Pat Ring has been involved in teaching and administration for twenty-eight years, nine of them in Liberia and Ethiopia. Currently, she is the principal of Houghton Academy–South Campus in Belmont, New York. She also serves as a curriculum consultant with the Sudan Interior Mission (SIM).
“Why bother writing a curriculum?”
“Can’t we just use carefully chosen textbooks?”
“Ugh! It’s too much work!”
Comments like these are heard in the hallways of schools throughout the world. Are they valid? Is using a written curriculum really better than simply following a textbook? Where would a school start—and why?
A written curriculum defines a purpose for every aspect of learning—academic, spiritual, social, and physical. Therefore, before a school’s faculty members begin writing one, they need to discuss just what they want students to achieve through their schooling. They should address all areas, working together to define a curriculum that will give students a quality academic program and discipleship in the truths of the Lord Jesus Christ, which are the primary goals of most Christian schools. The school’s basic goals, once they have been written down, form a solid foundation for its curriculum. This initial step can’t be neglected, for a quality education doesn’t just happen. It’s planned. Gathering together some textbooks, no matter how good they are, doesn’t give solid direction to a child’s education. An old adage applies: When you aim at nothing, that’s what you’ll hit.
Besides defining a course’s primary goals, a written curriculum establishes a structure within which a teacher can adapt individual teaching methods to various learning styles. The curriculum delineates the basic skills and concepts to be taught, and the teacher has the freedom to teach in the way that best meets her students’ needs. The students rather than the text become the focus. Too often, completing the textbook becomes the goal rather than mastering the material. A teacher who has the freedom to use her God-given creativity and ability for the good of her students will see true learning happen.
Third, the material will often suggest a thematic approach. We know that students learn better, and retain longer, material presented in a logical, sensible, and meaningful manner, as a thematic approach allows. Once the teacher has selected the themes, she can develop a scope and sequence that includes the skills and concepts that are to be taught. No longer does she have to try to blend in every lesson in the textbook in an effort to “make it work.”
For those of us who teach overseas, a written curriculum is the only way to meet the needs of students from various countries. It’s not simply an option; it’s imperative. In our very mobile world, students step in and out of educational settings whenever their families change mission fields or military posts. When the basic skills and concepts found in the curriculums from the major sending countries are assimilated into a unified, multinational curriculum, the students will be more successful in each new school setting. We do our students a disservice when we don’t prepare them adequately for life beyond the walls of our particular school.
In addition, developing a multinational curriculum will enable a school to create an especially strong academic curriculum by synthesizing skills and concepts of major curriculums used throughout the world. Why shouldn’t we draw from the strengths of work done in other countries and cultures? God deserves nothing but the best. Texts or ideas from a secular source will not water down or taint a Christian education if they are chosen carefully to align with God’s Word and with the basic goals and purposes of the school. Only if we use the world’s delivery system and teach material totally apart from God’s truth will we be providing something other than a Christian education. As we examine the myriad curriculums available, we must keep God’s Word in focus, discerning all material through His lens of truth.
The very act of writing curriculum is a healthy process for your school. Yes, it’s a 1ot of work. However, it enables each teacher to take a good, hard look at what is actually being taught, place a value on it, and decide whether to use it as well as how to use it. A good curriculum includes methodology as well as assessment tools. The process of writing your own curriculum provides an opportunity to plan clearly and to vary your methods and assessments. Again, the result will be better learning.
Writing a curriculum is a wonderful team-building activity for a school’s staff. Not only will it unify them; it will allow teachers to see the bigger picture, to know what happens at each grade level. When everyone understands what the others are teaching, more networking is possible. Ultimately, the staff and the students will benefit.
Beyond academic concerns, the most important reason for having a written curriculum is that it allows the hidden curriculum to come more readily to the fore. Hidden curriculum? A greater impact and influence on our students can be made here than anywhere else. The hidden curriculum is where biblical truths and academic learning are integrated, and learning becomes individual and personal. It is where the teacher becomes a person to the students, known for who he really is. This is where real lifelong influence in spiritual and academic areas comes alive. What is a Christian curriculum unless the life-changing truths of God’s Word are woven into every lesson? What is a Christian classroom without the influence of a godly teacher?
This spiritual impact on our students doesn’t just happen. The curriculum must be structured in a way that gives the teacher and students abundant opportunities to interact on such a level that each child sees Christ and is drawn to Him. This goal in no way waters down the school’s commitment to academic excellence. Again, God deserves nothing but the best. The best is not just a curriculum that prepares each child academically. It goes beyond that. It is a strong curriculum that allows Christ to be seen in each activity. It will create godly young men and woman who can succeed academically and, at the same time, be light and salt in our world. Isn’t that what Christian education is all about?
Is it a lot of work? Yes, without a doubt. Is it worth it? Yes, without a doubt.
A Case for Curriculum 3.1