Week One

 

How does Kumashiro define 'commonsense?' Why is it important to pay attention to it? 
Kumashiro defines 'commensense' through many examples, but each one leads to "what everyone should know and do." We see commonsense in facets of our lives and in our education. I view commonsense through things that come naturally like eating three meals a day. However, Kumashiro analyzes the limitation that commonsense imposes on effective education. It's important to pay attention because commonsense allows the continuation of oppressive social markers in our schools. We may not notice how much marginalization has been embedded in our teaching under the guise of "norm." 

What type(s) of curriculum model did Kumashiro encounter in Nepal?
In Nepal, Kumashiro learned that lessons centered directly from textbooks issued by the government and for all the schools, or in other words, they had a formal curriculum. After completing textbook questions, the students would tackle on the end-of-the-year exams, almost identical to the problems from the book. Schools in Nepal follow the lessons-practice-exam approach. They prioritize content over developing learning skills. 

What type(s) of curriculum model is the “commonsense” model in our Canadian school system? What might be the benefits and drawbacks of this model?
In the Canadian education system, we follow through a formal curriculum that is considered as "commonsense." We are expected to learn and teach what the curriculum offers. Some may see the curriculum designed for a classroom-based education, but I think it's important to note that our curriculum highly encourages the topics of lessons but not the approaches for them. I don't think our curriculum is limiting the effective learning of students. More recently, I've seen more of curriculum as place and as lived, which I perceive as leaning toward student-centered learning. 

Comments

  1. TeganMay 15, 2023 at 1:08 PM

    Hello Justine. I enjoyed reading your blog post for week one. I like how you connected common sense to norms in society and the world. But I feel like you could have expanded with how common sense is different throughout the different cultures in the world. Or do you think that common sense is the same throughout the cultures? I found your impute of the Canadian education system to be similar to mine, which is great but you brought in more factors like how the curriculum does not give us approaches to the lessons. Which I think is a positive because it gives teachers a chance to practise their own way of teaching. Overall your week one response was great and I am excited to read the next one!

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