XplanaZine

James Farmer has added to the dialogue that Stephen Downes and I have been having on the possibility of a free curriculum (see Wales > Reynolds > Downes > Reynolds > Downes ).

James says “Here’s my take — in 95% of cases curriculum is artificial, unhelpful and obstructive. Learning has in many contexts become what it is not about, content.” I could not agree more with this statement. Learning is not about technology. It is not about institutions and administration. It is not about legislation and it is not about standards or practices. It is ultimately about the accrual of wisdom, about people helping other people grow up and grow out. In that sense, the only hope we have is the “free” curriculum because, as James points out, the rest is about something else.

Having thought about this for several days, I would like to propose the beginnings of a Manifesto for a Free Curriculum. I am offering up this initial version as a very rough list. It is my hope that others will respond and add to it. This list is necessarily incomplete as it reflects only my personal perspective. In keeping with what I believe to be the essence of learning and social evolution, I rely on the community to help shape these thoughts.

Manifesto on a Free Curriculum

Learning

1. Learning is a communal activity. Wisdom and valuable content are produced by groups of people and it is only with reference to those communities and their wisdom that we think, respond, and learn.

2. Learning is about content. The conduit for passing along the content that embodies our wisdom is irrelevant. A classroom is a conduit. Teachers are conduits. Technology is a conduit. No conduit is necessarily better than another. In fact, these conduits are inherent distractions from the real wisdom, the content. All conduits can be optimized to conduct the wisdom in the best way possible.

3. Learning occurs in open environments that foster organic growth. Learning is never a closed proposition. The Learning Curriculum cannot consist of courses in which all learners proceed, lock-step, towards a common destination. Learners must have open access to the Learning Curriculum at all times and be allowed to work through as much of the Curriculum as possible.

4. Learning can occur without teachers but not without community.

5. Learning is never “send only.” It is a two-way proposition. It is not about one person talking and another listening. it is dialogue, dissonance, and growth.

The Learning Curriculum

1. The Learning Curriculum is the content every society needs to pass along its important knowledge and wisdom from generation to generation. Its primary purpose is to help young people learn and actually accrue wisdom over their lifetimes.

2. Access to the Learning Curriculum is a fundamental human right. Therefore, the Learning Curriculum must be free. A Free Curriculum that is community-driven is the only way to ensure consistent evolution of societies and our only hope for world peace. Only if we focus on learning and open inquiry — as opposed to knowing and imposing our knowledge — can we solve problems such as world hunger, violence, injustice , and racial prejudice.

3. The Learning Curriculum is dynamic and, as such, must be constantly informed by the community it serves and must change as their needs change.

4. The Learning Curriculum is necessarily a community responsibility. It is not something individuals, governing bodies, or commercial entities can prescribe or create. The real Learning Curriculum will be the product of people of many roles in a society — student learners, teachers. mentors, parents, leaders — cooperating with a common vision for passing along that society’s important wisdom and the skills necessary to acquire and accrue that wisdom.

5. The Learning Curriculum is flexible. There is no fixed Learning Curriculum for the world, for a given country, or for a particular society. There may be agreed-on wisdom and content that these communities use as a baseline of important knowledge and inderstanding at any point of their evolution. The application of that content and wisdom, however, always allows for individual application and flexible extension.