Curriculum Metaphor: Curriculum and Cell Phone Contracts

In trying to decide what would best serve as a metaphor for curriculum, I believe that it is important for me to choose something for comparison that I don’t fully understand or have a complete idea of how it functions, who put it together, if it is equitable, and so on. I think this is important because, as a newer teacher, I feel as though the curriculum I deliver is something that I continue to grow to understand, learn how to navigate, and balance with what I feel my students need or want. This is how I arrived at the idea of a cell phone contract as a metaphor for curriculum.

I realize that this metaphor perhaps resonates as having a slightly negative connotation because so many of us have a story of how we once, or perhaps many times, have felt great frustration with cell phone companies and the contracts that we are ‘locked’ into. Cell phone contracts, and certainly curriculum expectations for teachers are things that we tend to gripe about at some point. However, a cell phone is something that I imagine many of us feel that we need, and without this service, we would struggle to navigate this digital world. Similarly, I find that this is the way many people in the teaching profession feel about curriculum; it can be interpreted as an overhanging burden, as something that we must adhere to, and yet of we were to go without it, we would feel stripped of something that we use everyday.

Many teachers that I have worked with lament that they feel stuck with the curriculum that they have, and I often feel tied to ministry expectations as well. Teachers may feel as though their creativity is being encroached upon and that their input about what curriculum should look like is not being valued or heard. For instance, I especially feel this way when I teach my grade twelve students in Alberta, who are faced with a 50% English Provincial Diploma exam at the end of my course. This test takes place over two days and is comprised of three essay assignments and a reading comprehension multiple-choice examination where students read a selection of poetry, short stories, and various other excerpts and respond. Because this exam is weighted so heavily, throughout the semester, my students and myself grow quite anxious about the exam, and a lot of my course focuses on how to best prepare them for this test, especially for the three different types of essay writing. I experience a great deal of pressure to ensure that they feel confident and capable for this exam, and as a result, I feel as though I am creatively restricted with what I can do with my students. Additionally, I feel added stress because I am not allowed to see the test ahead of time, I am not even allowed access to the area of the school where my students write the test on exam day, and afterwards our department discusses the results of each class. Like a cell phone contract, I want to communicate more frequently and deeply with my students about what particular interests they are fostering in the course, but I constantly have to budget the “cost” of the time spent on this.

Another reason why I feel as though a cell phone contract works as a metaphor for curriculum is because as with cell phones, some people are more comfortable with the simpler cell phone models that they’re used to with basic functioning. Some individuals only use their phones for talking and checking the time, while others look forward to getting the newest, most exciting model with new apps, better video quality, and even waterproof screens. This metaphor to helps me to understand aspects of the teacher in this discussion of curriculum because teachers seem to be on a spectrum of understanding. Some prefer to use the curriculum as they always have and they may be reluctant or nervous to try implementing new curriculum or new initiatives that are encouraged by the ministry, a school board, or a school’s administration, while others are aching for innovation and new directions. I know many teachers who feel unsupported when they are pushed in new directions, and told to use new tools that they are unfamiliar with, particularly with technology. Some of my own colleagues are worried that our transition into a one-to-one, Project-Based-Learning focus next September is more about optics rather than authentic learning, and they perceive this change as a problematic moving away from ‘the basics.’ Many feel  they are being pushed into something that they don’t feel ready for, or are not convinced that the shift will best benefit students. Because of this, I believe that just as it is important to meet our learners where they are, we must also exercise this approach with teachers. A lot of change is expected of us at once, and there is a steep learning curve, much like with navigating new cell phone contracts.  We have to research what we should expect of our service, how to effectively negotiate a better plan, and what device to choose to best suit our needs, etc. 

On a more positive note, an important connection I see is that cell phone contracts, like curriculum, can be personalized. With a cell phone contract, we can pick and choose which features we want to spend more time with, and often with curriculum, teachers feel that once they understand the dynamics of their classroom, they have a certain amount of freedom to focus on the outcomes that they feel their students need to concentrate on the most. Also, like the recent modifications that major cell phone companies have agreed to make after pressure from the masses (shorter contracts, limits on over-billing), teachers may also feel that when changes need to be made to curricula, that there can be opportunities for their voices to be heard, whether it be by a provincial, district, or school level. However, more importantly, what this metaphor helped me to unpack in terms of understanding the learner perspective, is that this individualization can be very important, especially with students with personal education plans and learning differences. Often, these students need to advocate for themselves, or have family advocate for them, to have the curriculum modified for their specific needs, just as we sometimes may have to do the same thing when we call a major provider and negotiate or demand for better service.

With both curriculum and cell phone contracts, if one of these is not working properly or effectively for you, it poses the potential hazard for there to be a high ‘cost.’ With a cell phone contract, if you ignore or are unfamiliar with the conditions, you may be faced with an expensive bill. With curriculum, if a teacher or a student does not find the curriculum meaningful, the cost of this disconnection can be detrimental. 

Image courtesy: cartoonstock.com