Centering Students and Communities in the Curriculum

I often hear about the tension between implementing scripted curriculum vs. centering students and communities. I don't believe those two things have to be separate. There are a lot of great aspects of a scripted curriculum that help us teach the grade-level standards, think of new ways of differentiating the content for specific populations, develop our content knowledge, and ensure students are ready for the next grade level.

However, no curriculum is perfect, and it is important to know what works best for your students and learn how to integrate student and community assets into the curriculum. There's a reason curriculum providers frequently update their materials: they recognize there will always be new and critical perspectives that are missing.

Whether we are adding supplemental texts to include the perspectives of marginalized groups or inviting members of the community to speak on a topic related to the unit, we as educators should infuse these kinds of opportunities into the curriculum to make the learning sticky and relevant. See the video below to hear more!