Curriculum Study Commission Role

    An examination of past programs and internal documents reveals ten major issues that have claimed the attention of the Commission over the years:

    1. the preparation of teachers for English language arts
    2. the nature of our subject and its scope as a discipline
    3. the particular character of literature and its teaching
    4. the structure of language and reading and its teaching
    5. the appropriate assessment of instruction
    6. the organization of classrooms and the structure of English departments
    7. the changing nature of school populations with emphasis on those most “at risk”
    8. the effective uses of media and technology in teaching
    9. the strengthening of our professional “voice”
    10. the effects of misguided legislative mandates and “reforms.”

A. Asilomar Planning To allow enough time for exploration and discussion of ideas and themes, the Commission established the practice of engaging in a weekend organizing session early in January so that sustained attention could be given to problems, procedures, and plans for the next Asilomar conference. The method employed for selecting general session speakers and topics for groups has always depended on achieving consensus among the members of the Commission acting as a committee of the whole. Over the years the Commission has grown adept at identifying the current interests and most pressing problems of the teachers it serves.

B. Commission Membership Another important principle established at its beginning was the idea of an extended term of membership on the Commission. Most professional organizations have a Board of Directors whose members are elected for specific terms. This means that within four or five years, there is often a complete turn-over of membership and, in consequence, a loss of the necessary continuity and collective memory that contribute to the maturity of an organization. In order for the lessons learned from any one conference to be applied in future years and assure the ongoing evolution of the Asilomar experience, continuity of Commission membership was deemed essential. Thus Commission members do not have fixed terms of office and may serve as long as they are able to devote the considerable amount of time and energy required. In this way, the Commission is able to take up and explore issues of the profession over time. Its challenge is to avoid the handicaps that can plague long-term organizations and instead maintain a sharpness of focus and an energetic pursuit of key issues and fresh ideas -- characteristics that have always been its hallmarks.

C. Commission Incorporation In May 1991, the Commission completed the steps to be recognized as a “California public benefit corporation” and since then has operated under the more formal rules established for such entities. It developed a series of by-laws, and its members are now called “directors.”

D. Commission Renewal Usually every other year, the Commission sponsors an invitational spring conference, described below. In the alternate years, the Commission plans a spring conference for its own members in order to reflect on its practices and to strengthen the members’ own knowledge about curriculum and professional issues. Over the years, the Commission has informed itself about current state reform directives, literature-based reading, the influence of standardized tests on curriculum, multicultural classrooms, teacher training, and so forth. From 1986 to 1990, the Commission undertook a comprehensive self-study with the guidance of Jon Wagner, UC Davis. Professor Wagner, an educator with a sociological perspective, functioned as a participant-observer and commentator during these years. In a half-dozen formal reports, he examined group process in the Commission, its recruitment and orientation of members, and its approaches toward attainment of its goals of improving English instruction and strengthening the profession.