Co-Curriculum Activities Are a Waste of Time

The word curriculum can mean something different to different people, even to different teachers who use the term almost daily (Manning & Butcher, 2012). However, it boils down to curriculum being what a student learns, both in terms of core subject content, as well as though social activity and elective/activity courses. However, there has often been a disconnect between different states and districts over what exactly should be in the curriculum for various grades and what is needed to prepare students for life beyond school, as well as providing little basis for comparing the US to other countries. That’s where Common Core State Standards (CCSS) come in. According to Teaching in the Middle School (2012), the Common Core standards were created in an attempt to provide curriculum standards that are “rigorous, internationally benchmarked, and aligned with college and work expectations”. Since its implementation in 2009, 42 US states and the District of Columbia have integrated the standards into their curriculums. (Core Standards, 2015)

Ah Sam and Ackland (2005) defined curriculum as “… an interrelated set of plans of experiences that a student undertakes under the guidance of the school”. (p.42) While these two definitions are applied in school context, Horn and Banerjee (2009) described curriculum as the guidance of the project for a group of people. Similarly, Makura and Makura (2012) adopted the definition by Gatawa (1990) as “the instrument through which complex societies transmit and maintain cherished bodies of knowledge values and skills” (Makura & Makura, 2012, p. 509). They suggested that curricula did not exist in vacuum but shaped by a larger cultural values, traditions and beliefs of

The origins of the word curriculum date back to ancient times and in fact the work comes from the Latin word of currere: a course or race or to run (Smith, 1996,2000). Over many decades, people have argued over the various definitions. Tanner (1980) defined it as “the planned and guided learning experiences and intended outcomes”, whilst Pratt (1980) defined it as a written document describing goals planned, objectives, content and evaluation. So s it a course of study? Or can it be defined as content or a product( Marsh, 2008). Marsh (2008) goes on to include that at a variety of learning sites are a set of objectives for student learning. We can also relate this to Tyler’s objective curriculum model being that the first step to curriculum is always to set the objective. The Model of Taba from 1962, is the same model at Tyler’s but includes interaction and flow between all four stages, so we do not always need the objective before we start writing the content to the curriculum.

In the article "Why Focusing Too Narrowly in College Could Backfire," writer Peter Cappelli argues that while specializing in post-secondary school is beneficial and could possibly lead to a future career that is currently trending, parents and students should look into broadening their skills by taking courses that widen their communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. This may enable them to work where there are prevailing industries.

Curriculums are the roadmaps for schools which provide purpose and direction for administrators, educators, parents, and students. Curriculum typically refers to, “the knowledge and skills students are expected to learn, which includes the learning standards or learning objectives they are expected to meet; the units and lessons that teachers teach; the assignments and projects given to students; the books, materials, videos, presentations, and readings used in a course; and the tests, assessments, and other methods used to evaluate student learning.” (Curriculum, 2015, para. 1) Curriculums may come in many shapes and forms, whether they’re purchased as a package at the school or district level or they’re created or refined by educators and

Ralph Tyler (1957) describes curriculum as “. . . all the learning experiences planned and directed by the school to attain its educational goals (Glatthorn, 2011, p.3). Going by this definition, one can regard curricula as encompassing what is taught in the classroom, as well as

The article goes into great detail over the fact that co-teaching, when implemented correctly, has the potential of really enhancing the learning of all students (Conderman & Hedin, 2014, p.359). Before any co-teaching can happen though the article elaborates on the fact that a teacher needs to know who their students are. And when differentiating instruction a teacher needs to be able to address a “students’ unique strengths, interest, skills, and readiness” (Conderman & Hedin, 2014, p. 353). After all helping each child learn, whatever that looks like, is the ultimate goal, and this article shows how teachers can do this with a co-teacher.

And just saying guys, college loves when students get in all these activities, this means that kids really pride in something that they love so much. But, if you take this away from them, then they won’t get into the college that they want to. Kids need to do sports to be healthy, have fun, and follow their dreams. Don’t say I am wrong because I know the pros and cons of playing a sport. Yes, sports are easy and hard, you can get hurt while playing it, but if you love it and dedicate for yourself and others then you should do it. No mayor and school board should take this away from you and others. They want us to have a good education than to do something we love to do. They want us to worry more about school work then to worry about what we have to do outside of school. Kids need the sports to know that they have a talent in something and know that it's something that they love to do. Kids need education in sport right? Yes, yes they do. Kids should be able to go to a college for any activity that they are interested with and know that they love. In conclusion, no mayor or school board should take away a sport knowing that is what you want to do in life and

One reason why I believe schools should not be able to limit our extracurricular activities is because no one knows what I am capable of better than myself. For example, I always thought I was a good basketball player until I tried wrestling. I did both wrestling and basketball at the same time for almost a month till I had to drop out of basketball because I figured I am a much better wrestler than a basketball player. Another example could be Matthew Stafford. For those who do not know who Matthew Stafford, he is a pro-NFL quarterback for the Detroit Lions. He was the first draft in 2009 for Detroit Lions. While he was in high school he played varsity Baseball and he also was considered to be one of the best high school quarterbacks in the United States ranked ahead

Colleges are struggling to adapt to society’s changing requirements for adults entering the work force. John Fawell laments this change and states that humans intrinsically desire to learn more for the purpose of knowing more. However, the focus has shifted away from this and has become more career-oriented. This shift is not well supported in the current college system. The education system is aware of this change and some have modified their programs, but they are too narrow and a broad college education is lost. Even though it has become almost mandatory in society, a college degree does not prepare students for a real-world work environment and is not necessary for most occupations. Many, such as lawyers or doctors, do require further education and a system that instructs them while also training the majority of the workforce would be an improvement.

Standards and curriculum are the core pieces of teaching. Basically, the curriculum is the meat of the course and the standards are how it is prepared. The meat of the course is the substance and the tools of instructing. It encompasses the material, lesson plans and literature. It also incorperates how the instructor decides to present the information, how they alter it to the students, and the order in which the content is delivered. Each instructor may choose to serve a different piece of meat; or rather, decide on a different method of demonstration, but the way the material is prepared must follow a common denominator.

(quoted in Vic Kelly 1983: 10; see also, Kelly 1999). We can view the curriculum as a process by which the knowledge and content is transmitted or ‘delivered’ to students by methods devised by the government (Blenkin et al 1992: 23). A student can also be seen as a ‘product’ within the curriculum as it has been suggested that the knowledge the government wish us to learn are seen to benefit or attempt to achieve desired goals such as creating a skilled workforce for long term economic benefit.

This report focus on information gathered from observing and interviewing three diverse fieldwork settings: inclusive classroom setting, self-contained classroom setting and community base agency classroom setting. The information was evaluated by the effective implementation policies related to the collaboration and acceptance for all as well as high expectation for learning for each setting. I also made connection from the information with some theories. Based on the information gathered and analyzed I will give some of my suggestions for improvement where possible.

Curriculum is a term often highlighted during discourse about education and most commonly understood as a policy with overt leaning outcomes for teachers to apply and achieve. Ornstein and Hunkins (1998), as cited by Selvaraj (2010), defined curriculum based on two lenses; micro and macro, which identify the term as both policy towards certain goals and what students experience with consideration for relevant theories and principles central to its development and implementation. However, Wilson (n.d.) argued that curriculum is not restricted to certain individuals, subjects and environments, since teaching and learning can also occur beyond the scope of official curriculum (Ebert & Culyer, as cited in Marsh, Clarke & Pittaway, 2014). I believe this interpretation is the closest to the true nature of curriculum, or education, as there are more complex layers to curriculum than just a written guideline. For example, not one curriculum is similar to another because it is subjected to influences from continuum number of factors, such as politics and economy. Hence, it is wise to conclude that curriculum could not be defined based on a singular perspective due to its dependability on context.

Everyone knows about co-curricular. What some of us don’t know about curriculum is that curriculum is as a body of knowledge to be transmitted, it is also as an attempt to achieve certain ends in students – product, plus it is as a process and it is as praxis(Mark K. Smith 1996, 2000). It gave many benefits to a wide range of students and it may help them in many ways. It is also a part of education where it is held outdoors or indoors. Co-curricular activities are optional and pursued outside the classroom to enrich the course syllabi. They are meant to complement and not interfere with the studies. Some say that it is does intervene with studies but there are many researches which state the benefits