From your community's perspective, what are the primary inside and outside of school influences or forces on your educational practise?

I have always stressed the importance of parental involvement in education, but Dillon has been a trying community for me to validate that opinion, when I have yet to meet so many of my student's families.

What influences must one resist and what influences must one accept in choosing the content of an educational curriculum?

Influences that one must resist in choosing content in curriculum are: personal biases, personal preferences, ...

Influences that one must accept in choosing content in curriculum are: school boards, administrative views, ...

Discuss: The public school curriculum should primarily teach useful skills relevant to the needs and interests of students.

I would agree that the public school should teach only useful skills to our students. Those needs would have to be relevant to their geographical location as well as their individual interests. There is so much controversy now as to what skills are important to learn in our schools, even in Buffalo River. If techology is important, shouldn't our students have access to better facilities where computers are readily available? or if Cultural studies is important shouldn't our students be given an opportunity to practise their traditional practises during school hours? Schools can teach, but how much learning takes place?

How might one evaluate an educational curriculum?

I believe that one should always be evaluating curriculum. I don't think it would be fair to the students if a teacher always used the same readings and the same assignments for every class he or she teaches in any given year or discipline. Evaluation would be based on student needs, student location, student ability, and student capability. I don't think it would take rocket science to see that one part of the curriculum is not working for a particular group of students or school. Teachers should be held accountable for evaluating the curriculum that they are teaching. I have a friend who taught in northern Alberta where a teacher's ability is based on how many students pass the classes that they teach. What if our salaries were based on how much a student learned that week or month or year??