What do we do when the students fail the traditional curriculum? Is it the students fault? Is it the teachers fault or is it the design of the curriculum? I know at the high school I work at all class are heterogeneous meaning all classes are at the college preparatory level. I have been wondering lately if this is a realistic expectation that all students go to college. I am not sure it is coming from rural Maine. I think that it is important to have a curriculum that meet the students needs and expectations. Many are not going to college and some may not graduate from high school and the curriculum isn't necessarily preparing them for the world they are going to live in. SO what do we do? The curriculum is failing them, do we modify it to fit their needs?
I believe that we need to do something to help these students. We need to make the curriculum relevant to what they are doing and what they need to be successful in the future.
A critical question...if the curriculum is failing our students (or even some of them) that means that we are not offering them the curriculum they need. And that brings us back to the original question..."what should the curriculum be?" In your case Tina, in social studies, what do kids REALLY need to know and be able to do to be successful in this world...coming out of rural Maine or anywhere else.
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