Cathy's Reflection on week one

I think we covered so much during our first week. I realized that a lot of work goes into curriculum development, curriculum analysis, review, and who is and can be involved. Everyone, from students to teachers, parents, community, state and government. Education issues not only concern local issues but political issues as well. It's like you have to think globally when talking about education and language acquisition. This class is giving me a new way of thinking in my own teaching situation.

The thing that makes my situation different from other regions is the fact that I teach Yup'ik. In thinking about the readings on curriculum planning, development, evaluation, needs/situational analysis, aims and objectives...I almost feel like our Yup'ik program is still it's pioneer stage, mostly because we have to do a lot of translating and creating materials. I never really thought about authentic and creating materials.

I wonder if there's a kind of "scheduling" for revising or revisiting curriculum? I ask because it seems our Yup'ik curriculum has not been revisited for quite some time and I believe we need to review it with as a lot of participation from all concerned groups.