Reconstituting the Curriculum

Based on groundbreaking new ideas, this treatise signals a return to a rebuilding and reshaping of the curriculum as the primary tool for educationThis book presents a new definition of curriculum and what it should consist of, with a view toward creating a more ethical, educated, and thinking person. Rather than treating students as products for society, this approach returns to a view of the curriculum as a tool for educating students to reason through problems, be bold in creating new solutions, and contribute to a more vibrant, just world.The university curriculum introduced in the post-Renaissance era, dominated by doctrinal philosophy, is based on learning or skill development, suitable for creating a learned society that would eventually serve the establishment. This curriculum has been promoted as the only form suitable for the modern education system. It has introduced a tremendous amount of tangible advancement in all fields of the structured education system. These tangible gains are often promoted as knowledge. This has created confusion between education (acquiring knowledge) and learning, training or skill development.This book seeks to clarify the difference between these two divergent views of education. It has been shown that the current curriculum is not conducive to increasing a student's knowledge because it is based on consolidating preconceived ideas that have been either passed on from previous generations or gained through personal experience. In most cases, this mode of cognition will not create a pathway for gaining knowledge that brings one closer to discovery. The term education, on the other hand, is always meant to be a process of bringing forth one's inherent qualities and unique traits, necessary and sufficient for increasing one's knowledge.Reconstituting the Curriculum:* Describes and gives examples of a new philosophy of the curriculum that is a departure from the one currently in use* Includes a synopsis of the history of education and the curriculum and explains how we got here* Observes the Third World and its growing importance on the global stage and how this affects our curriculum* Documents interviews with educators, politicians, and entrepreneurs concerning the state of the curriculum and its place in our everyday lives