Notes on curriculum: A seminar class
him on a branch and signaled him to fly. The rabbit jumped off and broke a leg. Some weeks passed, and he had a nervous breakdown and had to drop out of school. The squirrel led in Climbing. However, his teacher in Flying made him start his Flying lessons from the ground instead of downwards from the top of the tree. The over- exertion at take- off gave him a muscular disorder, pain and stiffness. At mid- terms, he got aD ( unsatisfactory) in Running although he obtained aC ( fair) in Climbing. When the school authorities refused to add Digging to the curriculum, the farm dog was made to leave school by his guardians. It was nearing harvest time and the dog had to be ready for his burrowing responsibilities. They therefore apprenticed him to a farm mouse who lived nearby. At the end of the school year, the animal at the top of the class was an abnormal eel who could swim a little, fly a little. run a little, climb and fly a little. ( Adapted from Reeves, G. 1953. the Educational Forum in Oliver, A. 1965. New York: Dodd Mead and Co. 16; cf also Buscaglia, Leo F.
1982 p. 12) Also at<
After the class has read the fable, they can also convert the fable as a skit and act it out. Or they may localize the kind of animals. A 30 to 45- minute discussion follows after having the class or a class member perform a skit of the fable. The following are some lead questions for the ensuing discussion on the fable: 1) What change, if any, took place in the students? Comment on the change/ s; 2) What school practices could be drawn from the fable? Do you agree with these practices? Why/ Why not? Explain whether such practices could be appropriate under some conditions; 3) Do you have these practices in your school? If there are, would you like them changed/ institutionalized? Why? How?; 4) What understandings/ viewpoints on or concepts of Curriculum may be elicited from the fable?; 5) What is your understanding/ viewpoint of Curriculum? What practices emanate from such viewpoints?
The fable appeared in my “Curriculum Revisited: ToIn- Depth Change” in paper wards
published by a consortium of the Universities of Gottingen, Marburg, Kassel- Witzenhausen and the Institut Pertanian Bogor, International Symposiumcum- Workshop September 18- 22, 2000, Bogor, Indonesia. Pp. 335342 For a cartoon of this fable, p. click