Curriculum Quote by Louis Menand
“The difficulty with coming up with a curriculum is mainly that faculty aren't trained to think in terms of general education. They're trained to think in terms of their own discipline, or their specialty.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: “The Trouble with Curriculum” in The Atlantic, 2015
Faculty focus on specialty limits broader education, hindering interdisciplinary thinking and general knowledge.
In simple terms: Specialists often ignore general education.
Key Takeaway
Promote interdisciplinary teaching and learning.
Themes
education
discipline
interdisciplinarity
curriculum
faculty development
Mood
analytical
critical
Type
essay
opinion
When to use this quote
- college courses
- professional training
- policy making
- academic hiring
Key Concepts
pedagogy
systems thinking
academic culture
Questions to Reflect On
- How can institutions reward interdisciplinary work?
- What incentives encourage faculty to teach general education?
A Different Perspective
Changing entrenched departmental structures is challenging.
![“[According to Holmes], ‘Every year if not every day we have to wager our salvation upon some prophecy based upon imperfect knowledge. While that experiment is part of our system I think that we should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expression of opinions that we loathe and…” quote by Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/656/louis-menand-8583_death_according-to-holmes-every-year-if-not-ev_403601.jpg)
