The Three Curricula by Elliot Eisner

The Three Curricula That All Schools Teach by Elliot Eisner

This is very meaningful article about what our extrinsic and intrinsic curriculum offer and there is something which is not included in the prescribed curriculum, but that is also needed. As I had teaching background back home and I taught in BC as well, I agree with Eisner in many ways.

 My first stop is about the rewards which are given by teachers in the class, especially in elementary classes. Eisner calls them “reward junkies” because he believes that we are creating a payoff system for children. I totally agree that such type of extrinsic reinforcement turns into bribery instead of best practice. Here I would like to share an anecdote which I noticed two years ago in a private school of BC.  My younger daughter got some prizes in vocal music from the teacher. On every Saturday, there was a program organised by the management to encourage the children for music. Luckily, my daughter has a sweet voice. I noticed that she always wanted to participate in that program because she would get prize. When she comes to know that today there are no prizes, just practice. She never wanted to go that rehearsal. I believe that students should be encouraged to work on their strengths and weaknesses making the learning process enjoyable and meaningful.

My second stop is about the competitiveness. Eisner believes that by the current curriculum, we are fostering competitiveness among innocent students. It maybe in the name of grade system, athletic leagues or when the stakes are high, as they are interested in seeking admission to reputed university, medical schools or law schools. In the same way, honored class creates a gap among students. There are enrichment classes in some private schools. They take test to make in every year. The students who can make in feel superior than others.

My next stop is about the null curriculum which is the thesis of this research paper. Even though explicit and implicit curriculum is taught in the BC schools, something is still missing, which is needed to be taught as well. Eisner calls it null curriculum. Law, anthropology, the arts, communication and economics are just few of the fields that constitute the null curriculum. He believes that explicit and implicit curriculums are not enough for real learning. The actual meaning of life can not be understood only with these curriculums. He believes that intellectual process and content (subject areas) must be understood properly. He argues that joy of life must be part of the intellectual process. That intellectual process should not be restricted to any one field. It should be multidimensional to understand the variety of human activity. Besides this, he talks about the contents of the subjects which are almost same at elementary and secondary level. They should be open ended for growth and next expectations. We should never forget null curriculum which offers the concepts and skills, perspectives and options which are not offered by their curriculums.