanovich, 1992).
2. Now pretend that some alien people from another planet come to Earth. Some of them
settle in the house next to yours. The aliens are twice as tall as members of your family,
are very strong, and are pink. Other than that, they look just like other people. The aliens
have weapons that make your weapons blow up if you try to use them. The aliens also
have ray guns that paralyze anyone who tries to attack them. The aliens tell everyone that
they have discovered Earth and that they want to know what the riches and treasures of
the Earth are so that they can bring them back to their planet to give to their rulers. They
offer small glass beads and brass bells in exchange for objects that they consider valuable.
If people do not give them the things they want, the aliens cut off their hands.
3. Now pretend that you are a newspaper reporter. Write a newspaper report that
describes the aliens and what they are doing on Earth for people who have not yet
encountered the aliens to read. Make sure you report how people feel about the aliens
and what they think will happen in the future if the aliens stay on Earth.
4. After you write your newspaper article, share it with your parents and some of your friends.
5. After your parents and friends read your article, ask them what they think about the
aliens and what the people of Earth should do about the aliens. Then tell them that
Christopher Columbus was just like the aliens to the Native Americans that he met
when he landed in the New World, and ask them what they think the Native Americans
should have done to Christopher Columbus.
Individual or Small Group Write an Opinion Paper

1. Go to the Web site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbian_Exchange and read about
the Columbian Exchange.
2. Write an opinion paper telling whether you think Europeans or Native Americans got
more as a result of Christopher Columbus’s “discovery” that the American continents
were in the middle of the Great Ocean that separated Europe from the Indies. In your
article, speculate how your life would be different today if this did not happen, and if
such things as the Italians’ getting tomatoes (from which they make spaghetti sauce) from
the American continents did not occur. (Note that the Italians got spaghetti from China).
3. Go to the Web site
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_history_of_American_indigenous_peoples
and read about the population history of Native Americans.
4. Now write a second opinion paper telling whether you think Europeans or Native
Americans got more as a result of Christopher Columbus’s “discovery” of America. In
your paper, speculate what the life of Native Americans might be like today if no one
from Europe, Asia, or Africa ever came to the Americas.
Christopher Columbus From the Social Reconstruction Viewpoint

Read “The Christopher Columbus Story.” We can learn much by studying the past,
thinking about how what we learn from the past is relevant to us today, and thinking
about how we can make the future even better than today by rectifying the problems
of today. To do this, we well engage in four projects that relate to what you have read
about Christopher Columbus.
In the first project, you will find out more about Christopher Columbus than you
learned from the introductory comments.
You will then explore issues related to telling the truth and lying.
You will then put Columbus and others on trial for genocide.
Finally, you will watch some movies portraying racial stereotypes and then answer
some questions about them.
Project 1: Finding Out More About Columbus

If we are going to understand the past, how it relates to the present, and how that
knowledge can be used to help us bring about a better future, we first have to learn
something about the past.
First, locate an encyclopedia and read its description of the life of Christopher
Columbus. An excellent Internet encyclopedia is Wikipedia. Its entry on Christopher
Columbus can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus.
Second, read a short book about Christopher Columbus. Two excellent books that
can be found in the library are Where Do You Think You’re Going, Christopher Columbus?
by Jean Fritz (Putnam, 1997) and Christopher Columbus: The Intrepid Mariner by
Sean J. Dolan (Ballantine Books, 1989).
Read parts of the book The Conquest of Paradise: Christopher Columbus and the
Columbian Legacy by Kirkpatrick Sale (Plume, 1991), which is at a more advanced
reading level, and compare and contrast its descriptions of the interactions between
the Spaniards and Native Americans with the descriptions in the other book you read.
Third, examine a time line that describes events related to the life and adventures
of Christopher Columbus. One that relates Spain, Columbus, and Tainos can be found
on pages 99–102 in Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years, edited by Bill Bigelow
and Bob Peterson (Rethinking Schools, 1998).
Fourth, watch the video The Columbus Controversy: Challenging How History Is
Written by American School Publishers, 1992 (available from the Teaching for
Change Catalog or www.teachingforchange.org). Why do you think our view of the
heroic adventures of Christopher Columbus is different from the view presented in
this video?
Fifth, read about some of the interactions that took place between the Spaniards
and Native Americans shortly after Columbus arrived in the New World. Some things
to read are listed below.
• Barreiro, J. (1998). The Tainos: “Men of the Good.” In B. Bigelow & B. Peterson (Eds.),
Rethinking Columbus: The next 500 years (pp. 106–107). Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking
Schools. (Think about what kind of people the “Indians” were—how did they live, what
did they value, and how did they treat other people?)
• Josephy, A., Jr. (1998). Taino resistance: Enrique’s uprising. In B. Bigelow & B. Peterson
(Eds.), Rethinking Columbus: The next 500 years (p. 111). Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking
Schools. (Think about what kind of people the “Indians” were—how did they live, what
did they value, and how did they treat other people?)
• Liestman, V. (1991). Columbus Day. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books. (What do
you think of the encounters between the Spaniards and Native Americans described in
this book?)
• Martin, P. (1998). Sugar and Slavery. In B. Bigelow & B. Peterson (Eds.), Rethinking
Columbus: The next 500 years (pp. 22–23). Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools. (Was
Columbus the first person to transport slaves from Africa to America?)
Sixth, read Columbus’s description from his ship’s log for October 7 to 15, 1492,
which describes what happened when he arrived in the New World. His ship’s log can
be found at any of the following Web sites:
• http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=523794
• http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cgi-bin/docviewer.exe?CISOROOT=/aj&CISOPTR
=4213
As you read Columbus’s log, think about these questions: What are Columbus’s
attitudes about the “Indians?” What do you think Columbus cared most about or most
desired from the New World? Based on Columbus’s observations, what kind of people
were the “Indians”—what did they value and how did they treat other people? Make
and keep notes about what you discover.
Seventh, read one of the following books in your classroom library about what
it was like to be a Native American on the island where Christopher Columbus first
landed when he reached the New World: Morning Girl by Michael Dorris (Hyperion,
1992), The Tainos: The People Who Greeted Columbus by Francine Jacobs (Putman,
1992), or Encounter by Jane Yolen (Harcourt, Grace, Jovanovich, 1992).
Eighth, read what one Spanish monk thought of how Columbus and his Spanish
followers regarded and treated the Native Americans in A Short Account of the
Destruction of the Indies by Bartolome de Las Casas (Penguin, 1992). Read just selected
parts of this book and think about how you would feel if you were a Native American
experiencing what Bartolome de Las Casas describes.
Project 2:Telling the Truth

Christopher Columbus had two logs that he kept while sailing to the Indies. He
kept one ship’s log that his sailors could read, in which he underestimated the distance
he traveled each day so that he could mislead his sailors about how far they had trav-
eled from Spain. He also kept a private log, in which he accurately recorded the dis-
tance he traveled each day.
Assignment 1. Speak with parents and friends to discover when local politicians
(such as your mayor or senator), state politicians (such as your governor), or national
politicians (such as the president) have lied to the people who have elected them and
whom they are supposed to represent. Write about some of the lies told by politicians.
Write about how people responded when they discovered the truth.
Assignment 2. Imagine a situation where it might be convenient to lie instead of

tell the truth. Describe it in a paragraph. Write a short essay on what you would do if
you were in that situation—lie or tell the truth. Describe your reasons for behaving as
you say you would.
When you complete Assignments 1 and 2, you will share what you have written
during a class discussion. During the class discussion the following questions will be
examined:
1. Would you rather have your politicians, leaders, and teachers lie to you or tell you
the truth?
2. If it is convenient to lie rather than to tell the truth, should a person lie or tell the truth?
3. If you thought it would help people if you lied rather than told the truth, would you lie
or tell the truth?
4. In general, do you think it is better to lie or to tell the truth? Why?
5. If you discovered a politician, teacher, or school principal lying to the people they were
supposed to represent or care for, and if the lie did not help the people to whom they
were lying, what might you do to disclose their lies and make sure that the truth was
heard?
a. What actions might you most effectively take as an individual?
b. What actions might you most effectively take as a member of a group?
c. What are the relative benefits and disadvantages of acting as individuals or as a
group?
Assignment 3. You have read many different materials about Christopher

Columbus. Do you think that children’s books and school textbooks tell the truth
about Christopher Columbus and the Spaniards who first visited the New World from
Europe? You and your classmates will examine different children’s books and text-
books to answer this question and then have a discussion about lying by not telling the
whole truth but only telling people what you want them to believe.
Get from your school or public library a children’s book about Christopher
Columbus that first-, second-, third-, or fourth-graders might read. Read it and then
write a short essay that tells why you think the book told the truth or lied about
Columbus and the early Spanish adventurers. Pay special attention to what the book
does not tell you about Christopher Columbus. Lying by not telling the whole truth
about something is a very important type of lying. Did the book you read tell you both
the good and bad things about Christopher Columbus and his fellow adventurers?
Get from your school a textbook that discusses Christopher Columbus. Read the
part of the book that tells about Christopher Columbus and the early Spanish settlers
in the New World. Then write a short essay that tells why you think the book told the
truth or lied about Columbus and the early Spanish settlers. Pay special attention to
what the textbook does not tell you about Christopher Columbus. Lying by not telling
the whole truth about something is a very important type of lying. Did the material
you read in the textbook tell you both the good and bad things about Christopher
Columbus and his fellow adventurers?
After you complete Assignment 3, you will share what you have written during a
class discussion. During the class discussion, the following questions will be examined:
1. Did the children’s books you read lie to you or tell you the truth? If they lied, did they
lie by telling falsehoods or by not telling important things that negatively portrayed
Christopher Columbus?
2. Did the textbooks you read lie to you or tell you the truth? If they lied, did they lie
by telling falsehoods or by not telling important things that negatively portrayed
Christopher Columbus?
3. Why might children’s books or textbooks lie to children?
4. In general, do you think it is better to lie or to tell the truth? Why?
5. If you discovered a children’s book, textbook, newspaper, magazine, television show, or
radio program lying to people, what might you do to disclose its lies and make sure that
the truth is heard? Consider doing such things as telling your friends, parents, and other
people about the lies; writing to the person who lied; writing a letter to the editor of a
newspaper telling him or her about the lie; calling a talk show and telling them about
the lie; making placards with friends that you all carry in a public place that tell about
the lie; and writing a song that you sing or chant with a group of friends in a public
place. There are also many other things that you could do.
a. What actions might you most effectively take as an individual?
b. What actions might you most effectively take as a member of a group?
c. What are the relative benefits and disadvantages of acting as individuals or as a group?
Assignment 4. Find a lie that a book, newspaper, magazine, television show, radio
program, adult, friend, or politician has told that you do not like. Figure out the best way
to expose that lie so that other people know the truth. Write a short description of the lie
and how you propose to expose the lie. Share you plans with your teacher and friends to
get their advice about the action you plan on taking. Then, taking into account the advice
you have been given, take action and expose the lie so that the truth can be known.
Project 3: On Trial for Genocide

A terrible crime was committed in the Americas in the years following 1492.
Perhaps as many as 3 million Tainos died. The Tainos were the Native Americans who
lived on the island of Hispaniola, which Christopher Columbus “discovered” in 1492.
Who was responsible? This will be the topic of the next activity, in which the class will
role-play a trial of Columbus, Columbus’s men, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella,
and the Tainos to determine who is responsible for the deaths. Later, we will examine
other genocides that have taken place, including some that are currently taking place in
our world, and we will explore what we can do about it.
Assignment 1. Prepare for the trial.
1. Reexamine the time line that describes events related to the life and adventures of
Christopher Columbus; it can be found on pages 99–102 in Rethinking Columbus: The
Next 500 Years, edited by Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson (Rethinking Schools, 1998).
2. Review the following items, which you read earlier, that describe some of the interac-
tions that took place between the Spaniards and Native Americans shortly after
Columbus arrived in the New World. They are found in Rethinking Columbus: The Next
500 Years, edited by Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson (Rethinking Schools, 1998).
• Sugar and Slavery by Philip Martin (pages 22–23)
• The Tainos: “Men of the Good” by Jose Barreiro (pages 106–107)
• Taino Resistance: Enrique’s Uprising by Alvin Josephy, Jr. (page 111)
3. Examine the following Web sites:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus (Read section 7: “Perceptions
of Columbus.”)
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_history_of_American_indigenous_peoples
(Read about the population history of Native Americans.)
4. Review the following books, which you read earlier:

• A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies by Bartolome de Las Casas (Penguin,
1992)
• Columbus Day by Vicki Liestman (Carolrhoda Books, 1991). (What do you think of
the encounters between the Spaniards and Native Americans described in this book?)
Assignment 2. Role-play and videotape the trial of the genocide of the Tainos. A com-
plete description of how to prepare for and run the role-play is described on pages 85–94
in Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years, edited by Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson
(Rethinking Schools, 1998). All needed student materials are also provided on pages 89–93.
Briefly, the class is divided up into six groups that represent a jury: Columbus,
Columbus’s men, King Ferdinand, Queen Isabella, the Tainos, and the System of
Empire. The teacher is the prosecutor and a parent or other adult is the judge. The
prosecutor hands out indictments, which charge each of the defendants with murder,
and tells why they are so charged. The defendants prepare arguments and speeches that
are designed to (a) defend themselves against the charges and (b) explain who they
think is really guilty and why. Defendants can call witnesses (role-played by students
in their group) that can be cross-examined and read anything they have read into the
record as part of their defense. When the trial begins, the prosecutor first argues the
guilt of a particular group. The accused then defend themselves. The jury then ques-
tions the group. Other defendants can then question the group. Other groups are then
charged and must defend themselves, until all groups have been cross-examined and
have defended themselves. The jury then leaves the room to deliberate: they must
assign guilt to each party in a percentage (for example, Columbus 50%, Tainos 20%,
etc.), and they must say why they are assigning guilt as they do. While the jury is delib-
erating, everyone else in the class is told to step outside of their roles and also deliber-
ate and assign guilt. Some questions that can be asked when the verdict is delivered are
1. Was anyone entirely not guilty? Were the Tainos in part responsible for their own death
by not fighting against the Spanish from the beginning?
2. How did you weigh responsibility between the “bosses” and the men whom they
commanded?
3. Could you imagine the Tainos and Spanish meeting in peace and working out a fair
treaty? Or did the Spanish concept of their superiority and the System of Empire make
that impossible?
4. If you were an American Indian in Hispaniola at the time of Christopher Columbus,

would there be anything you could do to prevent so many Tainos from dying?
5. If you were a Spaniard in Hispaniola at the time of Christopher Columbus, would there
be anything you could do to prevent so many Tainos from dying?
6. What was wrong with the moral values of the Spanish, which resulted in the deaths
of so many Native Americans? Are any of those things part of your moral values or the
moral values of anyone you know?
7. What do you think should be the punishment for each of the defendants found guilty?
How can the System of Empire be punished, since it is not a person?
Assignment 3. This activity will examine genocide in our world: where has it hap-
pened recently, where is it happening now, and what we can do about it. Genocide
involves the killing of many people, such as when the Spanish brought about the death
of perhaps as many as 3 million Tainos on the island of Hispaniola. Genocide did not
just happen in Hispaniola. The Spanish participated in genocide in South America and
Central America. The British and Americans participated in genocide in North
America. Genocide has taken place in East Timor, Germany (the Jewish Holocaust),
Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Macedonia, Armenia, Cambodia, Darfur, and Iraq. The Web is an
ideal place to find out about genocide. Find out more about genocide by visiting the
following Web sites:
1. What is genocide? http://www.genocidewatch.org/whatisgenocide.htm

2. Where have genocides taken place in the last 60 years, and how many people were killed
in each incident? http://www.genocidewatch.org/genocidetable2005.htm
3. What is the history of genocide? Read section 6 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide.
4. What are the stages of genocide? http://www.genocidewatch.org/8stages.htm
5. How can you fight genocide at its different stages? Visit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide and read section 7 (“Stages of Genocide and
How to Prevent It”).
6. What are some examples of genocide? Explore this at the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum at http://www.ushmm.org/. At this Web site you can watch movies,
see museum exhibits, read about people who have survived genocide, listen to podcasts,
and share your thoughts with others.
a. Select and watch one movie.
b. Visit one museum exhibit.
c. Read the stories of two people who survived genocide.
7. Another good Web site that presents information about genocide is the University of
Minnesota site at http://www.chgs.umn.edu/indexNS.html.
a. Visit its virtual Museum of Holocaust and Genocide Art at

http://www.chgs .umn.edu/Visual___Artistic_Resources/visual___artistic_
resources.html and see what you find.
b. Read the histories and narratives of at least two people involved in genocides at
http://www.chgs.umn.edu/Histories__Narratives__Documen/histories__
narratives__documen.html.
c. Examine some of the links to related genocide Web sites and issues at
http://www.chgs.umn.edu/Links___Bibliography/Links/links.html.
8. Now go to google.com and search using the word “genocide” to see if there is anything of
further interest to you. For example, you might want to find out more about Armenian
genocide at http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Armenian_Genocide. Or
you might want to find out about genocide in a country that your ancestors came from.
We do not learn about genocide just for the fun of it. We learn about it for many
reasons. One reason is so that we can understand the terrible things that people can do
to each other and (a) make sure that it never happens to us, (b) make sure that we
never unknowingly participate in it, (c) make sure that we do what we can to make
sure it does not occur in our community or country, and (d) work to bring about an
end to genocide in the places in the world where it is occurring.
With your class, have a discussion about why you think genocide takes place.
1. Make a list of the reasons why you think people kill large numbers of other people.
2. Discuss what it is about people’s moral values that allows them to kill large numbers of
other people. Make a list of moral values that you do not think are good.
3. What moral values do you think people can have that will make it unlikely that they will
kill large numbers of people? Make a list of these values. Do you know of people who have
these moral values?
You must now (a) engage in a project that brings about awareness of genocide
(and the prejudice that leads to it) in our world or (b) engage in a project in your
school or community to counter the prejudice that facilitates genocide. Knowing that
genocide is bad because it hurts people is not enough—you must do things to make
sure that social justice will prevail in our world and that our world will be a better place
in the future than it is now or has been in the past.
Brainstorm ideas about different types of antigenocide projects that you might
engage in. Below are some examples of projects. Many others can be thought of. When
you brainstorm ideas for projects, discuss why they will make the world a better place
than it is today. Before you make a final decision about what project you will engage
in, watch the movie Paper Clips.
1. Collect newspaper or magazine articles about genocide that is going on in our world
today, post them on a bulletin board in your classroom, and periodically report on
what you have discovered. You can do the same by searching for information about
genocide on the Web and printing it out.
2. Search newspapers, magazines, or the Web for issues related to genocide—such as slavery—
and report what you find to your class. Post the information on a bulletin board.
3. Discuss a genocide-related event with classmates, make placards to inform friends,

parents, and the general public about your thoughts, and hold a demonstration dur-
ing which you display your placards.
4. Watch a movie about genocide with your parents, grandparents, guardians, or friends’
parents and discuss the movie with them. A good movie to watch is Paper Clips.
It is currently available in most video stores and from www.amazon.com or
www.barnesandnoble.com.
5. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper giving your thoughts about a geno-
cide occurring in one part of the world and ask that the newspaper print your article.
6. Speak with someone who has experienced genocide or who has experienced prejudice.
Report what you find out to your class.
7. Invite victims of the Holocaust or other acts of genocide to share their thoughts and
feelings about their experiences with your class, family, or place of worship.
8. Read a book about genocide, write a review of it, and send your book review to your
local newspaper. Ask them to print your book review.
9. Write a poem about genocide and send it to your local newspaper. Ask them to print it.
10. Review the struggles of people in North and South America to better their lives
on pages 141 and 143 in Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years, edited by Bill
Bigelow and Bob Peterson (Rethinking Schools, 1998). You might find that some
people living near you are in need of your help, and you might think of a project
that can help them.
11. Find a book about genocide in the library that is appropriate to read to children in the
first, second, third, fourth, or fifth grade. Read it yourself. Then read it to some
younger children. After you finish reading the book, lead a discussion with them about
what they think of what happened in the book. Ask your teacher to help you arrange
to read your book to students in a lower grade. Here is a list of some books that might
be useful:
• Ackerman, K. (1995). The night crossing. New York: Random House.
• Adler, D. A. (1994). A picture book of Anne Frank. New York: Holiday House.
• Adler, D. A. (n.d.). Number on my grandfather’s arm. Union of American Hebrew
Congregations.
• Bunting, E. (1996). Terrible things. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
• Cohen, B. (1998). Molly’s pilgrim. New York: William Morrow.
• Innocenti, R. (1996). Rose Blanche. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace.
• Lowry, L. (1989). Number the stars. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
• Oppenheim, S. L. (1995). The lily cupboard. New York: Harper Trophy.
• Pinkwater, D. M. (1993). The big orange splot. New York: Scholastic Trade.
• Seuss, Dr. (1988). The sneetches and other stories. New York: Random House.
• Wolkstein, D. (1996). Esther’s story. New York: William Morrow.
Project 4: Racial Stereotypes and Human Rights

Your teacher is going to show you some movies. They include the Disney versions
of Peter Pan and Pocahontas as well as some Looney Tunes. Your teacher will sometimes
stop the movies before they are over and ask you questions, including those below.
Think about them as you watch the Looney Tunes, Peter Pan, and Pocahontas movies.
1. Is the movie’s portrayal of Native Americans an accurate picture of what they are really
like?
2. Why do you think the movie is portraying the Native Americans the way they are?
3. Do you think Native Americans like to be portrayed the way the movie is showing them?
4. What do you think Native Americans think when they see themselves depicted the way
the movie shows them?
5. If Native Americans were told their entire lives that they were like the characters in the
movie, what do you think they would think about themselves when they grew up?
6. Do you know any Native Americans? Do they look like the characters in the movie? Do
they behave like the characters in the movie?
7. Why do you think people create racist stereotypes like the ones you see in the movie?
Do you think this encourages children to be sensitive toward each other? Do you think
this encourages children to trust each other? Do you think this encourages children to
care for each other? What do you think about the social values of people who encour-
age racial stereotypes, like the ones you saw in the movies?
It is one thing to recognize racial stereotypes. It is another thing to fight racial

stereotypes. Watch the movie called The Little Red Dot. (It is available in many school
and city libraries and can be obtained from www.teachingforchange.org.) Do you
think you could do things like what the children in The Little Red Dot did to under-
stand and to fight racial stereotypes?
1. Have a class discussion about why people might have racial stereotypes. Make a list of
your thoughts.
2. Discuss which moral and social values you think lead people to have racial stereotypes.
Make a list.
3. Discuss which moral and social values you think discourage people from having racial
stereotypes. Make a list. Do you think that having these moral and social values makes
the world a better place for everyone to live in?
4. People have stereotypes about other people’s religions, sexes, social classes (rich or
poor), and cultures of origin (where their ancestors came from) as well as about
people’s races. Discuss religious, gender, social class, and cultural stereotypes that you
have heard people express, that you have seen on television or in the movies, or that
you have noticed in yourself or people you know. Do you think that these stereotypes
are good or bad? Why? Do you think these stereotypes are as bad as racial stereotypes?
5. What do you think are some of the benefits that can come from interacting with
people who are different from you and having friends who are different from you?
6. Discuss ways in which you as an individual or as a member of a group with your class-
mates might act if one of your classmates was stereotyped and treated poorly by
members of another class in your school.
a. What might you do as an individual to protect the child who was being treated
poorly? Make a list.
b. What might you do as a member of a group to protect the mistreated child? Make
a list.
c. What are the advantages and disadvantages of acting as individuals versus as
groups?
Notes
1. Note that these materials are designed to model the materials in SRA Reading Laboratory (Science Research
Associates, 1978).
2. This question comes from SRA Reading Laboratory 2a, Blue Section, Card 12 (Science Research Associates,
1978).
3. This question comes from SRA Reading Laboratory 2a, Purple Section, Card 12 (Science Research Associates,
1978).
4. Note that these materials are designed to model the materials in James Moffett’s Interactions literacy
curriculum (Houghton Mifflin, 1973).
❖
A Play About
Children
S etting: A teacher’ room in a middle school. As the play begins, a bell rings and four
teachers enter the room. Their names are Social Efficiency (SE), Scholar Academic
(SA), Learner Centered (LC), and Social Reconstruction (SR).
SE: What a day. I can’t believe some of my student’s are so wonderful and some
are such duds.
SA: You aren’t kidding. I have both Sue and Roger in my history class. Sue is
brilliant! But Roger is as ignorant as they come!
LC: I have them also, but I don’t think I would call Sue brilliant and Roger a dud.
SA: But Sue is so brilliant. Such a wonderful mind she has. Any new informa-
tion I present to her she absorbs like a sponge. And her mind is like a
library. She knows so much information about history. Ask her about a
person, or a place, or an event, and she can give as good an answer as an
encyclopedia. And it’s not as if her mind is just a storehouse of informa-
tion. She also thinks like a historian. She has learned to think about events
the way a historian would, to use the same type of evidence in a discussion
as a historian would, and write the same way as a historian would. What a
beautiful mind! It wouldn’t surprise me if she got into Harvard and
majored in history. It wouldn’t surprise me if she got a doctorate in history
and wrote a book about history. What more could you ask for in a student?
SE: Lots more, if you ask me. I also have Sue in my class. And she is really out
of it. All she does is memorize whatever you tell her. She has no ability to
apply anything you tell her to her everyday world. That kid is going to be
a social misfit—not good for anything more than being an ivory tower
researcher in a university. She will never be able to relate to people in a
social setting. She will never be able to succeed in a job in industry where
you have to do something practical. She will never be able to be a good
[This is an example of a play, set in a teachers’ room, in which teachers discuss a topic from the
perspective of the four different ideologies. This relates to extension activities that accompany
Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5.]
75
parent—even though she might be able to quote to you something about

developmental psychology, along with the author and page number of the
book where the quote came from.
SA: And the next thing you are going to tell me is that Roger is great.
SE: Yeah. Roger is wonderful. He is going to be an outstanding member of
society: a marvelously productive contributing member of his communi-
ty. He can do anything I ask him to do. He may not be able to repeat what
I say word for word, but everything I teach him he transforms into some
useful social behavior. Any skill I teach him he learns in no time at all. He
may not be able to tell you the physics underlying how a computer works,
but he can fix computers like no one I have ever seen. And he knows how
to use all sorts of business software, like spreadsheets and presentation
programs. He can also relate to people beautifully—and that is such an
important skill to have on any job. And you should see him with kids—he
is going to be wonderful father. And as a worker in a factory or corpora-
tion, you’re not going to find anyone better. He will be able to do any job
you give him to do. And that is what is really important about kids—that
we can help them develop into productive adults who can fit into and con-
tribute to their society and community. They are more than just minds
that learn school facts in the hopes of contributing to some ivory tower
academic discipline in the future. Roger will be a pillar of respect in his
community—an outstanding citizen.
SA: Pooh! That kid can’t remember anything. He doesn’t know the date of any
historical events. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t even know who
Andrew Jackson was. And he is always asking what this or that has to do
with everyday life or the jobs he might have to perform in the future. Roger
will never distinguish himself intellectually. He will be a nothing, since the
measure of a person is the extent to which that person has developed his
intellect—the degree to which he learned to think in one of the ways val-
ued by the great scholars in our universities.
SR: I don’t see Sue or Roger as being all that great or terrible. My treasure is
Maria, and Jim will be the death of me. Maria is really going to help
improve our society. She can analyze social problems like no one else I
have in my class, and she has such a wonderful intuitive sense about how
to intervene in society to improve it and make it a more just place for
everyone. Just the other day she got a letter to the publisher printed in our
local newspaper that criticized how our town was handling recycling—
about the need for adults to preserve our environment for the benefit of
their children. And that letter came out the day before the city council
voted on recycling, and the city counselors voted to clear up the city dump
partially based on Maria’s letter. Maria is going to be a wonderful social
change agent—an outstanding adult who makes the world a better place
for everyone.
A Play About Children ❖ 77
SE: But she is always challenging everything and asking why, why, why. She will
never fit into society as a productive member of our work force.
SR: But kids should not just be made into little cogs in the machinery of society
that unthinkingly perpetuate our status quo. They should always be striv-
ing to make our world a better place to live in. They should always be look-
ing for social injustices and attempting to improve society.
LC: But what do you have against Jim? He is one of the most beautiful children
in my class. He is developing in such interesting ways, according to his own
unique innate nature. He is such a wonderful flower. He thinks in such
unique ways, has such an interesting perspective on life, and his oil paint-
ings are so beautiful. And have you read any of his poetry or listened to him
play the guitar? He is living life and experiencing life in such a rich way that
goes so far beyond that of any of the other kids you have mentioned.
SA: Jim is mush mind. His mind is not at all disciplined. He is like a 10-year-
old in his way of thinking about history, rather than a 13-year-old.
LC: But children grow according to their own internal timetables and develop-
mental needs—not according to some linear standard set out by our
school curriculum. You have to value children for who they are, not who
you want them to be.
SE: Come on, LC; Jim is never going to become a productive adult member of
society—unless he has some extraneous occupation like music or art.
LC: What is this? We need to view children as children, not as potential adults.
We need to see children as the beautiful creatures they are—not as the adults
they might be. Children are children first and foremost—not just future aca-
demics or adult workers. They are wonderful conglomerates of uniquely
interrelated intellectual, social, emotional, physical, and artistic abilities.
SA: No way! We need to view children primarily as minds. The essence of
mankind is our ability to think and reason in the disciplined ways devel-
oped by our culture. The essence of mankind is our ability to acquire and
understand the ideas generated by the great scholars who have built the
cultural foundations of our society. Jim just doesn’t have it.
SE: Yes, sort of, but we need to see kids from the perspective of their potential
as future adults. Not just as minds, but as constructive workers who can
perpetuate our society. The essence of man is not his ability to think, but
his ability to act—not just in his ability to think as a scholar but his abili-
ty to behave in ways that contribute to maintaining our society.
SR: I don’t think so. The essence of kids is not primarily their ability to reason
or act, but their ability to think and act within the context of a value sys-
tem that will bring about a better society than the current existing one.
They are potential future social change agents—and most of all we should
cherish their ability to develop well thought out value systems that allow
them to analyze and challenge our current social assumptions. That is why
your flower child Jim will never distinguish himself—he is just into living
life from day to day in his comfortable pampered middle-class family. He
has no vision at all. Maria is the shining star as far as I am concerned.
Ring, ring, ring goes the school bell to signal the next class.
LC: Thank goodness for the bell. It is sure getting hot in here. I’m ready to get
back to nurturing my children’s growth.
Ending scene: All four teachers rush out of the teachers’ room.

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To: Faculty Teaching Courses on Curriculum Theory

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Curriculum Ideologies Extension Activities

Chapter 2: Scholar Academic Ideology Extension Activities

Chapter 3: Social Efficiency Ideology Extension Activities

Chapter 4: Learner Centered Ideology Extension Activities

Chapter 5: Social Reconstruction Ideology Extension Activities

Chapter 6: A Comparative Overview of the Curriculum Ideologies Extension Activities

Chapter 7: Individual Perspectives on the Curriculum Ideologies Extension Activities

Curriculum Ideologies Inventory

One “for” argument lasting a maximum of 5 minutes

Curriculum Theory Assignments

Sample Social Efficiency Quiz

Social Efficiency Ideology

Scholar Academic Ideology

Chapter 2: Scholar Academic Ideology ❖ 15

Chapter 3: Social Efficiency Ideology ❖ 19

Social Efficiency Ideology

Chapter 3: Social Efficiency Ideology ❖ 21

Learner Centered Ideology

Chapter 4: Learner Centered Ideology ❖ 25

Social Reconstruction Ideology

Chapter 5: Social Reconstruction Ideology ❖ 29

2. Which ideas in the book appeal to you most?

% Scholar % Social % Learner % Social

% Scholar % Social % Learner % Social

% Scholar % Social % Learner % Social

% Scholar % Social % Learner % Social

Chapter 6: A Comparative Overview ❖ 33

% Scholar % Social % Learner % Social

% Scholar % Social % Learner % Social

E7.1 Complete the following activities.

drew an illustration of your ideal classroom earlier, compare it to this new

Chapter 7: Individual Perspectives ❖ 37

Curriculum Ideologies Inventory ❖ 41

Curriculum Ideologies Inventory Graphing Sheet

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

C ___ D ___ D ___ A ___ D ___ D ___

D ___ C ___ A ___ B ___ A ___ B ___

A ___ B ___ B ___ D ___ B ___ C ___

B ___ A ___ C ___ C ___ C ___ A ___

• Scope relates to what should be taught or learned.

Curriculum Design Simulation

Curriculum Scope, Sequence, Integration, and Continuity Simulation ❖ 45

1. Is an item significant to an organized field of knowledge?

Curriculum Scope, Sequence, Integration, and Continuity Simulation ❖ 47

progressively more demanding performance, acquire progressively greater depth and

1. Distinguish among knowledge as understanding, knowledge as skills, knowledge as

• What is the nature of knowledge?

• From where does knowledge derive its authority?

• What is the nature of knowledge?

Curriculum Materials Examination ❖ 51

The Christopher Columbus Story

Curriculum Materials Examination ❖ 53

Christopher Columbus From the Scholar Academic Viewpoint

Curriculum Materials Examination ❖ 55

Fourth, read another original document written by Christopher Columbus: his

Direct translations into English are located at

C _ D _ D _ A _ D _ D _

D _ C _ A _ B _ A _ B _

A _ B _ B _ D _ B _ C _

B _ A _ C _ C _ C _ A _