I reviewed the following Ed Weekly article, "Curriculum defintions stir up worries of a national curriculum from the Arpril 6th, 2011 issue. This article touched on the idea of a national curriculum and how it will effect teachers, schools, districts and commumities. The concern from teachers is that their creativity and teaching know how will be stiffled by rigid guidlines of how and what to teach. The schools are afraid of the same thing. They fear they will lose their individuality toward education.
All of this is incorrect according to the federal government. Their primary goal is to see uniformity and equality in education for all students. They would like to know that every grade schooler will know about the types of rocks (let's say) that are out there by the time they go to junior high school. They would like there to be a common knowledge amongst our young people in the public education system.
My personal experience in this area comes from working in a junior high school in Salem Oregon. Next year the superintenents and administration have agreed that all middle schools in Salem will have a common six periods a day. This is done so that each student no matter which school you attend will receive the same amount of science time for instance as anyone else.
Overall, I think a similar curriculum is a wonderful idea and it is esesential for those students who move often such as military kids.
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