Chapter1

1. Thereisnorightorwrongcurriculum,everythingissubjectivebasedonwhat's
importanttothatstate/area.
2. Curriculumcoordinationisaboutteacherswhoteachthesamesubjectgoing
throughcommoncontent,butpresentationcanbedifferentbasedonteacher.
3. Curriculumarticulationisessentiallymakingsurethereisverticalalignmentinthe
district.
4. Thereare3typesofcurriculuminschools:formal,informal,hidden.Formalisthe
planned,informalisdonebyteacherandfluctuates,hiddencurriculumresembles
lifeskills.
Chapter 2
1. Ideologyofdevelopmentiseitheraboutmoreideas,thoughtsandfeelingsor
contentdrivenstandards.Thatleadsintothedebateaboutwhat'simportanttoour
youth.Iwouldarguethoughts,feelingsandmoreofthehumanitiesapproachthan
contentheavybecauseinthebigschemethecontentdoesn'tmatterasmuchas
theskillstohandlecontent/situations.
2. Thestatementallchildrencanlearnisakintoallfishcanswim.Itreveals
nothinganditpredictsnothing.Yetitiscommonlyfoundthroughouttheliterature
ofeffectiveschools(KindleLocations841-842).Thisquoteisinterestingbecause
Ifindmyselfusingthatphrase.Istillbelieveinthatstatementthough.Idisagree
thatitpredictsnothing,becauseyouneedtonotview"learning"inanarrowsense.
Everyonewilllearnsomething,itwon'tbecookiecutter,itwon'tbebydoingthe
sameexperience.It'sabroadphilosophyanditshouldbebecauseitencompasses
all.
3. Determiningwhatisinschoolcurriculumisoftenapoliticalact.IrelatethattoUS
HistoryandtheCivilWar.It'staughtintheNorthernstatesasawaroverslavery,
andtheSouthernstatesteachitasawaroverState'sRights.Geographyaffects
whatcurriculumisrelevantaswellasthespin.
4. Textbookcompaniesspendfortunesrewritingtextbookstomakethemjustwrite
buttheyarenevermorethanaguide.Theytrytobefriendlytotransitioncontent
fromthetextbooktotheclassroombutitusuallyisatoplevelDOK.Theydon'tuse
depthinthecontent,it'smoreofasummaryofasummary.
5. Curriculumguidesaren'tshowingtimecorrectlyforteachers.Theydon'ttakeinto
accounthowtheclassesactuallygraspthecontentandthespeed.Someclasseswill
moveatafasterpacethantheguidesomewillmoveslower.Iknowinmyguides
thatI'veusedweaddinflexdaysbetweenunitstoallowsomemovementandthe
influxoftime.

Chapter3
1. Curriculumalignmentgoesoneoftwoways.Onewayisfrontloading,whichis
workingfromthecurriculumtothetest.Theotherisbackloading,whichiswere
youtakethetestandthenshapethecurriculumbaseduponthetest.Eitherway
thegoalistoensurewhatisbeingtaughtmatcheswithwhatisbeingassessed.
2. Frontloadingwouldbethecommonpracticeforeducators.Weallfeelthe
pressureofsucceedingonthetest,butratherthanteachingtothetest,
frontloadingletsyourcurriculumdictatethetest.Thisyearwevebeenreworking
curriculumaswepreparefornewsocialstudiesstandards,inadepartmentwhere
3ofthe5werenewtotheposition.Wedidalotofbuildingaswego,then
designingthetestafterwesawwhatwehadtimetoteachandthewherethe
focuseswereat.
3. Frontloadingtypicallyhaslowerlevelthinkingquestions.Whilethatmighthave
beenthecasefromthe1976and2001studiesthatwerecited,Icansaywith
confidenceinmydepartmentwehavetransitionedawayfromthat.Wehavetaken
outstandardmultiplechoicelowlevelquestions,truefalse,matchingetc.The
replacementisashortconstructedresponsewithabinarychecklistforthe
studentstouseastheycompletetheresponse.
4. Backloadingresemblesteachingtothetestandyouasateacherlosecontrolover
whatyoucanteachandthedepthyougointo.Sincethetestisalreadysetit
changeswhatyourclassescanfocuson.Soeventhoughtheycouldbeinterestedin
thetransportationsystemofIndia;ifitsnotonthetestithindershowmuchtime
youcangothroughtopicsnotassessed.Asteachersweknowthereneverseemsto
beenoughtime.
5. Thefinaldecisiononalignmentshouldbemadeonthedistrictwidespectrum.The
districtcandecidebasedonwhatsexpectedofthem,aretheyheldtoother
assessments.Youstarttotreadonthinicethoughsinceitcouldresembleteaching
tothestateassessment,whichcouldgetthedistrictinserioustrouble.
Chapter 4

1. When numbers become the ends in themselves, when making the numbers becomes
what matters and not the activities that comprise them, we become captives to them and
not their masters (Kindle Locations 1865-1866). That quote strikes to how we should
think as educators and the shift thats been happening. We are turning into a business
model driven on data and numbers, if that continues we could lose sight of what is
actually important, and it isnt just numbers.
2. There is a natural worry among teachers as test scores become even more important.
Rewards and punishments are becoming more prevalent based on test scores. That
goes both ways, and fits both students and teachers. We try any trick in the book to get a
higher test score for the kids, even as far as giving mints because the improved
performance of doing so.
3. Cultural differences arent stable, fixed or predetermined. Just because differences exist
doesnt mean that differences will always exist throughout their school years. To simplify
it, cultural systems mean nothing. It is a free flowing system without a direct road map.
4. Not every piece of data counts. A statement that needs to be reiterated again and again
to administrators and teachers. We get caught up thinking everything has to be given a
numerical value, instead of focusing on a bigger picture. Rather than saying half my
class missed #3 and #5, assigning a grade and moving on, focus on why did they have
those misunderstandings.
5. The US doesnt have a true national education system. Something not often realized
when discussing education as a whole. There are so many pieces that are state
controlled and district controlled. Even getting a teaching degree isnt transferable to
every state in the US. So my license from Iowa that I earned, doesnt work depending on
what state I would move to.