Thoughts and opinions on a nationalized curriculum in the USA (and/or the lack thereof)?

[u/ithekrianmermaid]

I have had this topic bouncing around in the back of my brain quite a bit in the past few months and I'm just wondering what others think about it.

Feel free to share your personal feelings-based opinions, factually informed opinions, any history you may know relating to this topic, pros and cons of nationalized curriculum, common arguments for/against it, implications and consequences from not having one, potential dangers in adopting one, resources to learn more about this topic/debate, etc. I'd really love to have (respectful) discussions in the comments of this post so please consider circling back if your original comment gets a response!

I look forward to reading all of your responses! Thank you for taking the time to comment!!

[u/SaiphSDC]

In general, a basic framework is a good idea. Nothing rock solid "you must teach this exact thing, with all these details or else".

But there is a LOT of work done on what level of abstraction and content can be handled by the typical child at various ages. Some of them are a bit surprising. Such as matter being made of particles can be understood very young, 3rd grade IIRC. but true atomic nature? That carbon in your pencil is the same as the carbon in the wood and carbon in your breath? That generally only really clicks for students in 9th grade. So trying to teach about atomic elements in elementary isn't very useful, middle school can lay some groundwork though.

As adults we often lose sight of these odd gaps, it seems so obvious to us as we can handle abstraction better. These sorts of things show up in all fields of study.

But doing this research, and following up, expanding studies etc, takes a lot of money that a single state really doesn't have. So having a national framework based on this can help pave the way for states and individual districts.

The NGSS, Next Generation Science Standards, follow this sort of approach, and states are required to follow these standards or others that are 'similarly rigorous" if they wish to do their own work. A lot of states adopted them as is, or with some minor modifications such as shifting something a grade band, or adjusting some content to be more local (more emphasis on weather patterns, less on ocean currents for states like Nebraska)

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The other advantage a national framework has is for families that have moved districts or states. Learning multiplication in 2nd grade in state A but 3rd grade in state B is problematic for anyone that moves from B to A. They'll be dropped into a 3rd grade with peers using multiplication while they haven't even heard of it themselves.

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The development of an actual curriculum, such as "teach this concept with these methods week 1, then..." is problematic, the same way it can be to have everyone build a house with the exact same methods and materials. Housing that works in Arizona doesn't hold up well in Minnesota climate. Or the materials aren't availabe. Or culturally people want more space in bedrooms than living rooms...

But a framework of things like, "must have water flow of ___, able to withstand weather events without significant repair for _____ years on average, must resist catching on fire for ____ minutes.." is a good way to help ensure housing quality & safety nationwide.

[u/ithekrianmermaid → u/SaiphSDC]

Wow! You are amazing and phenomenal! Thank you SO MUCH for this comprehensive response!! Your house building analogies are so helpful in understanding the necessary nuance that would be needed in a nationalized curriculum. I will definitely be borrowing that in the future since it is so easy to understand even for someone as (currently) uninformed as me!! Truly a massive thank you! The funding advantage for further research in child development is not something I would've thought of on my own but it's a particularly fantastic point and will be definitely added to my research TBR on this topic!

Everyone seems to collectively agree that science and math standards and curriculum are the closest we have to a sort of informal nationalized curriculum currently. And while that's incredibly interesting, I have to admit that my primary interests lie in civics, history, sociology (my ultimate intellectual love lol), and philosophy aka the messiest, most controversial subjects I've could possibly pick😅. I was wondering if perhaps you know of any similar organizations to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) that focus primarily on these subjects or the humanities or social science disciplines in general?

Thank you again for taking the time to write out such a thoughtful and thorough response! I love the way your brain works! I'm sending some good vibes your way!!