Transcript curriculum

EDUC 5030
February 5, 2013
Today’s Class
• Religion & education/curriculum: the link
• Madrassas: among the earliest schools
• Questions and answers about Madrassas
• 2-page Draft Paper Assignment: Due Feb. 12
• “Our School” (2008)s
Margaret Mead (1901-1978)
Samoan youth
There are several striking differences
between our concept of education today and that of …the South Sea people…
…but perhaps the most important one is the
shift from the need for an individual to learn
something which everyone agrees he would
wish to know, to the will of some individual to
teach something which it is not agreed that
anyone has any desire to know. [curriculum]
Margaret Mead, con’t
…the master did not go seeking pupils;
the pupils and their parents went to
seek the master and with proper gifts….
persuaded him to teach the [learner]
…with the appearance of religions which held
this belief in their own infallible superiority,
education becomes a concern of those who
teach rather than of those who learn
Madrassas: among the earliest
schools
Edward Said: ‫إددوارد وديع سعيد‬
• “How does one represent
other cultures? What is
another culture? Is the notion
of a distinct culture (or race,
or religion, or civilization) a
useful one, or does it always
get involved either in selfcongratulation (when one
discusses one's own) or
hostility and aggression
(when one discusses the
'other')?”
• 1935 – 2003
My contention is that
Orientalism is fundamentally
a political doctrine willed over
the Orient because the Orient
was weaker than the West,
which elided the Orient’s
difference with its weakness
....As a cultural apparatus
Orientalism is all aggression,
activity, judgment, will-totruth, and knowledge
(Orientalism, p. 204).
• “Islamic”
• Maktab versus
Madrassa
• “the prophet”?
• “the empire”?
• “machinery of
colonialism”
• “Every Muslim
child, girl and boy,
is expected to read
and recite the
Koran early on”
Madrassa Curricula
YEAR
SUBJECTS
First Year
Biography of the Prophet (Syrat), Conjugation-Grammar (Sarf), Syntax
(Nahv), Arabic Literature, Chirography, Chant illation (Tajvid)
Year Conjugation-Grammar (Sarf), Syntax (Nahv), Arabic Literature,
Jurisprudence (Fiqa), Logic, Chirography (Khush-navisi), Chant illation,
(Tajvid)
Koranic Exegesis, Jurisprudence: (Fiqh), Syntax (Nahv), Arabic Literature,
Hadith, Logic, Islamic Brotherhood, Chant illation: (Tajvid), External study
(Tareekh Millat and Khilafat-e-Rashida – these are Indian Islamic
movements).
Koranic Exegesis, Jurisprudence (Fiqa), Principles of Jurisprudence,
Rhetorics, Hadith, Logic, History, Cant illation, Modern Sciences (sciences
of cities of Arabia, Geography of the Arab Peninsula and other Islamic
countries)
Second
Third Year
Fourth Year
Al Azhar Education system (p. 9)
1. Primary: 4-5 years to 11 or 12 years
2. Secondary: 12 or older to 16-18 years
3. Tertiary: 18 – 22 and older
Middle school: 4th or 5th year
primary
to 8th or 9th year of school
Secondary
Tertiary
Why Madrassas & their curriculum?
– Schools and their curriculum have a history
– There is a tie between religion and the first
schools
– Becomes international as a culture / religion
spread
– There are regional variations with this spread
– Indonesia & Bangladesh: Islamic education
(Pesentrens) and also public schools (Alyia)
• Two Page Draft Paper on a Selected Theme,
20%: This theme can be one of the general
themes identified in the course schedule,
above, or it can be one of the more specific
topics listed below. The purpose of this paper
is to outline how you will address your topic in
the final presentation and paper for the
course. This will allow instructor feedback, as
necessary, on your approach and topic.
Topics
• basics of curriculum, teaching and learning:
What are they and why are they important
• Aboriginal Curricula
• Non‐Western Curricula
• Curriculum in the West
• Inclusive Curricula
• OTHER: Discuss with Instructor!
Suggested Topics
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Robert M. Gagne,
Victor of Aveyron,
Islamic Education,
Chinese Education
Education for any other
religious/cultural group
The term “Curriculum”
Cognitive Science
Behaviourism
Constructivism
• The Enlightenment
• bell hooks
• segregated schools in
the USA
• residential schools in
Canada
• Koreans in Japan; North
and south Korea
• John Dewey
• Alternative forms of
lesson planning
First Paragraph
1. What is your general topic area?
2. Why are you/why should we be interested in
it?
3. Narrow you topic down
4. What is your position on your topic?
Next few paragraphs
• 2-3 examples, arguments, points, ideas,
suggestions, ways of:
– Explaining your topic (e.g., Independent schools in
Canada for Chinese students)
– Linking related positions on your topic (e.g. TV and
learning)
– Describing your position on your topic (e.g.,
Chinese versus Canadian family/parenting)
– Defending your position on your topic (why is
ecological / green education important?)
Writing is key! (from Peter Horban)
http://www.sfu.ca/philosophy/resources/writing.html
• Always present a ”reasoned defense of a thesis.”
• There must be a specific point that you are trying
to establish together with grounds or justification
for its acceptance.
• Before you start to write your paper, you should
be able to state exactly what it is that you are
trying to show.
• you should be able to state in a single short
sentence precisely what you want to prove
More on writing
• Doesn’t have to be a “hot controversy”
• Your method must be that of rational
persuasion. You will present arguments
• Assume that your reader is intelligent and
knows a lot about your subject, but disagrees
with you.
• Chose the strongest and most important
points; often 2-4 will do.
• Clear, grammatical and
• “The difficulty/importance of Dewey’s
Pedagogical Creed”
• “Aboriginal curriculum: Its necessity and/or
challenges”
• “’Anything can happen:’ the open future in
Lozinski’s 1995 documentary”
• “Different forms of learning in ‘The Weeping
Camel’”
• Madrassa and Western curricula: similarities
and/or differences
The thesis is somewhat
clear
Understanding of the
topic and its relation to
course themes or egs. is
somewhat demonstrated
and applied
The thesis is clear
Some abilities (or
potential) for analysis
and synthesis of material
are demonstrated and
some arguments are
presented
Strong abilities (or
potential) for analysis
and synthesis of material
are demonstrated and
well developed
arguments are presented
Exceptional (or potential)
abilities for analysis and
synthesis of material are
demonstrated and strong
arguments are presented
The document shows
some structured and
writing ability
The document is well
structured and well
written
The document is
extremely well
structured and well
written
Understanding of the
topic and its relation to
course themes or egs. is
clearly understood and
applied
The thesis is clear and
original
Deep understanding of
the topic and its relation
to course themes or egs.
is understood and
applied