first is belief in possibility

The child is the curriculum

how do we determine curriculum?

how do we decide what we actually do with the students,

the experiences, the structures within which each moves?

there’s an attractiveness to scaffolding

of content, of skills: a set itinerary,

yet, for me, I focus first on the individual,

for only when the learner is turned-on does learning occur,

if I ran a travel agency,

I don’t think I’d figure the perfect generic trip,

rather I think I’d tailor where to go and what to do for my clients,

the art of cooking is not just following a recipe,

but first a vision of what one wants to eat,

and then using recipes and will to find a path to that dish,

for me, curriculum is more the skill of attitude and approach

than the content of data or the logical sequence of structures of skills,

scaffolding is vital but first is belief in possibility,

and second the vision within which the scaffolding can grow.

by Henry H. Walker

April 11, ’14