Thursday 8 October 2009

21st Century curriculum (?)

Firstly I must state that I am just playing around with ideas at the moment. I'm doing it publically so as to invite any input others wish to offer (and for which I will be extremely grateful).

Intially I am not going to look at the content of what I believe to be an appropriate curriculum for the 21st century, but more at the way day-to-day schooling is organised / structured. A (primary) school day for many begins at 9.00am and ends at 3.15pm, with a break for lunch at approximately 12.30ish.

I'm now calling on the extpertise of parents out there. Do your children seem more alert and aware prior to the 'lunch time lag'?

Although the curriculum covers a wide array of subjects, inevitally some academic subjects will be scheduled for the afternoon 'slots'.

Speaking purely as a mother of a 6 year old, I know that after lunch he will not be ready for heavy academia.

Returning to the 'timing' of the school day. How many parents have a 9.15am - 3pm job? Do we all work within the constraints of school hours? Do we all work part time?

Im just trying to build a picture. We recognise that society is changing - we are becoming more involved and reliant on ICT. For this reason, we are incorporating it into early learning - and this is found to be acceptable.

Would it be acceptable to presume that in early years many children perform more positively during morning sessions?

Like I said, this is an idea in it's infancy. I need to research it further.

Please get involved, I would love to hear any thoughts (they dont have to be supported by theory / fact / research either.

1 comment:

  1. I like the idea of going for changes on the classroom level, because in the end this perspective is important and I didn't think of it like this - so yeah sounds good. May be you could look into how ICT might help children who are feeling tired in the afternoon...

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