Some schools have been forced to adapt to the children that they are educating and sometimes that requires teaching more than just what is taught. We have dedicated teachers in classrooms today that do not have enough time to teach the basics because they are constantly having to complete another report that someone from district office wants so that they can get a grant for this or that. Teachers have to deal with so many different issues in the classroom that I am not seeing addressed in the literature that we are reading. I don't think that teachers are afraid of technology, I think they are too busy to invest the time needed to become fluent in the medium. It takes more than just a week of staff development to create fluency.
Curriculum can be an asset or a hindrance to learning.
As a practical matter, it is nice as a teacher to go into a classroom in a certain grade and see what is expected of the students at that grade level. Some will contend that it is unnecessary, but then we leave the education of our children to each teacher's individual preferences. Curriculum can be the bridge between the child and the world. The world makes a great curriculum, but I believe that experiences with the world are richer when scaffolded by adults. Current Ideas I am wondering about technology and why we need it.