Ideological Criticism of Ideologies in Teaching Practices

Introduction

Ideologies about curriculum influence individual classrooms, schools, districts and have historically shaped our Nation’s viewpoint on the purpose of education. However, it is essential to subject these ideologies to ideological criticism to gain a comprehensive understanding. While there are some positive aspects of each ideology, my current ideology about curriculum is child-centered. The core components in the child-centered ideology are obvious in the name, that the teaching and learning are centered around the child or learner. In agreeance with Dewey, I believe that children learn best by doing, exploring their environment and are given opportunities to participate in developmentally appropriate project learning. I believe it is my job as an educator to focus more on the development and wholeness of the child rather than a standardized assessment.

The Child-Centered Ideology: Focus on the Learner

I went through my schooling in public education during the height of the No Child Left Behind Act. I was in third grade the first year that passing the state standardized test became consequential for promotion to the next grade level. I can easily recall the stress that not only my teachers were under but also was felt in the students. I clearly remember practices and drills to achieve mastery in preparation for high-stakes testing, which aligns with the social efficiency ideology. During this third grade year, I was pulled out for reading class everyday through the Gifted and Talented Program in my school. In this reading class, a child-centered ideology was clearly the focus in the instructional practices. Students participated in project-based learning and creative activities where students were engaged in learning. The influence of this teacher that fostered a much more enjoyable learning experience helped to mold my own child-centered ideology since I was a child and is also the reason I have known since I was a young child that I would be an educator. This has remained my personal ideology through years of education and teaching experiences, although I am beginning to see the value in some components of the social efficiency ideology.

Although my personal ideology is child-centered, this can be a difficult thing to implement when employed in a public school that clearly follows a more social efficiency ideology. Teachers are required to teach state standards and assess students on those standards. Teachers are evaluated on their effectiveness through student data and mastery of these standards. Even though my personal teaching practices are focused on project-based learning and creating an engaging, developmentally appropriate learning environment, the content I teach and what my students must know by the end of their kindergarten year still follows a social efficiency model. As I have gained experience in teaching, I find myself trying to balance my personal child-centered ideology with these state requirements.

Navigating Teaching Experiences and Ideological Beliefs

This practice was extremely difficult in my first two teaching positions, teaching first grade and preschool in a public school that was given a failing grade from the state. Students were expected to not be “too loud”, there was a heavy emphasis on student data and I was not supported in any effort to create a more child-centered classroom, despite continuous failure to meet student data expectations. I once again felt like I was thrown in an environment that was not beneficial for teachers or students. These experiences only made my child-centered ideology stronger, what I would call the peak of my belief in the child-centered ideology because I was so aware at how much the current system was failing students.

Conclusion

After these two experiences, I landed at my current school where I am supported in the implementation of child-centered instructional practices. I implement activities in my classroom that align with the child-centered ideology, such as students working with Play-Doh and sidewalk chalk rather than pencil and paper and students do feel as if they are playing while learning. Being supported to implement child-centered instructional practices while still teaching in a typical social efficiency school has slightly shifted my beliefs in that I see the value in the things that students need to learn to be successful. I do want my students to explore and solve problems through project-based learning, but I also want them to leave my classroom reading and have basic number sense.   

Works Cited

1. Dewey, John. Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education. Free Press, 1997.