Instructional materials which respect the holistic, systemically integrated, mutually supportive nature of knowledge, the need for a “master knowledge-organizing system,” and the student’s search for understanding of self, others, and the wider world.


 

 

The Shape of the Educational System Today

The general education curriculum universally used in American education is deeply flawed and creates many problems. In fact, schools in America have no general education curricula.

The goal is to have an integrated curriculum, a curriculum which is systemically related, a curriculum which recognizes the holistic nature of knowledge. Realizing the problem, educators try to integrate curricula via disciplinary, interdisciplinary, multi-disciplinary, super-disciplinary, cross-disciplinary, supra-disciplinary, transdisciplinary strategies, trying to make the general education curriculum more coherent. This is essential for adolescent education, teacher education, middle school integration, high school curriculum integration, college and university level curriculum integration, and for home, schoolers, de-schoolers, and un-schoolers.

It is important at all levels, but the growing popularity of home schooling by parents makes the need for a home schooling curriculum particularly important. Knowledge is integrated, and therefore a curriculum which works will have to be an integrated curriculum.

Such a curriculum will have an effect on everything related to schooling---magnet schools, charter schools, open space schools, measurable objectives, behavioral objectives, concept-based curricula and instruction, project-based instruction, problem-based instruction, individualized instruction, thematic instruction, process-based instruction, homogeneous grouping, heterogeneous grouping, mixed age grouping, authentic assessment, lengthened school day, lengthened school year, flexible scheduling, block scheduling, community service, team teaching, brain-compatible teaching, inquiry, looping, cooperative learning, standards, rubrics, mentoring, vouchers and school choice, merit pay, teacher aides, tightened graduation requirements, and the core subjects such as social studies, science, language arts, mathematics—all will be affected in one way or another.

One major problem with the curriculum is that it has no agreed-upon aim, purpose, goal. Ask educators what a good curriculum should do and they will say it should teach thinking skills, teach the core disciplines, key concepts, problem-solving skills, the basics, make America economically competitive, prepare students for democratic citizenship, respond to student needs, instill a love of learning, raise standardized test scores, build self-esteem, encourage cooperative work, instill tolerance, develop character, transmit societal values.

The popular thing right now is thematic instruction, constructivism, standards, accountability, standardized testing, grade retention, standards-based construction.

But none of these work unless the curriculum is integrated.

Everything happening in schools—student learning, teacher education, school subjects, critical thinking , electronic learning, English language, cultural studies, area studies, cultural geography, anthropology, social systems, social groups, history, language arts, life skills, social studies, unit studies, primary sources, here and now curricula, environmental studies, student centered education, hands-on learning, curriculum fragmentation, educational aims, educational purposes, instructional methods—is better when there is curriculum integration, integrated curriculum, curricular integration. 

 

Sincerely,

Marion Brady

Howard Brady

 

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