When reading, one idea that made me stop was the section on rewards. I’ve always liked the idea of giving students small rewards because I assumed it would encourage them to enjoy learning even more. I hadn’t considered that relying on external rewards could actually reduce a student’s intrinsic motivation over time. It made me rethink how I want to motivate students because I’m aware that many students dislike math classes.
I was also surprised by Eisner’s discussion of how schools create competition through honours programs and differentiated classes. It reminded me of my own experience being in Mini School in high school and how I would always tell people it wasn’t a class of smarter or more capable people; we just so happened to have some classes together as a cohort. But it did always feel like there was some segregation. I hadn't really thought about those structures as part of the curriculum before, but they definitely teach students beyond the content they learn in lessons.
When I first thought about curriculum, especially in math, I pictured a list of topics that students are meant to learn. I think the BC Math Curriculum connects with Eisner's ideas through the core competencies, since students are expected to develop communication, thinking, and personal and social skills alongside the curricular competency. This reading expanded my idea of ‘curriculum’ because it made me realize that I'm not only teaching academic content, but also shaping the students. That feels like such a big responsibility and a bit scary to think that I can really affect students.
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