In my first teaching position (a very small private school), I didn’t have access to much curriculum at all. (Our school had a math curriculum and I used a handwriting curriculum as well.) On top of being a first year teacher, I was creating most of my own curriculum with minimal resources. Looking back, it was such a hard year and it was very time consuming to plan my lessons. In the following years in that same position, we gained access to a new reading curriculum, and while it was so helpful to feel I had a guide to work off of, I realized it still takes a bit of time to dissect through a new curriculum so that I can understand and teach from it. Gaining familiarity with that reading curriculum by using it for more than one year, as well as the math curriculum, helped me feel more comfortable teaching. 

When I talk about curriculum with other teachers, I notice that some feel bogged down by it. I think in their cases, they may feel stuck having to teach from their curriculum with no flexibility in making adjustments based on their teaching styles or their students’ learning needs. While I really appreciate the structure and guidance curriculum can offer, I still think teachers can adjust and enhance it from year to year especially to consider their students’ needs. 

One thing that stood out to me from the article is the author’s viewpoint of curriculum, saying it is “anything and everything that teaches a lesson, planned or otherwise.” I never thought of the small unexpected teaching moments that pop up everyday as “curriculum” because I never planned these moments, but they are still moments of learning for the students. 

Coming from a different country 
“Lebanon” and working in schools in the USA allowed me to understand why it is important to have a base to start with. The curriculum is that base which allow teachers to develop, plan, modify and shape students’ learning.