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Religious and Political Motives
"Religious and political motives are explicit in this law; economic motives are implicit. The law empowered the colony's elected representatives...to enquire into [the children's] 'ability to read and understand the principles of religion and the capitall lawes of this country'" (Monaghan, 1988, p. 26). This quote shows the government's voice in deciding what should be read and for what purpose. -
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Cotton Mather's Family Literacy for Religion
The story of Cotton Mather reinforced the idea that the teaching of reading and writing was for religious purposes. Yet, some aspects of his family’s literacy practices worked towards other purposes facilitating interactions among family members, providing a communal activity, and supporting Cotton’s parenting obligations. It is evident that in the colonial period, a family’s literacy practices dictated literacy instruction. -
Production of New England Primer: Religion's Hold on Reading Instruction
Monaghan and Barry (1999) explain that "the mainstay of colonial primary education was the primer. This book was called a primer because it was thought to contain the primary essentials for one's spiritual existence" (p. 7). This echoes the family literacy practices in the Cotton Mather piece and further illustrates how religion heavily influenced what was appropriate materials for reading instruction in the colonial period. 1st truly American Primer= "New England Primer"' -
Curriculum Materials Now Published and Printed in US
"Except for a little spelling book composed by the anti-slavery activist Anthony Benezet in Philadelphia in 1779, the first speller written by an American and published on an American press was the work of a young and ardently patriotic Noah Webster" (Monaghan & Barry, 1999, p. 9-10)." This event signifies the beginning of literacy curriculum being made in the US and influenced by capitalist forces. -
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Diversification of Reading Materials
Kaestle (1988) explains that the explosion of print matter between the 1880s and 1900s led different types of newspapers to be printed. Although books were less wide spread, there was "a new emphasis on American authors" (p. 531). In this time frame, there was a diversification of voices contributing to print materials. -
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Curriculum as Cultural Authority: Girls Read for Home Making
Webber (1993) detailed how a series of reading materials were distributed to farmer’s wives as a part of a “cultural authority” for reading to be “viewed as an enlightening as well as an instrumental practice in the everyday life of farm women” (p. 293). She goes on to say that the materials revolved around home economics like “food preparation, household management, and child care” (p. 296).
This highlights how curriculum can be strategically oppressive towards specific groups. -
The Start of Teacher's Manuals and Loss of Autonomy
Edward Ward's (1900) text, The Rational Method in Reading, is an "early example a new genre: teacher's manuals printed separately from the readers" (Monaghan & Barry, 1999, p. 22-23). This "textbook" is the beginning of how outside sources begin to influence curriculum development by prescribing a way to teach reading that gets more rigid as the decade continues. -
Local Context Influences Curriculum
Webber (1993) explained how the bulletins sent to farmer’s wives were hopefully to promote an agricultural lifestyle. For instance, the bulletins were meant to “maintain that reading--and studying nature-- with children will keep them interested in staying on the farm" (p. 298). Therefore, communities and families have a say in the curriculum materials based on their local interests and priorities. -
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Standardization of Print Materials
Beginning around 1900, the country saw the standardization of print materials with the majority of the population wanting the "best-sellers." As Kaestle (1998) wrote, capitalism began to influence the publishing industry-- "technology, capitalism, politics, and education had combined to homogenize the world of print as never before" (p. 535-538). -
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Policy Makers and Researchers use "Functional Literacy" as a Biased Method for Assessing Literacy
Kaestle (1988) explored the diversity in literacy abilities. He wrote how researchers and policy makers continually develop new measures for “functional literacy” that widened the gap between social groups. This dated term “functional literacy” is problematic because of the assumption that there is only one form of literacy that allows an individual to be “functional” in society. The term "functional literacy" had to influence curriculum development. -
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Professional Publications that support Teacher's Voice and PCK
As Monaghan and Barry (1999) describe in their catalog, the 1930s produced professional publications intended to support teachers developing pedagogical content knowledge. Books like "The Improvement of the Assignment," "The Prevention and Correction of Reading Difficulties," "Remedial Reading," and "Helping Children to Read" all contribute to teachers' PCK and help promote their voice in curriculum development as opposed to teacher manuals. -
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Genealogical Exploration of Smith's American Reading Instruction Highlights Commercial Materials
In Alvermann and Hoffman’s (2019) piece, they discussed the divide between commercial materials and curriculum developed along a progressive era mindset as a component of their genealogical exploration of Smith’s multiple editions of American Reading Instruction. It’s clear that those in power are influential when it comes to funding which greatly impacts the curriculum available to teachers and the flexibility they have to adopt their own curriculum. -
Reading 180-- Skills trump Liberation in Curriculum Development
Many of my students were labeled as “low readers” and had to take Reading 180, an online reading program that was meant to help improve these students’ reading levels, instead it made them hate reading even more. In speaking about these types of detached curriculums, David Bowles wrote, “kids are acutely aware of injustice and by nature rebellious against the systems of authority that keep autonomy away from there. If you’re perpetuating those systems, teachers, you’ve already freaking lost.” -
Government's Attempt to Provide Family Literacy Instruction
"The federal government's 'Even Start' program, passed in 1988, is one such attempt to provide intergenerational literacy training. Other direct policies include good day-care centers and income supports that are targeted at young children" (Kaestle, 1988, p. 547). -
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Open Court Reading: Capitalism and Curriculum
Shannon (2000) explored how reading curriculum and instruction is inherently tied to capitalism. When Shannon discussed how basal readers worked as a reification of reading instruction, specifically the Open Court program, he wrote, “The framework that was negotiated isn't really the [teachers'] production...they regularized the practices of teachers who they have defined as good teachers and suggested that SRA package them for other teachers to buy.” -
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Literacy Curriculum=Job Preparation
In his tweets, David Bowles reminded us how teachers frequently say, “‘You need to learn these skills to get a job,’” then adds, “to be a good laborer. To help the wealthy generate more wealth, while you get scraps. THAT is why modern education is a failure.” Many reading curriculums choose text because they think students need to know of those stories for later in life, instead of considering a more relevant and contemporary piece that helps students understand the world around them right now. -
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Teachers Pay Teachers: Reimagined Capitalism in Curriculum
Websites like TPT heightened what Shannon (2000) described with Open Court Reading in that they perpetuate the idea that “good teaching is something that can be bought” (Pittard, 2016, p. 13). Overall, when curriculum development is approached through commodification as in a Marxist view, “the human essence of reading, teaching, and learning are lost from view” (Shannon, 2000). Even thought TPT is teacher-made, it reinforces the idea that curriculum should look a certain way. -
Critical Encounters in Curriculum
David Bowles argues that if canonical texts are be explored then it should be taught using various lenses for reading. This pedagogical move is supported by Appleman’s text, Critical Encounters in Secondary English: Teaching Literary Theory to Adolescents. While not a scripted curriculum, this practitioner text supports ELA teachers in developing curriculum in critical ways by modeling reading canonical texts through various lenses like social class, gender, postcolonial, new historicism, etc. -
Cultivating Genius and Creativity in Curriculum: A Shift
As I was watching the video on Torrance and creativity I was also thinking about Muhammad’s exploration of the Black literary societies in history and how this work centers Black genius. Although these societies were not prescribed a curriculum, they creatively used literacy as a form of liberation--something I don’t believe our current scripted lessons and textbooks work towards, but her framework begins to show a 21st century shift in how educators approach curriculum development. -
Keep the Cannon: Keep Common Cultural Language in Curriculum
In the podcast, Castle Talk: Professor/Author David Bowles on Rethinking and Replacing the Cannon explores how proponents of the canon argue that it provides a “common cultural language” and that they are fearful of losing this loss of culture which Bowles clarifies as the “loss of white hegemony.” Bowles argues for more relevant and contemporary young adult literature to be centered and if a few canonical texts should be explored then it should be taught using various lenses for reading.