July+12

=//Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way//=

I wanted to use this book because it provides very concrete images of curriculum that really involves the students and teacher as complex beings. I also wanted to show an example of what happened in an urban context. In the past when I've used exemplars, I often encounter "Yes, but. . ." with a series of reason why students' situations are different and why they couldn't replicate what the people in the exemplar did. This is not a "how to" book. It is a glimpse of enacted curriculum in a specific context. Therefore, I want you to read it with an open mind and imagine what is possible in your own contexts - whether it "looks" like this or not. What can happen when the students become the center of curriculum - not standards? Hopefully, Brian will "join" us next week and you'll be able to ask him about his experiences.

As a warm-up to the discussion, I'd like you to review this talk from Sir Kenneth Robinson to think about the power of possibility within human potential and what it means for curriculum:

http://video.ted.com/talks/podcast/SirKenRobinson_2010.mp4

With these images in mind, discuss the following:

=Discussion questions=

What can happen when teachers create discretionary space for students to have control with the curriculum?

What issues did Brian wrestle with as he promoted his Project Citizenship? How real are these issues in the lives of teachers regardless of whether their curriculum is that radical?