Curriculum Does Not Have To Be Rigid

"Curriculum comes alive only when it is implemented with real students in real classrooms" (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014, p. 41) is a profound quote, which I read this week and has left me reflecting on previous educational experiences, current educational understandings, and further developing my ongoing teaching philosophy.

The world "curriculum" has many different definitions in today's world, and as a future teacher, I am quickly becoming introduced to its importance.  As discussed within this week's chapter on curriculum documents and knowing your students, I found myself intrigued on the section discussing the KDB framework, specifically, the description on "The Be".  This framework stems from themes surrounding character education and citizenship, and left me reflecting on the ways that we can teach our students these imperative traits within our curriculums.  It then occurred to me, that I had in fact seen these ideas being implemented into the classroom, as two years ago I had witnessed the 'Roots of Empathy' program in action.  For those who are unfamiliar with this program, please feel free to watch this video as it provides an excellent overview of the description of the program, as well as th expectations and overall goals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIgLGt4hZuY

The 'Roots of Empathy' program has proven to show effectiveness within the classrooms across all ages.  Specifically, this program targets reducing levels of aggression in children and focusing in on increasing social/emotional competence and increasing empathy.  Through observing the students as they were actively engaged in the evidence-based program, I witnessed twenty-three Grade Two students evolve from children to competent beings aware of those around them, which illustrated the growth in their character.  'Roots of Empathy' mimics the last section within the KDB framework as it demonstrates the effectiveness in the twenty-first century skills that young children should know.  I watched students learn how to work within a safe-school environment, while promoting anti-bullying behaviour, and support ethical conduct when acting as a being within the school.  These behaviours are all characteristic of "The Be" description.

http://www.centralokanaganfoundation.org/files/Roots%20of%20Empathy.JPG

If you asked me last week how to define the word "curriculum", I would have given you answers such as: "necessary to show understanding", "needs to be inserted to ensure development", or "mandated documents put into place by government officials"; and while I still think of curriculum through that lens, I can also appreciate the idea that curriculum does not always need to be strict guidelines.  The 'Roots of Empathy' program contributes to the successes explained above, through a non-traditional lesson plan, and has shown efficacy in improving emotional literacy.

As a future educator, my goal is to always understand that curriculum does not have to be rigid, and that it works best when student's knowledge is fluid and interactive.  The 'Roots of Empathy' program strives for this same goal, and because of its success, I plan on inviting this program into my future classrooms.

References

Brown,  L. (2013, November 22). Roots of Empathy teaches ‘emotional literacy’.

TheStar.com. Retrieved from http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2013/11/22/roots_of_empathy_teaches_emotional_literacy.html

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom

assessment: Engaging the 21st century learner.

Roots of Empathy (2015). Roots of Empathy. Retrieved from

http://www.rootsofempathy.org/en.html

Roots of Empathy. (2010, June 16). Roots of empathy: Introduction [Video file].

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIgLGt4hZuY