Children at community schools like West Hill Primary School in England are learning a wider variety of subjects than ever, while having fun dressed up in medieval costumes (Naomi Westland, May 2009, “We Want the Wow Factor“, The Guardian). Subjects ranging from drama to science and maths are taught at such “creative curriculum” driven schools based on a broad theme that lasts for half a term to a term. Themes are generated in discussion with students, and include aliens, castles, water, etc.
Lisa Carmen and her class cooking Chinese food as part of a literacy lesson based on a Chinese story
Many schools belonging to the Qualifications & Curriculum Authority’s network are implementing creative curricula that emphasize hands-on activities for students as well as their input in their lessons in part due to recent findings that “that children were not enjoying learning as much as they could” (paragraph 4). For teachers, the new structure means flexibility and sense of ownership. These qualities are reminiscent of the benefits of alternative schools discussed in my former post “Alternative Education: Rebelling against the Norm“, except that community schools in England are state-funded.
Like South Korea, England has been experiencing staggering growth in parents’ dependence on private tutoring: in London, 43% of students have had help with schoolwork from a tutor (Jessica Shepherd, June 2009, “Boom in Use of Private Tutors Among State Pupils“, The Guardian). Even parents’ concern over the quality of traditional schooling and the growing gap between the wealthy and the poor’s ability to get their children into elite schools are real challenges that England faces.
Since the Education Ministry is already rolling out subsidy programs to improve the quality of public education and spending is at the schools’ discretion (Seo, May 2009, “Government to Establish Hagwon-Free Schools“, JoongAng Daily), public schools in South Korea should perhaps also take the initiative to implement flexible, creative, dynamic curricula that promote efficacy for both teachers and students. Besides, doing scientific experiments with a Harry Potter theme would certainly be hard to resist.
Social Value Proposition
A focus on stimulating, challenging activities rather than squeezing in an overwhelming number of rigidly structured classes definitely has the potential to transform the pressure to learn and perform in Korean society into appreciation for enriching students’ minds through diverse approaches to education.
Transformative Potential
The impact of creative curricula in public schools, as mentioned above, could be a truly system change in the way Koreans view the role of education in young people’s lives. The scale of impact will be limited to a relatively small number of students until the creative curriculum passes the “tipping point” and spreads like wildfire across the nation. Finally, the transformation will mostly likely sustain only so long as top employers and universities explicitly value the characteristics and abilities fostered by these creative schools.
June 15, 2009 at 2:18 am
Cool story! The children is our future!