Troubling Inheritance
As long as there has been formal curriculum, there has been disappointing curriculum. In an increasingly authoritarian world, problematic curricula are on the march, leaving teachers in a bind. Faced with these problematic curricula, some teachers will submit and do as they are told. Other teachers will oppose the problematic curricula, and, in some cases, face the consequences. Instead, the author argues for reworking problematic curricula. Turning to the nearest bookshelf, the author engages with his own troubling inheritance, a problematic curriculum. As a gift from a beloved family member, that text proved too dear to discard and too problematic to accept unchanged. Drawing on examples of assemblage art, the author reworks the problematic curriculum through cutting, juxtaposing with other materials, and re-contextualizing in a different setting. Navigating in the wake of reactionary movements, the author concludes by encouraging the teacher to find forms of subsistence while continuing to work toward a larger vision of social justice.
Seth A. McCall is a postdoctoral research associate at the Center for Technology and School Change, and teaches social studies education courses at Wayne State University.