Issue5 【SWEETBOX小组】第一次作业 by 小破孩

小破孩UID: 2125288

Issue 5
"A nation should require all its students to study the same national curriculum until they enter college rather than allow schools in different parts of the nation to determine which academic courses to offer."

Outline:
1.        Two extreme cases: either all the regions having the same curriculum or all the courses are determined solely by the local college. Neither of them is proper for thorough education because they all have disadvantages.
2.        The purpose of education: Learn how to obtain knowledge, learn how to deal, learn how to live. These requirements prompt the system designed to have a combination of the above two types of curriculum design.
3.        Flaws of only one system:
                The central determine everything one: College characteristic and individual students’ personality are dwindled. And the difference between region, school and students are neglected.
                Solely determined by the college, the regulation of the courses design is poorly operated, but the strength of authority are weaker, and less effective than the central regulation.
6.        Best solution: combination of the above two systems

73min
Words: 542

Education, as a crucial process to cultivate students how to obtain knowledge, how to deal with various of problems in reality, how to be compatible in competitions and how to survive, gain enormous attention among world wide educators. The design and arrangement of curriculum, one of the basic, essential and emerging issues are considered in the first place.

There are now two main systems of curriculum regulation around the world: the central government determination and the regional-regulated arrangement. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages as illustrated as following.

On one hand, the thorough regulation of the curriculum design by national complement gives students education opportunity equally but may neglect regional schools’ characteristics and individual’s personality. For example, the uniform national curriculum could bring fundamental knowledge to the rural distant areas where without the national compulsory, the majority of the students may know little about basic geology, physics or nature science and lead their life loitering in the farm without taking the advantages of the rains to prosper the crops or using gears conveniently and effectively. However, at the same time, the condition of local school maybe not so updated that much of what’s in the teaching material have to be left away. Or the textbook lacks diversity rendering students grown up in the city may not even be able to distinguish plants from tares in the field. Furthermore, without students’ interests-oriented courses fulfilling students’ desire and curiosity, students learning motivation maybe greatly attenuated. In other words, the standard nationally applied curriculum easily spread broadly, facilitating those areas lacking autonomy but losing flexibility and dwindle education quality.

On the other hand, the regional regulations arrange courses upon their requests, ensuring the pragmatist of the courses but lacks authority, which may hinder its feasibility. For instance, schools located along the littoral region may provide relevant courses about fishery or ichthyology due to its natural learning environment and keen interests among student. Additionally, international schools with students with various religion backgrounds can open courses to introduce cultures to reduce the involuntary conflict and bring harmonious to the campus. However, due to the weak authority, a creative school cannot enforce students purchasing its self-designed textbook, which may be disputed as gaining profits from selling teaching materials.

The best and the only way to design curriculum properly is the combination of the above two systems to make it fully functional. There is no nation using solely one kind of the regulation system world wide. Different countries have their own propensity due to either historical or political reasons. For instance, the United States and the United Kingdoms have their rights distributed to the local government with legislations to keep the quality and standard which may due to their democracy political requirements. Whereas in the case of China, the core curriculum are mainly nationally regulated with local schools providing additional supplementary courses, which may be greatly influenced by Soviet Union’s central-regulated system. Whatever reasons, whatever form the combination is, only did the national regulation and local regulation interweave, can education be fully functional and beneficial.

Just as a normal person requires both hands to work, we also need both the central regulation and local regulation reconciled to provide all students in an equable and still interest-orient educational development.