To Teach: The Jouneys of a Teacher

Chapter 5

In Chapter 5 of the book To Teach: the Journey of a Teacher, Ayers presents the idea of “liberating the curriculum. Ayers argues that the assumption that a curriculum will explain everything about a given subject or topic is incorrect, giving some questions to ask when developing a curriculum, such as “Are there opportunities for discovery and surprise?” and “Is the work linked to student questions and interests?”. Ayers also emphasizes that standards may be important to follow, but the idea of packaging ideas with a definitive label effectively “kills learning.” We are then presented with some examples of going beyond standards, such as a fourth grade teacher who teaches students about topics she knows nothing about, which overthrows the “I-know-you-don’t” stance that many classrooms operate under. Overall, with a little bit of extra work, teachers can cover material they want to cover while also ensuring the standards are met.

Ayers, W. (2010). Liberating the curriculum. [Graphic Novel]. To teach: The journey of a teacher. 3rd ed. (pp. 13-37). New York: Teachers College Press.