VENTURA : Group Takes Close Look at Curriculum
Parents, teachers, businessmen and city officials threw beach balls printed as globes at each other. They nibbled cookies baked in the shape of Africa. They graphed the comparative gross national products of Ghana and South Africa.
The 90 people were reviewing the Ventura Unified School District’s history and social science curriculum recently. The group is part of the 250-member Community Curriculum Commission.
The group discusses what a high school student should learn about the social sciences--which include history, geography, economics, political science, psychology, anthropology and sociology.
Recommendations included being aware of the economic impact of living in a global society; a knowledge of the political process, including such specifics as how to read a ballot and how lobbies and bond issues work; and having a strong sense of personal responsibility and ethics.
California’s education framework is organized into seven subject areas, each of which is revised every seventh year, said JoAnn VanderMolen, director of curriculum and instruction.
As a result of the commission’s review of the district’s foreign language department two years ago, Ventura High now offers students a chance to study Russian.
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