Leyte, Maria Anna P.

BSED 3-ENGLISH CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Discuss the Saber-Tooth Curriculum and give its implication to our present
educational curricula.

 The Saber-Tooth Curriculum

The Saber-Tooth Curriculum is a collection of seven short, satirical stories

that illustrate some quirky aspects of our education system. In synopsis, a
cave-dwelling society refuses to alter its school curricula despite an impending
ice age which completely redefines the skills required in the workplace. This
story highlights how schools still teach swathes of irrelevant knowledge (too
much maths, too much chemistry) and neglect the useful skills to the detriment of
everyone (reading, writing, health, religion, and more). Being "educated" is a
term that is all relative to the time period in which you live, where you are, and
who you're with. When the curriculum is created and revised, it should be done
with the recognition that being "educated" involves much more than knowing
"stuff," but finding out how to apply it and know more.

In other words, it is essential that education not only focus on what is learned
but how to learn it. In the "Saber-tooth Curriculum," New-Fist was an educated
man because he was skilled at fish-grabbing, horse-clubbing, and tiger-scaring.
However, if he had survived to see the ice age, those skills would have been
useless if he did not know how construct new knowledge based on old concepts.
In today's world, "fish-grabbing, horse-clubbing, and tiger-scaring" can be
compared to the classic "reading, writing, and arithmetic." While they are
important skills, students must be aware of how to apply these skills to future
endeavors. It is important that we (teachers) have taught them to be attentive
listeners, effective questioners, evaluative of others' opinions for bias, as well as
intelligent internet users. Teaching the students how to get the information and
what to do with it can serve a larger purpose in the present and the future.
 For that reason, curriculum change should reflect the common goals of
society. Our society, like that in the "Saber-tooth Curriculum," is constantly
changing, so education should too. However, how "change" is viewed and
defined should be taken into account very carefully in order to be successful.
Often, people think that change should be immediate, a "quick fix," and be
completely different or opposite from what took place before. This is not
necessarily true. Change, in schools especially, should be gradual, carefully
monitored for effectiveness, and may slowly yield results. It also may take pieces
of the old and combine it with the new.

Curriculum should be a blend of skills and content knowledge. Those in the

"Saber-tooth Curriculum" admitted that the old skills they needed to survive
would always be at the root of the new things they taught. Curriculum change
should do the same. It should teach content knowledge. Life is much more than
just a question and answer competition. In order to prepare students for life,
schools must teach students the skills to take the content knowledge and apply it
to become useful citizens of the world. Our current curriculum which is the
Outcomes-Based Education principle focuses on adapting the curriculum and
how the thinking of each learner is assessed. The aim of the Outcomes-Based
Education looks to achieve is to increase the level of their thing, i.e. higher order
thinking, improve on the skills learnt by ascertaining what it is that needs to be
taught to the learner. The necessary methods, procedures and processes can then
be followed to achieving the outcome. Once an outcome is taught, the learner is
then required to demonstrate their understanding of the outcome as if it is in a real
life situation. These outcomes test content knowledge, recollection of the
information taught to them and taking the knowledge a step further by doing
something significant with the information.

As in many studies, evidence that the product is successful needs to be

obtained regularly. Evaluation of the subject and the knowledge obtained by the
learner is vital to assess the success or failure of the given teaching content. Key
concepts in the Outcomes Based Education is consist of: learning through
experience; focus; the learning area content and the skills involved and individual
 learning to name but a few. It can also be seen as competency based and a
teacher-learning process takes place to better equip the receiver of the
information (learners) for the success of the actual role. If we’re going to
implement a curriculum just like the Saber-Tooth Curriculum, I think learners
will remain ignorant. We will be left out of the current educational system. If we
are not going to accept the fact that EVERYTHING CHANGES, there will be no
progress in our educational system.

Discuss the following Philosophical Foundations of Curriculum:

Based upon fundamental beliefs that arise from one's philosophy of

Education, curricular decisions involve consideration of several topics and issues.
Precisely for this reason, we consider philosophy one of the major foundation
areas in curriculum. Philosophy and Curriculum Studying philosophy helps us
deal with our own personal systems of beliefs and values, i.e., the way we
perceive the world around us and how we define what is important to us. As
philosophical issues have always influenced society and institutions of learning, a
study of the philosophy of education in terms of Curriculum development is
essential. In essence, a philosophy of education influences, and to a large extent
determines, our educational decisions and alternatives. Those who are responsible
for curricular decisions, therefore, should be clear about what they believe. If we
are unclear or confused about our own beliefs, then our curricular plans are bound
to be unclear and confusing. One important step in developing a personal
philosophy of education is to understand the various alternatives that others have
developed over the years. Here we shall look into the following four major
philosophical positions that have, hitherto, influenced curriculum development.

There are 4 Major Educational Philosophies: Perennialism, Essentialism,

Progressivism, and Reconstructivism. They emerge from one or more of the four
major philosophical traditions. They range from traditional and conservative to
contemporary and liberal.

Philosophical Content Method

Foundations of
 Curriculum

Perennialism universal curriculum Socratic method:

one for all the students explicit teaching, oral

subject-based: exposition, explication
language, literature, teacher-centered
mathematics, sciences
are the context for
developing intellectual
skills.

stresses the 3 Rs:

reading, writing,
arithmetic.

Essentialism core skills, essential Socratic dialogue

facts and concepts
discussion
solid subjects aligned
lecture
with high-stake tests
subject-centered: recitation

English, mathematics,
history, science

stresses the 3 Rs:

reading, writing,
arithmetic.

clear measurable
goals.

Progressivism need-based and problem solving

relevant.
scientific method
relates to students'
 personal lives and cooperative learning
experiences.

skills to cope with projects: students

change. interact with nature
and society
interdisciplinary and
interactive. experiential methods

emphasis on how to
think (affective
outcomes), not what to
think(cognitive
outcomes)

Reconstructionism focus on present and discovery

future trends and
community based
issues of national and
learning
international interests.
critical thinking, Praxis
Global.
social research
skills needed to
identify and
ameliorate society's
problems.

emphasis on personal
expression and
reflection.

Perennialism - Aims to develop student’s intellectual and moral qualities.

Emphasizes that students should not be taught information that may soon be
outdated or found to be incorrect. In Perennialism, Classrooms are centered on
teachers. It ensures that students acquire understandings about the great ideas of
Western civilization. I teaches concepts and focuses on knowledge and the
meaning of knowledge aiming at teaching students ways of thinking that will
secure individual freedoms, human rights, and responsibilities through the nature.

It is called teacher-centered because it emphasizes the importance of transferring

knowledge, information and skills from the older generation to the younger one.
The teacher is not concern at the student’s interest. It focuses more on the
curriculum and nature need. The teacher set everything based on the syllabus.

Essentialism - Essentialists believe that there is a common core of knowledge

that needs to be transmitted to students in a systematic, disciplined way. The
emphasis in this conservative perspective is on intellectual and moral standards
that schools should teach. The core of the curriculum is essential knowledge and
skills and academic rigor. Essentialists accept the idea that this core curriculum
may change. Schooling should be practical, preparing students to become
valuable members of society. It should focus on facts-the objective reality out
there--and "the basics," training students to read, write, speak, and compute
clearly and logically. Schools should not try to set or influence policies. Students
should be taught hard work, respect for authority, and discipline. Teachers are to
help students keep their non-productive instincts in check, such as aggression or
mindlessness. It is an educational philosophy whose adherents believe that
children should learn the traditional basic subjects thoroughly. In this
philosophical school of thought, the aim is to instill students with the "essentials"
of academic knowledge, enacting a back-to-basics approach. Essentialism ensures
that the accumulated wisdom of our civilization as taught in the traditional
academic disciplines is passed on from teacher to student. Such disciplines might
include Reading, Writing, Literature, Foreign
Languages, History, Mathematics, Science, Art, and Music. Moreover, this
traditional approach is meant to train the mind, promote reasoning, and ensure a
common culture. Essentialism is a relatively conservative stance to education that
strives to teach students the knowledge of a society and civilization through a
core curriculum. This core curriculum involves such areas that include the study
of the surrounding environment, basic natural laws, and the disciplines that
promote a happier, more educated living. Other non-traditional areas are also
integrated as well in moderation to balance the education. Essentialists' goals are
to instill students with the "essentials" of academic knowledge, patriotism,
and character development through traditional (or back-to-basic) approaches.
This is to promote reasoning, train the mind, and ensure a common culture for all
citizens. The role of the teacher as the leader of the classroom is a very important
tenet of Educational essentialism. The teacher is the center of the classroom, so
they should be rigid and disciplinary. Establishing order in the classroom is
crucial for student learning; effective teaching cannot take place in a loud and
disorganized environment. It is the teacher's responsibility to keep order in the
classroom. The teacher must interpret essentials of the learning process, take
the leadership position and set the tone of the classroom. These needs require an
educator who is academically well-qualified with an appreciation for learning and
development. The teacher must control the students with distributions of rewards
and penalties.

Progressivism- Progressivists believe that education should focus on the whole

child, rather than on the content or the teacher. This educational philosophy
stresses that students should test ideas by active experimentation. Learning is
rooted in the questions of learners that arise through experiencing the world. It is
active, not passive. The learner is a problem solver and thinker who makes
meaning through his or her individual experience in the physical and cultural
context. Effective teachers provide experiences so that students can learn by
doing. Curriculum content is derived from student interests and questions. The
scientific method is used by progressivist educators so that students can study
matter and events systematically and first hand. The emphasis is on process-how
one comes to know. The Progressive education philosophy was established in
America from the mid 1920s through the mid 1950s. John Dewey was its
foremost proponent. One of his tenets was that the school should improve the
way of life of our citizens through experiencing freedom and democracy in
schools. Shared decision making, planning of teachers with students,
student-selected topics are all aspects. Books are tools, rather than authority.
Reconstructionism - Reconstructionists want to improve and reform the society
through education. They question everything and everyone in order to create
change rather than conform or adjust to norms. Reconstructionists are idealistic
because they take a holistic view at the world. They set an idealistic goal to fix its
problems, but you cannot fix everything through education. they aim to educate
students about problems in the world and look for ways to change and fix them.
Their aim is to understand the world. Reconstructionists are mainstream because
they want students to have an international background and understanding. There
is an overall tendency nowadays to bring the outside world into the classroom.
They are radical though in their approach to curriculum. Solving the problems of
the world is not always an achievable goal.

Philosophy is the main curriculum source. In order to develop curriculum one

must begin with a basic philosophy or set of beliefs in which to govern the
curricular decisions. According to our text Ornstein&Hunkins (2013), Dewey had
the idea that one’s philosophy is the starting point in curriculum development.
And although Tyler believed that philosophy was one of a five component system
in creating curriculum he places more emphasis on philosophy and refers to it as
“the first screen” in curriculum development. Goodlad’s ideas were that one must
first reflect upon the social order before curriculum development can occur but
Dewey reminds us that even the idea of thinking about the social aspect of
education versus the individual has been a philosophical issue in it’s self. So, just
the idea of beginning with the nation-state already had philosophical ideals at
heart.

References:
https://jameskennedymonash.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/book-the-saber-tooth-cu
rriculum/

http://dspina.blogspot.com/2010/02/saber-tooth-curriculum.html
https://www.slideshare.net/gopikarchandran/philosophical-and-psychological-fou
ndations-of-curriculum

https://www.slideshare.net/shaunafmartin/text-facilitation-group-1-44060774