I recently read ‘The Saber-Tooth Curriculum’ (1939) though everybody else working in education appears to have read it already. ‘The Saber-Tooth Curriculum’ is an educational parable.
The saber-tooth tiger is a beast with unbending ferocity and an unwillingness to compromise. In this sense the title of ‘The Saber-Tooth Curriculum’ embodies one of the central concerns of the piece, namely that educational systems have a tendency to think of themselves as fixed and immutable whereas, if they are to be relevant, they have to fleet-footed, like the antelope who appear in the article half-way through.
New-Fist’s (the main character) approach to education is utilitarian. He wants learning to have a purpose, for it to suit the needs of the society in which it operates. Hence he devises a curriculum, complete with aims and objectives:
Having set up an educational goal, new-Fist proceeded to construct a curriculum for reaching that goal. ‘What things must we tribesmen know how to do in order to live with full bellies, warm backs, and minds free from fear?’ he asked himself.
New-Fist, a radical in his time, devises a successful curriculum. However, over time, the radical system becomes the entrenched, conservative system. Hence, as times change the curriculum loses its relevance, and a new breed of radicals challenge with a new curriculum.
‘The Saber-Tooth Curriculum’ argues that education has no value if it is not relevant to what comes after education. We cannot expect students to buy-in if they do not perceive relevance in what they are learning, and how they are learning it. However, in the twenty-first century, with the advent of digital technologies, society is moving at a faster pace than we have been accustomed to in recent generations. Therefore, how can we have an education system that prepares us for society, when the complexion of that society will be different by the time the learners enter that society as, hopefully, economically, socially and culturally productive citizens or subjects?
One thing we can say about the twenty-first century is that our skills will need regular renewal over the course of our lifetimes. Therefore, learning to learn should be integrated into our own curriculum, to create fleet of foot learners who can respond to changing landscapes.
