Before this article, my definition of curriculum was confined to the explicit curriculum. This article has expanded my view on things, and connected ideas from many of my other classes.
These new definitions of curriculum were something of which I had a comprehension, but never such an articulate understanding. We have learned about the historical and societal role that school has had on our world. Many have argued that as a social institution, schools reinforce standards that reinforce society. A society of artists would prioritize art. A society of dystopian oppression would prioritize those that sat still and kept quite. A society of of invention would prioritize innovation. These hypothetical societies are examples of the three types of curriculum, and how each can be used to shape the society's members; Explicit, Null, and Implicit.
By explicitly stating curriculum, students are forced to choose between a handful of futures. I have learned that the majority of electives offered by many rural BC communities are trades. This rural society has determined that trades are important, so trades are offered.
Null curriculum is where I think things become interesting. In the above example, by not offering a fine arts degree these communities steal that potential future from their youth. It's unfortunate that there are finite resources to provide programming. I like to imagine all the potential societies that could exist if no knowledge was off limits to students.
Implicit curriculum made me think of all the little things that need to be taught to citizens in order to have a functioning society. In this category of curriculum would be molding of their personality. We now live in a world where everything is so connected and optimized that we could not exist without punctuality. What I like most about implicit curriculum is that this is where I will have the most agency to teach students. I think that collaborative problem solving is an important skill, so I will set my classroom up to implicitly teach this.
I think that BC's shift from content to competencies also indicates their shift in priorities from explicit curriculum to implicit. The soft skills that we teach are often so much more important later in a students career, and I am excited to work under a government body that understands this.
