10 Great Curricula

Lived Conversations of Progressive, Democratic Curricula in School and Society

Edited by:
Thomas S. Poetter, Miami University

Published 2012

With: Susan L. M. Bartow, Lara A. Chatman, Daniel Ciamarra, Christopher L. Cox, Dawn Mann, Kevin J. Smith, Kevin M. Talbert, Mary A. Webb and Amy Fisher Young.

10 Great Curricula is a collection of stories written by educators who have come to understand curricula differently as a result of their engagement with a graduate course and its instructor. The book represents the best of what can be found in teaching and learning, in general, and in the quest for meaningful ways to understand curricula in particular.

The co-authors of this volume on “10 Great Curricula” framed their inquiries into progressive, democratic curricula, at least initially, through Marsh and Willis’ (2007) notions of planned, enacted, and lived curricula. These frames helped the writers think about how to engage a curriculum as it is developed, delivered, and lived by its participants, and for the inquirers to actually become participantinquirers in the curriculum at hand. The chapters depict the power, the possibility, and the transformational potential of “great” progressive curricula today by locating them in schools and in the community, by making them come alive to the reader, and by suggesting means through which the reader can adopt a more progressive, democratic stance to curriculum despite the seemingly overwhelming nature of the conservative, traditionalist, instrumentalist movements in curriculum, teaching, and assessment today. The book is intended for students of education, teaching, and curriculum, undergraduates, graduates, and practicing educational professionals, especially those looking for examples in the world in which progressive, democratic ideals are nurtured and practiced.

CONTENTS
Foreword, J. Dan Marshall. Preface, Kevin Talbert. List of Contributors. Introduction, Thomas S. Poetter. The One-Room Schoolhouse Today: Living History, Looking Forward, Kevin J. Smith. Little League International: Growing up in Little League, Thomas S. Poetter. Eagle Rock School: A “Mis-Equation” for Greatness—How a Curriculum Based on 8+5=10 Teaches and Transforms, Amy Fisher Young. McDonald’s Corporation: McDonald’s & You — Just East of Eaton, Daniel Ciamarra. Central Academy: Living a Democratic Framework, Susan L. M. Bartow. The Inauguration of Barack Obama, January 20, 2009: Living the Spectacle, Living History, Christopher L. Cox. The Algebra Project: Breaking the Algebra Code, Mary A. Webb. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: You Are My Witnesses, Dawn Mann. The National Network for Educational Renewal: 25 Years Committed to Education, Democracy, and Renewal, Lara A. Chatman and Thomas S. Poetter. Freedom Summer 1964: Truth, Reconciliation, and Justice—How a Mississippi Community Lives the Legacy of Freedom Summer, Kevin M. Talbert. Epilogue, Thomas S. Poetter. About the Author.