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Does specifying what students are supposed to learn through the standards help or hinder classroom learning?
An important approach from the authors of the Michigan Curriculum Framework is the emphasis awahttp://ed5740.wikispaces.com/week+1+discussiony from

This research focuses on how to approach learning in very creative means and ideally student-centered. The philosophy I've been trying to wrap my head around is the philosophy of unschooling, coined by John Holt. Though this philosophy is aimed at homeschooling parents, a few schools are incorporating these ideas into democratically run schools. From what I have gathered, unschooling allows the learner

Before I begin to address this question, it must be noted a lot of the literature I've been recently researching is based on authors critical of the current public school system, including John Holt, Herbert Kohl, John Taylor Gatto, Chris Mercogliano, and Jerry Mintz. These authors are causing me to re-evaluate how I view learning and my place in the learning environment.

Specifying what students are supposed to learn through standards has varied affects on classroom learning. Ultimately, whether standards help or hinder classroom learning will fall on the teacher and his or her interpretation of the standards, as well as their choice and usage of textbooks.

Standards have the potential for helping classroom learning by providing a framework for what students should know. For educators this framework provides us with goals and objectives to achieve. If we place value on the quality of learning, these standards will help classroom learning. On the other hand, if we place value on quantity learned forcibly addressing all the standards, this can have detrimental hindering effects leaving students behind. In addition to the negative effects of quantity verse quality, standards in social sciences and humanities are being used in other parts of the country to push social and political agendas. (e.g. Texas school board 2010 social studies standards change http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/21/AR2010052104365.html) And with Texas influencing textbook companies, the later can hinder classroom learning if teachers are blind to biases in texts as well as their own biases. We are a nation of diverse backgrounds and beliefs. As discussed in "I Won't Learn From You," by Herbert Kohl, students will purposely not learn if they disagree with opinions brought by the teacher. It is in my opinion, this hindrance can be easily alleviated if the conversation diverts from what to learn to how to learn. We can disagree with perceptions of knowledge and it is these discussions of varying perceptions that will generate the dialogue necessary for self-directed, life-long learners. Encouraging dialogue will open the door to students "construct[ing] and express[ing] thoughtful positions on public issues." [pg 22, Michigan Curriculum Framework]

Unlike Texas, I feel the standards for Michigan are broad enough to allow for a school districts and individual teachers to accommodate to the standards in a productive, how to learn manner. Of course, the interpretation of a standard needs to be critically evaluated. As an example, Standard III.2 for Michigan states "Ideals of American Democracy All students will explain the meaning and origin of the ideas, including the core democratic values expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and other foundational documents of the United States. American constitutional democracy is founded on a core set of values expressed in the nation’s foundational documents. A shared commitment to these values bonds Americans with a common identity and provides social cohesion. Political and legal processes are created to clarify the meaning of values in the American creed and to resolve conflicts among those values." [pg 27, Michigan Curriculum Framework] After listening to Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin at the recent Restoring Honor gathering, they state the core American values lie in God, even though the first amendment clearly states freedom of religion. It is these interpretations that threaten classroom learning by not only violating the constitution, but excluding the beliefs of others.

Standards