The focus of the PostPandemic Curriculum is narrow, concentrating solely on concepts needed for engaged citizenship. It is deliberately silent on many areas that are important for a full and satisfying life, areas that need also to be included in a well-rounded curriculum.
A society without music, art, literature, and athletics (MALA) would be dispiriting and sterile. These activities are at the very core of what it means to be human. Music, arts, and athletics may have preceded language. Literature (in the form of story-telling) certainly predates the maths.
Meaningful exposure to MALA subjects are not “frills”. They are a critically important part of child’s education and to the quality of life of humans of every age, both as a participant and an audience. Anyone who tries to argue that the Core Concepts for Engaged Citizenship (CCEC) should displace MALA in the curriculum is misrepresenting the intent of the PostPandemic Curriculum Project. In fact instruction in MALA subjects, especially Arts and Literature, can be effectively used to deliver CCEC concepts.
MALA subjects have long had a place in the curriculum supported by a extensive history of related commentary, as have traditional STEM subjects, . In stark contrast, almost no attention has been given to CCEC subjects. This Project is intended to be part of the process to fill this void.