It was summertime in Birmingham, the patter of feet and chatter of shoppers could be heard down New Street as I sat in Victoria square, coffee in hand, reading a book. A book which once finished would contribute to the birth of Broadway Academy’s newest superhero… a super-curriculum known as ‘The Broadway Geographical Society’.
I first come across the idea of a super-curriculum when reading ‘Teaching like Nobody’s Watching’ by the geography education guru, Mark Enser. For those of you who have come across this term for the first time here, the super-curriculum is typically defined as: the activities which stretch your classroom curriculum further. These activities are more carefully planned than extra-curricular ones, which appear as more random opportunities for students. They seek to harness the intrigue students have for a subject curriculum and develop it through embedding them into the curriculum. Throughout this article I’ll be presenting a few powers of the super-curriculum, in an attempt to inspire you the next super hero of curriculum.
At Broadway Academy, the powers of the super-curriculum are placed under the guise of the Broadway Geographical Society (or BGS as it’s better known as). As a result, students feel greater ownership over the subject and feel they are part of something bigger than ‘just a subject at school’.
Power 1: Seeing into the future with careers
Growing up I had two careers in mind. Butcher or actor. They may sound like bizarre choices but for a working-class teenager I would either work in the family business (butcher) or join the thespians I loved so much from the television I watched. I had no idea that I could be an urban planner, environmental lawyer or ecological consultant and even if I did, I had no idea how to be one.
Careers education often falls to the work of a career’s advisor in a school however, when it comes to the careers in our subject, we are often the experts. Students get to see examples of jobs that relate to the subject content they are learning as part of the BGS and more importantly how to get there in a sequence of logical steps. Students are regularly encouraged and supported to undertake work experience to aid them in landing one of these positions in the future.