Introduction
Designing curricula or teaching an established curriculum is the major part of the job for all educational professionals. The word "curriculum" refers to a defined course of study. A high school curriculum, for example, refers to the course of study at the high school level, a grammar school curriculum to the course of study at the grammar school level. But such terms are ultimately not very informative because there is so much variation within any academic level. The curriculum at one public high school might be rather different from the curriculum at another, even when those schools are in the same state. At the same time, there are also different curricula used throughout the United States that do represent a very specific course of study.
Montessori Curriculum
The Montessori Curriculum, which was re-energized throughout the United States in the 1960s, represents a different or unique curriculum that supports a specific course of study. Montessori education is an educational approach developed by the Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori; it is characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child's natural psychological, physical, and social development. Although a range of practices exists under the name Montessori, the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and the American Montessori Society (AMS) cite these elements as essential.
· Mixed age classrooms, with classrooms for children aged 2½ or 3 to 6 years old by far the most common.
· Letting students choose an activity from within a prescribed range of options.
· Uninterrupted blocks of work time, ideally three hours.
· A constructivist or discovery model, where students learn concepts from working with materials, rather than by direct instruction.
· Specialized educational materials developed by Montessori and her collaborators.
· Freedom of movement within the classroom.
· A trained Montessori teacher.
In addition, many Montessori schools design their programs with reference to Montessori's model of human development from her published works, and use pedagogy, lessons, and materials introduced in teacher training derived from courses presented by Montessori during her lifetime. Montessori education is fundamentally a model of human development, and an educational approach based on that model. The model has two basic principles. First, children and developing adults engage in psychological self-construction by means of interaction with their environments. Second, children, especially under the age of six, have an innate path of psychological development. Based on her observations, Montessori believed that children at liberty to choose and act freely within an environment prepared according to her model would act spontaneously for optimal development.
High School Curriculum
While elements of Montessori curriculum design can been seen in secondary education institutions across the country, in general, high school curricula provides students with limited freedom and spontaneity. Although some high schools in the United States offer a choice of vocational or college preparation curricula, most schools demand that students take certain courses in order to graduate. Schools that offer vocational programs include a very high level of technical specialization, e.g., auto mechanics or carpentry, with a half-day instruction/approved work program in senior year to prepare students for gainful employment without a college degree. At the same time, many states require that courses in the core areas of English, science, social studies, and mathematics are taught every year. The majority of high schools require four English credits to graduate. Generally, three science courses are required. Biology, chemistry, and physics are usually offered. Courses such as physical and life science serve as introductory alternatives to those classes. Other science studies include geology, anatomy, astronomy, health science, environmental science, and forensic science.
In addition to core classes, many states require that students take a health or wellness course in order to graduate. The class typically covers basic anatomy, nutrition, first aid, sexual education, and how to make responsible decisions regarding illegal drugs, tobacco, and alcohol. In some places contraception is not allowed to be taught for religious reasons. In some places, the health and physical education class are combined into one class or are offered in alternate semesters.
Core Curriculum or the Common Core
Although curriculum standards may vary by state and school, the recent push to establish common core standards has resulted in a more uniform state curriculum across the country. The Common Core State Standards Initiative is an education initiative in the United States that details what K–12 students should know in English and math at the end of each grade. The initiative is sponsored by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and seeks to establish consistent education standards across the states, as well as ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to enter two- or four-year college programs or enter the workforce. Recent years have witnessed the development of what is often called the "Core Curriculum" or the "Common Core Curriculum. " The use of the term "curriculum" in this context is slightly misleading, however, because the Core Curriculum is not so much a defined course of study as it is a defined set of achievement objectives and standards. It does not so much refer to a set of courses students will follow so much—that is, a curriculum—as it refers to an ability that students are to have upon completion of a particular grade level. To add to the confusion surrounding this very popular term, colleges sometimes speak of a their own core curriculum, by which they mean a set of courses, typically in the liberal arts, that all students must follow, typically in the first year or two years.
While some educators praise the implementation of core standards, others believe that resources spent on establishing core curriculum and state standardized tests diminish the use of creative curriculum in school. Creative curricula includes courses of study in the arts, such as art and design, dramatic arts, music, photography and film-making.
Montessori Education
Children working on the phonogram moveable alphabet