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I believe a curriculum should consist of an aim to produce a self sufficient individual that will incorporate experience and collaboration as a foundational tool to learn and scaffold from one another. Curriculum should encompass culture and access for all individuals. There needs to be a common understanding amongst educators in the school districts to establish a formal outline for how teachers will implement curriculum and what skills will be taught and what
works for the students they encounter and teach. Using the philosophies of Plato, Rousseau, and Dewey that are stated in the readings is very relevant to the understanding education because each philosophy aims at the goal of building the individual to be free and just in society and to learn from experience to support individual growth and progression.

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I believe curriculum should be designed by the school because as a school community, we know what works for our kids based on data assessments. Our curriculum needs to be more agile for our student especially for our special needs student. As a special ed teacher I believe they deserve their own because they learn at a different from the general education students. I understand there is theories of eduction philosopher that has influenced our curriculum today, but whose to say we're guided into the right path. Everyone doesn't function on the same level, even we all are human being.

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IT is my belief that curricular aim should be compose by each department within a school.

Yet there should be room to edit by the teacher. It should never be basic across the board since every student learns unique. Definitely every school curricular should be tied into every student being successful. However: the only way that I believe that can be done is to make the curricular just as unique as student learning.

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To me, teaching should be about developing a well rounded adult, if not just a functioning member of society. It’s important to read (semi) complex text, to teach our students the skills that they will use in their everyday adult lives. These skills could be making predictions, inferences, central ideas. Students need science and math to learn how their world works. It would be great if students were able to make the connection between what we are learning in the classroom and the real world. Schools should cater their curriculum around what students need for the real world, but in ways that are apparent to the student, to help the student stay motivated.

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My Professional mission as a special educational teacher is to inspire, motivate and engage my students. As a special education teacher is an honor to teach our students the academic tools they need. I believe the curriculum is extremely important however we need to be more open minded .Our curriculum needs to be more agile for our students especially our new English learners.Differentiation in our lesson are an awesome tool for our students because all our students learn with different teaching methods.Our students can benefit from us as educators we are awesome support for students and constantly challenging them to do better. .

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In the articles, it mentioned that curriculum theory: touches on things that are personal and significant. It is so important that it changes the way people view the world."

I believe that if curriculum is viewed as very important, than as a teacher I should have a say on what I know will benefit the students based on data collected. Differentiation, activities, and lessons should incorporate the grade level that the students are really at (e.g. I have a student who is 7th grade. He is required to take all the exam and understand the curriculum. However, his reading level and his work shows that he needs 2nd grade level lessons).

I believe rigor is important, but it should meet the students where they are. The lessons should be fruitful instead of simply focusing on test-prep (common core standard) and state exams.

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I believe curriculum should be designed by the school, it is okay to be influenced by theories of education philosophers but the overall curriculum should be by the school.  Curriculum should be designed based on their student based, their student performance levels.  It should also be relatable to the students, where they can make real life connections to it. Curriculum should also appeal to the different styles of learning amongst students. As educators and administrators it is important to build a curriculum that will lead all your students to academic success which is the ultimate goal. Curriculum should be flexible to different learners based on their individual learning needs.

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My curricular aim is to create a curriculum that is a combination of inquiry based and embodies principles from Dewey of learning by doing and discovery. I believe that teachers acting as guides really helps with student engagement and creates a space for the higher order thinking and connections to the rest of the world that all education aims to possess. I really enjoyed reading through the various philosophers and tracking the development of approaches to education. It allowed me to reflect on some of the strategies of used and led to me asking my students for some feedback on things we’ve done. They all loved the socratic seminar process and expressed how it allowed them to really develop a strong understanding and appreciation for the unit content. I believe that combining the project based strategies we’ve read about with some of the other strategies we have learned over the year will work together to meet the needs of my students. I want to create more spaces in my lessons to have students engage in discussion and be able to tackle big questions together in order to develop the deeper understanding and appreciation for the material that incorporating discussion can bring to the classroom.

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Gloria B

No matter  their race, gender, cultural background, sexual orientation, religion, disability, rich or poor, all students deserve the opportunity to receive an equal education. Every student are entitled to equal access to educational opportunities. Every student deserve educators that will inspire and challenge them to learn, grow and meet their highest potential. According to the reading, "Educational Philosophy - Section 1.1", one of Socrates' theories, that can be practiced in the classroom, says "Encourage learners to constantly question what they, and you, are saying or doing."

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Chapter 2 of Walker & Soltis gave me an insight on the process that takes place to design curriculums. My opinion on the curriculum design process that is done in the US is biased because I was fortunate to receive an education outside of NYC in another country and I strongly believe that this foundation/solid base that I received there made me who I am today. I enjoyed reading the dialogue between the traditionalist and progressive aims for education in chapter 2 of Walker & Soltis. This is my understanding of the reading and I conclude that at the core progressives are traditionalists that want to deviate from the "norm"/tradition because they realized at some point that keeping things the same is not working for all. My curricular aims would be to create a balance between what the progressive/that body of students that is forever changing have access to apprenticeships and courses of interest with a strong foundation that will build our students to become well-rounded individuals in the community; therefore, incorporating the ideas of Plato , Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Dewey: justice, freedom and democracy are very much relevant now and will be continuously in the future just as they were in the past.

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A curriculum is intended to help children and young people gain the knowledge, skills, and attributes needed for life. A curriculum should be planned to meet all students, whereas meeting student where they are in the learning experience because every student learns differently. I feel a curriculum shouldn’t be where all students must pass a state test or be given the same test. A test shouldn’t be the only way of assessing students because some students aren’t great at testing. Student-focused curriculum outline takes every individual's needs, interests, and objectives into thought. At the end of the day, it recognizes that students are not uniform and changes with those student need. Student-focused curriculum modules foundation is intended to enable students and enable them to shape their instruction through decisions.  Curriculum designs in a student-focused based module are separated, allowing students the chance to pick assignments, learning encounters or exercises. This can stir students and help them remain engaged with the material that they are learning.

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I believe that regardless of who you are or where you came from, you deserve the same opportunities as everyone else. Curriculum should be created by the culture of the school, students who are present in the school and what is going on in the world today and from the past. Obviously everyone sees things differently and that has to be held accountable when creating the curriculum and as an educator you need to be able to understand who your students are as individuals who all come from different backgrounds. Knowledge is power and every student deserves the same opportunities to inherit that knowledge given to them in the classroom.

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In thinking of curriculum theories, this video from Ken Robinson on Divergent Thinking comes to mind. When designing curriculum, we need to ensure critical thinking is taking place. Asking more questions that guide students to aims and allowing multiple means of accessing information will allow them to "think outside the box" and allow them to better enhance their learning across contents. Similarly, a curriculum that serves to address cross-curricular aims will help students further synthesize information.

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In an utopian world a better approach to education would be for the teachers to keep developing every single year, I do not mean just professional development but also in how to approach individuals in different years. Technology and society has been changing and students’ interests, passions, hobbies and mentality has also changed, as a teacher we should always find a new way to approach students and not assume or keep the mentality of teaching students the way we learned.

“Progressive believe that individuals must learn to think for themselves in order to combat the tendency toward authoritarian social control through prevailing views, which are usually the views favored by those in power, who are, in turn, supported by traditional ideas and practices”

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I believe that every child can learn, and the aim of education should be to educate each and every child. To do this, curriculum should be designed with learner in mind. Like the progressives, “the curriculum should be conceived in terms of a succession of experiences of the learner. Lessons and instructions should be planned with a view to giving the learner maximal self-direction”. To give student maximal direction, lessons should be differentiated based on individual needs of the learner, the learner’s learning style as well as his/her learning preferences. The aim of education should be to help the learner thrive in the society, and survive in the dynamic globe.

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I believe that the curriculum should reflect the interests of the students as much as it should their needs. Realistically, students tend to struggle with content that they feel no connection to. I think more thought should be put into innovative ways to engage students. There are many things that students learn that do not prepare them for the real world, and simply to pass exams. I believe that students should learn about the importance of money/time management, the importance of credit and things along those lines. These are things that are going to prepare them for the real world. In an ideal world we would spend less time preparing our students to pass exams and more time preparing them to be successful on their own. I think we should introduce alternative paths that students can take for success. Such as learning a trade and being able to work with their hands as a means to support themselves, if it is conducive. More students should learn about the benefits of owning their own businesses and being entrepreneurs as opposed to the standard “go to college, get a job and pay off loans for the rest of your life.” It’s important to work backwards in the sense of finding out what students actually know. Many students are being expected to read and write well above their current level. The curriculum tends to reflect students in an unrealistic way.

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One of the most important curriculum aims I would implement would be more focus on where learners start. Being able to identify and acknowledge a starting point is extremely critical for a learner’s success. The beginning of the school year is a “new start” from a social aspect for arguably everyone, however, even if you have been in school for years, you enter into the curriculum as your own individual learner. In the Wilson and Peterson article there was a quote that said “If learners construct their own meaning, teachers must know something about where learners start. One cannot build a bridge without a clear sense of the location of both shores”. Another aim I would implement would be to create individual thinkers who question things and are active thinkers. I think if students just take everything they learn in school as fact they don’t form into adults who can apply knowledge into real life situations and could arguably become passive adults in a world that needs discussion and debate. I think implementing this into curriculum would help transform students positively in a social and academic way. In all, these are the two main things I would focus on if I was making a curriculum because I think it is critical in helping students grow.

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I believe that education should be a meaningful experience to both the student and the teacher. We as educators have to realize that not all people learn or communicate the same way. According to Plato, individuals succeed when their different parts function in a harmonious way. Which is something I definitely agree with because when your outside culture and environment thrive, your urge to gain knowledge will grow as well, which will give the students a more sense of confidence in learning new ideas. In today’s educational society, our classrooms are supposed to be student led, and I believe this can only happen when everything works together both inside and outside the classroom, giving the students the most meaningful learning environment.

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All students walk into their classrooms with different types of knowledge. This knowledge is based on their life experiences as well as how culturally responsive their school environment is. It shapes how they attain information. Students will receive the same material but perceive it in many different ways. A curriculum should be able to meet the needs of all the students. It should take into account the different ways in which students learn.

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I resonated strongly with the idea from Walker and Soltis that education should be a balance of curriculum and life experience. As teachers, we are providing access to life experiences in the classroom. We are introducing students to concepts and theories that require deep thinking, understanding and analysis that will be applied and used in the future. The purpose of education is to establish deep thinking and create self-sufficient individuals. This is established with meaningful knowledge. Giving students the tools through real world practice: readings of real life current events, connections to their lives and the lives of their ancestors. Creating an environment where students can buy into the resources before them and become an active participant in their own education and not just a passenger.

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There are many ways in which students learn and there are many different perspectives in which how it would be best to teach students. The content that is taught varies over location and time. This variety come from the perspective of what is best for students to learn. Gathering information about the students is necessary to find a method that would most effectively help students access the content and skill knowledge. As Bates (2016) mentioned, many philosophers have determined that students learn best when they are the center of the lesson and this type of philosophy has continued to resonate in education.

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In my perfect world curriculum is education with no restrictions. 1- Students would learn from real life experiences in order to make better choices.
2- Students would have all tools and resources necessary in order to have an education that allows them to think critically and have exposure to new horizons.
3-  Students would learn and retain knowledge from a curriculum from teachers that are aware of how important socio-emotional context is as important as rigor and  challenging students to more than just a "bank of knowledge".
Nevertheless, in a perfect world or not we are Educators that have a duty to tailor any curriculum design to meet the specific needs of our students. The magic lies in the engagement and the innovation used to capture our students. This to me is what matters the most in education. The motivation,  a culture rich infused curricula that depicts the faces of brown students wether it is a traditional or progressive.

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If I were to be able to create a curriculum with no restrictions, I would create a curriculum that is rigorous and incorporates elements from varying cultures within it. By having a curriculum that incorporates culture, not only will students be able to relate to the content personally. In the texts, the issue of curricula not being related or tailored to traditionally marginalized groups has been included often. By excluding these communities, we risk a large amount of students being disengaged and not receiving an education that is meaningful and that they can take with them outside of the classroom. Also, having a curriculum that is rigorous will also pose a challenge to students and allow them to think critically and engage in rich texts, writing, and discussion.

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My personal belief about the purpose of education is to help students develop mature cognitive functions that would help them:
1. Think and process information from multiple perspectives
2. Communicate their ideas clearly and effectively
3. Actively access and expand their “bank of knowledge” through applying, interpreting, replicating, and internalizing new knowledge
4. To learn to be motivated, passionate, compassionate

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I believe that in a perfect world curriculum should be multicultural and inclusive. In our current educational community we serve a diverse population and a vastly multicultural group of students. With this in mind students should be provided with the necessary tools to give access to a curriculum designed specifically to meet their needs in and out of the classroom. One such example would be making lessons and designing curriculum that speaks to current cultures of individual students.

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I was struck by the dichotomy that was outlined in the Walker and Soltis text in chapter 2. There is the traditionalist who sees what society has created and believed that we need to pass on the torch to the next generation. Then there is the progressive who believes that we are in a changing world and we need to innovate to teach our kids. I am definitely on the progressive side of the spectrum and a few other ideas made me see that. There was within this chapter, the idea that things move so fast these days that we cannot possibly predict what we have to teach our kids. This came up in my own life where I was taught cursive and told that it is important and it is blatantly not important in the modern world. The other idea I am tying to this came from a group member where they said that each student is unique and there should almost be no curriculum and you should meet them as they are and say, “This is what you need”. I know that these are high ideals that are very tough to implement in the classroom but I like how it does not tie you down to things that may weigh you down. In my curriculum, I want this to push me towards pushing my students to being their own teachers. I know in my own life, I learned more from my own pursuits where I was motivated than anything else. This is the goal of the teacher.