Impact of Changing Curriculum in Schools - Article Example

Impact of changing curriculum in schools The curriculum in a school matters greatly as far as a career is concerned as well as the related aspects. The subjects offered for study at this level works as the main deciding factor of the orientation of the child’s intellect as he/she grows up. It is the educational institutions and the teachers who provide various opportunities to the students for choosing their preferred stream or area of interest. It is not necessary that every student will prefer an area like Math. Some might like to pursue creative fields while some might prefer literature. Despite all, in the commercialized pattern of education system and the corporate orientation of the culture, the public education system is undergoing dynamic changes as far as their curriculum patterns are concerned. A recent issue concerning the changing curriculum in American schools have been highlighted in the article “Schools Cut Back Subjects to Push Reading and Math” by Sam Dillon, published in New York Times on March 26, 2006, focusing on the capital city of California, Sacramento. The change has been incorporated in most of the schools on a large scale in response to the law passed by the President George Bush in his famous “No Child Left Behind” plan. The law encourages the increase in time allotted to Mathematics and reading in the curriculum designed for the students. This follows from the law that annual tests will be held only in Math and reading and that the schools strictly needs to reach the benchmark given. The article gives some facts, statistics and instances to highlight that the schools almost all over the nation are increasing the period timing allotted to math and reading and almost tripling it compared to other subjects. In a particular case only 55 minutes are devoted to all other subjects combined while 150 out of 885 students in a particular school of the state utilize six class periods for reading, Math and gym. The article also emphasizes upon different views regarding this change in curriculum designing and time allocation. On one hand there are people like Thomas Sobol, an education professor from the Columbia Teachers College remarks, “Only two subjects? What sadness”. This former New York State education commissioner expresses his resentment at this change in curriculum, saying, “Thats like a violin student whos only permitted to play scales, nothing else, day after day, scales, scales, scales. Theyd lose their zest for music.” On the other hand, Mr. Chad Colby, a spokesman for the federal Department of Education, took this change in a matter of fact way, remarking, “I dont think its unreasonable to ask our schools to get kids proficient at grade level in reading and math”. To the question whether this change is affecting the grades of the students especially in case of low performing students, he remarks, “I can show you five other schools across the country where students are still taking a well-rounded curriculum and are still making adequate yearly progress”. According to experts, the teenagers might be bored at sticking to only these two subjects and hence school might mean tot hem as only “repetition and drilling”. However some still believe that this change is increasing the performance level of students in most cases. The importance has been laid on reading and mathematics, which have found its impact on the labor market as well. While teachers in art and history take longer to find a job, there is a high demand for math teachers. From the students perspective it is fine to study two subjects for some who do not like other subjects. Yet, a few of the students do miss a dissection in the lab and other interesting aspects of studying pure science. Some have also questioned the use of keeping the other subjects and teaching them to the students despite the fact that they are not tested in these. The article talks about the advent of public schools as early as the 1800s and the fact that vocational courses were also encouraged after World War I and also focuses on the fact that the implementation of this law has been one of the most remarkable educational shifts. Dr. Reese thinks this law would “narrow intellectual paths”. The article also reveals some statistics showing that the performance and proficiency of students are not at the required level such that the schools may keep up with the benchmark. This is mostly evident in cases where the students are mostly Hispanic and belong to parents from occupational classes of gardeners and welders. The effects of this law might not be direct or immediate on private schools like the one I work at. However for institutions like ours, the issue might create a competitive advantage with the public schools as our main competitors. As far as the teachers are concerned, those opting for arts and other subjects would find a better provision and job satisfaction here. Teachers for math and reading might be scarce in terms of quality or quantity since most of them would find full employment in public schools. As far as students are concerned, our school has an advantage of making good business as the ones cherishing subjects like history and music will flock here and care needs to be taken in a special way to provide them the needful. The law has also given us the opportunity to fulfill the dreams and desires of the artistic students and also those who find the other subjects interesting and want to face the challenges involved in those fields too. Again, there are students who are not that proficient in reading and mathematics, mainly those belonging to the lower classes. For these people, our private school will be a boon and increasing the level of infrastructure and number of seats would be of great help to the business. This would also involve the grade level of our institute which, for obvious reasons has a high probability of showing better grades compared to its own previous records as well as that of public schools. Better staffs may be taken such that the students who gain admission here would be so enthralled at the level of care and the wide range of opportunities that they would not like to shift to a public school. For parents who would like their children to enter the medical profession would find this school a great opportunity for delivering lessons to their children and creating their base in Biology which is not taught at the public schools under this law implementation. However, one possibility might exist for the public schools as well. They might include chapters from various subjects in the reading classes. This would create an interest for the students towards different aspects but one thing is there - students will not be tested in these subjects. Thus this will not combat the competitive advantage that schools like ours will enjoy. In this manner, if the public schools lose their businesses the private owners might take over them. As far as our school is concerned this will be a challenge and an opportunity for us to prove our self from various angles. Public schools almost rob the enthusiasm of studying these other subjects due to lack of incentives. The private schools also contribute socially by giving employment to many teachers who are proficient in science and arts. Thus, our institution is becoming a part of booming part of the education system. The market forces will determine and ensure the long and privileged business of our school. Thus, the exclusion of private schools from this law has acted as a boon as far as the profits are concerned. Reference: Dillon S. (2006), “Schools Cut Back Subjects to Push Reading and Math”, New York Times, retrieved at October 28, 2007 from: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/education/26child.html?pagewanted=1&_r=3&adxnnlx=1193516603-2WDZ6w75L6oKcTUgqT1QXA Read More