Uncommon Composure: Becoming a Teacher

Abstract

The uncommon countenance of Canadian curriculum studies is contested among academics who teach and write at Canadian Universities, and Canadian curriculum studies is also negotiated with students in public schools and their teachers. In this case, uncommon countenance does not refer to the arrangement of the teacher’s face as she stands at the front of the classroom, peering imperiously at her students as she “delivers” the prescribed government curriculum. We wouldn’t offer such a thin trick as a legitimate example of teacher composure, although one look at the offerings of many teacher handbooks, and it appears as though it is these kinds of “Monday morning ready” tips and tricks that teachers desperately need. It may be true that an occasional imperious glare is effective in redirecting a student’s attentions, however, the disproportional amount of workshops and resources offered in this logistical vein suggests that as educators, our attentions are also in need of redirection. Where curriculum comes from, what it is, and who it is for are questions that come to bear in every classroom. Do we really have to study Shakespeare, again? Why do we need to know Pythagorean theorem? Who cares about colonialism? These questions may be taken as merely the plaintive cries of adolescents, however, they can also be taken as powerful questions about what we are doing together in schools. What are we doing together in schools? What are public school teachers, and scholars, and youths doing together in Canadian schools? Who are we becoming together?