This is part of the ongoing, larger concern about the continued subordination of writing to literature in secondary schools and colleges and of writing, and to reading in the elementary schools . Teacher preparation programs may still reflect this unequal attention to what should be the equal and intertwined activities of literacy. Other positive trends are the use of authentic assessment embedded in curriculum and the expansion of literacy to encompass the rich oral traditions of culturally diverse families. The Commission believes that language and curriculum are powerful. Using language can empower the user.
Curriculum can enable that empowerment.
We recognize that providing opportunities for such empowerment is in itself a political activity and that the politics of curriculum, therefore, should be raised to a more conscious level. The Commission believes that every student deserves a quality education. The curriculum should reflect high standards of performance from each student, providing equal opportunities for rigorous learning and achievement. It should avoid programs of study and standards which privilege one group of students over others. The curriculum should offer all students access to the fullest development of their personal, economic, and societal potential.