Cycle 4: Controversial Issues in Curriculum?
Should the curriculum address controversial issues? I think the curriculum should certainly address controversial issues. Controversial issues should not be part of the “null curriculum” that Eisner describes. This will give children the ability to critically think and reason about opposing viewpoints. However, I think this should be done in a way that honors and respects all viewpoints without putting a heavy bias on one over the other. I also think, particularly in elementary schools, parents should have a strong voice as to what their children are exposed to if certain curriculum opposes the values they are trying to instill in their children. As this topic pertains to gay rights, I am heartbroken over the injustices people who identify as LGBTQ have gone through. Growing up I had several friends who identified as LGBTQ and who were bullied in some ways by it. Further, in college, I knew people who identified as LGBTQ who felt especially isolated and unseen at a Ch...