Chapter 3: Schools in Process: Creating “New” Priorities

A person’s life is an ever-changing blend of peak experiences of the past, demanding circumstances of the moment, and hopes and expectations of the future. To the degrees that the person can make sense out of his swirl of contacts, memories, and aspirations, to the same degree will he live a meaningful and satisfying life. Fortunate indeed is the person who has learned to resolve conflict with a reasonable degree of competence and to establish priorities so that he can place the impact of the moments into perspective.

If I didn’t know better, I would have thought all of these curriculum texts from the 1960s could have been written last week. On one hand, taken together, they present a sad commentary on the field’s lack of forward momentum on many issues relative to teaching and learning; on the other, they provide hope for renewed consideration of the ideas and theories contained within their pages as we attempt to make better use of them a second time around.