Educators react to curriculum publication proposals

Two bills in the Iowa Legislature — SF 2369 and HF 2577 — include clauses intended to increase transparency in school curriculum, but educators say they would hinder teachers more than advocates realize.

“House File 2577 is a punitive, onerous, and ill-advised attempt to make it appear that educators do not celebrate and welcome parental involvement,” Iowa State Education Association President Mike Beranek said in a statement. “We do. While educators are working twice as hard right now helping students make up for any impacts of the pandemic, this bill adds an additional and unnecessary burden on their jobs.”

Highland and Interim WACO Superintendent Ken Crawford said either bill would severely restrict learning.

“Forcing a 'mold' of that information being online and then not allowing a teacher to stray from it all year would hurt the students’ education,” he said in an email. “Teachers would not be able to discuss current events in real time. Student curiosity would be shut down since only the allowed topic on the syllabus could be talked about in class … Education is not about rigidity in content, but an art of leading students through information and standards impacted by student curiosity.”

Crawford said transparency was already the norm, and that new restrictions would have little benefit.

“Parents can always ask for a syllabus or talk with the teacher about what is happening in their classroom,” he said. “We encourage teachers to communicate this information as well.”

Mt. Pleasant Superintendent John Henriksen said the bills could eat up time from already busy teachers.

“We don’t have any problem with making known what we’re teaching at any level,” he said. “My greatest concern is how to facilitate that. It can work well with some of our courses because they’re on (Canvas) so that’s much easier to publish, but some of it is not, and that gets a little more time consuming … Teachers would have to take all their lesson plans, scan them in, make links to them and get them online.”

Henrikson also said legislation was vague, leaving expectations unclear for school districts.

“It has more to do with, ‘How do we get this out there in a readable way,’” he said. “What are the steps that have to be taken to get this online? What do they want it to look like? What format does it need to be in? … Do you want them in an outline form? A paragraph form? I mean, what do they want it to look like?”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com