How our perpetual adoption of new curricula and standards in the United States represents a hedonic treadmill that ultimately fails to improve student outcomes. It argues that the billions spent on new curriculum every few years lines the pockets of publishers but does little for students. The article contrasts this approach with Finland's model of teachers creating localized curricula tailored to their specific students. It suggests the U.S. obsession with constantly having the newest curriculum is not evidence-based, and is driven more by marketing than proven results. Questions are raised about why the U.S. continues down this fruitless path despite mediocre international rankings. Wider issues in society are discussed, including how the hedonic treadmill in consumer culture also manifests in education's curriculum treadmill. In conclusion, jumping off this treadmill by focusing on time-tested practices is presented as essential for the future prosperity of American education.
Questions to Ponder:
- How could the billions spent on new curriculum be better utilized to improve student outcomes?
- What changes would need to occur for U.S. schools to adopt Finland's teacher-created curriculum model?
- Is the perpetual adoption of new standards and curricula in the U.S. evidence-based? Why or why not?
- How might our consumer culture feed into the curriculum treadmill phenomenon?
- What steps could schools take to get off this treadmill?
As a nation, the United States is perpetually unsatisfied, constantly seeking out the next new thing in a futile attempt to find fulfillment. This tendency applies to many aspects of American life, but is particularly evident when it comes to education and curriculum. We have fallen victim to a hedonic treadmill, adopting new standards and curriculum on a regular cycle, spending billions of dollars annually, with little regard for what works best for students. The great curriculum treadmill spins on, driven by publishers, politicians, bureaucrats and school boards, while student learning and outcomes stagnate.
This obsession with the perpetually new curriculum is ultimately more concerned with the profits of the publishing houses than with effective instruction. The major publishers spend small fortunes marketing their materials to districts, selling them as a panacea that will finally get results. Then, in a few years, they argue that schools need an updated, more rigorous curriculum. They have made this a repetitive process, knowing that most districts cannot resist the siren call of the newest and shiniest. The billions of dollars spent adopting new curriculum, standards and testing could be better utilized in the classroom.
While U.S. schools jump from one curriculum bandwagon to the next, high performing countries take a much different approach. In Finland, for example, curriculum is designed by teachers at the school and district level, tailored specifically to their students. The teacher is valued as the professional expert on how to best instruct students, not a curriculum publisher or politician. Finnish schools do have national standards as overall guidelines, but allow for tremendous flexibility in how teachers can structure instruction. There are no high-stakes standardized tests assessing strict curriculum compliance. The focus is on instruction, not regimented standards.
The Finnish model recognizes that effective teaching requires adapting to the students in front of you, not forcing them into a one-size-fits-all curriculum. While Finnish teachers create curriculum for their specific needs, American schools are inundated with massive textbooks from the major publishers, pacing guides, benchmark assessments and more, all micromanaging instruction down to daily lesson plans. Creativity and flexibility are seen as liabilities, and strict adherence to canned curriculum is mandatory. The very structure of the pre-packaged curriculum stifles good teaching.
And for all the billions spent on adopting new standards and curriculum, American students are not exactly thriving academically. The 2019 PISA international assessments found the U.S. continued to decline relative to global peers in reading, math and science. Our students ranked around the middle of the pack, significantly trailing students in countries like Singapore, Japan, Canada and Estonia. It seems that our curriculum treadmill, for all its noise and bustle, has moved us backward. If we judge the tree by its fruits, the fruits are noticeably underwhelming.
A high-performing American classroom looks very different from the prescribed model. At its best, American education fosters creativity, depth of analysis, critical thinking and passion for learning. This is seen in AP classes expanding beyond the test to delve deeper into a subject, or elementary students having the freedom to explore a topic that ignites their interest. Exploration, inquiry and discovery are where engaged learning happens. Canned curriculum hinders more than it helps.
Perhaps we could take a lesson from the medical field, where decisions are expected to be evidence-based. Instead of perpetually adopting the newest curriculum, we should critically examine which approaches actually produce results, and have the courage to stick with them. Novelty for its own sake is foolishness. enduring success comes from proven practices iteratively improved over years, not tossing everything out every few years because marketing convinces us the newest is automatically better. A wise society bases decisions on careful analysis of evidence, not blindly following the hedonic treadmill of constantly chasing the novel and superficially different.
Our obsession with the perpetually new curriculum is not an eccentric quirk of the education field, but a reflection of deeper currents in American society. We are trapped in endless cycles of dissatisfaction and desiring the newest thing, whether in consumer products, entertainment, politics, or education. The hedonic treadmill spins faster each year, leaving people exhausted just trying to keep up. And for all the movement, genuine fulfillment remains elusive.
The great curriculum treadmill will not be overcome solely through policy change. A societal change of values and habits is needed at a deeper level. We must rediscover the wisdom of classical philosophy: true happiness comes from virtuous living and character, not external events and possessions. Authentic education cultivates wisdom and character, not merely collecting credentials and regurgitating facts. The hedonic treadmill can only be overcome when we stop looking for fulfillment in the newest and shiniest, and live by enduring values. This applies as much to curriculum as consumer goods.
Until then, the great curriculum treadmill will keep spinning, billions will keep being wasted, and student learning will be stuck in neutral. For the sake of America’s students, we must jump off this treadmill before it’s too late. The future prosperity of our nation depends on it.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you!