Curriculum: Athena versus the machine

by Martin Robinson

Martin Robinson's ' Athena versus the machine' explores the educational value of a curriculum rooted in the pursuit of wisdom and advocates the enshrinement of such a curriculum as the central concern of an academic institution. Rather than being seen as a data-driven machine, a school should be viewed as a place that enables children to develop thoughtful perspectives on the world, through which they can pursue wisdom and be free to join in with the ancient and continuing What is it to be human? Teachers need to be liberated from policy-led prescription in order to design curricula which bring the subjects being studied, rather than the blind pursuit of measurable outcomes, to the foreground of the school's teaching and learning agenda. In 'Curriculum' , Martin Robinson explores how this can be achieved. The Machine demands data, order and regulation; Athena is the goddess of philosophy, courage and inspiration. An Athena curriculum celebrates wisdom and skills, and considers why it seeks to transmit the knowledge that it does. In this book, Martin examines how we can construct a curriculum that will allow liberal education to flourish. Anti gimmick and pro wisdom, the principles that he advocates will make a big difference to teachers and pupils lives, and will help to ensure that our young adults are better educated. Suitable for teachers, school leaders and policy makers.

Genres: Education

186 pages, Paperback

Published September 20, 2019

Reviews

[Suzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting and thought provoking read. Made me think differently about curriculum and curriculum design. Very theoretical though, now I have to do something with it.

[Wouter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an essay spread on too many pages. It is often repetitive and does not really give a lot of depth.

The book is full of the words 'sagacity', 'wisdom' and 'culture', but it never really fleshes out. There are scant examples in how Robinson sees this kind of curriculum.

I got inspired by Trivium and thought we would go more into the nitty-gritty of a Modern Trivium. This is not the case.

Perhaps Robinson's black and white comparison of Athena and 'the machine' did not really help here. Schools cannot be divided into such terms. Yes, many schools use grades to assess their students,but grading is just another form of assessing, not bad by definition. This is often done out if necessity,  because teacher's simply have too many students to do without.  Robinson does not give a solution to this quantitive problem.

A set-back