While a lot of social media trends go over my head, every once in a while one does land for me. This particular trend was bigger in September- it does make sense given that it is the start of the academic year. However, I think that with the Northern Hemisphere plunged into a brutal winter, there is no better time. Let’s get into creating your own personal curriculum and why you should do this!
What is a personal curriculum?
A personal curriculum is a personally-tailored plan to help you learn more about your interests and/or learn new skills. While many of us encountered curriculums in our primary, secondary, and post-secondary schooling, this is all about what you want to learn more about rather than someone imposing it on you.
I sometimes think that it would be much easier to have someone who could just gather everything I need to learn more about something but unfortunately, that doesn’t often happen outside of traditional education.
Why create your own personal curriculum?
I will be the first to say, this is not for everyone. I understand- it takes time both to create it and then to do everything. One of the benefits is that there is no set pace, so you can fit in what you can, but realistically, this might not be for everyone at every point in your life, and that is okay.
If you are one of those people who loves doing deep dives on a new subject and find yourself falling down Wikipedia rabbit holes and downloading books on your ereader, making your own personal curriculum may be just the thing for you. Or if there is a subject you have always wanted to learn more about or try a new skill, making a step by step curriculum may help you take the final plunge.
Also, the western world at large is barely reading or continuing learning in any way- this is a great way to keep engaging your brain!
How to create your own personal curriculum?
As my own knowledge and interests largely lie in history, my examples will be history-based! You can adjust for your own topic/skills!
- Identify your specific topic or skill to tackle– you do not need to get your curriculum approved by anyone, but if you can be specific, it will help in a) figuring out your plan and b) accomplishing a specific goal (vs a vague one).
- Identify your timeline– do you want to learn a smaller amount over the next few months? Do a deep dive on a bigger subject or theme over a year or two? There are no wrong answers, but this will help with your planning!
- Identify your budget– I would guess for a lot of us, we don’t have a budget and plan on doing it for free! If you do happen to have money to spend on things, I would keep that budget handy.
- Identify your available time– Maybe you want to spend time every day working on your curriculum, maybe you have an hour or two each week, or perhaps even an afternoon or evening once a month. Whatever works for your schedule! I do find that actually scheduling it into my calendar helps me prioritise.
- Find accessible sources– Spend a few hours info gathering. Make a list of the books/sources that you already own- if you are like me, you very well may own several. Check out your local library (including online databases, courses, and services included in your membership), look at things like Google Arts and Culture for exhibitions and preserved information, YouTube channels, and the like.
- Break it into reasonable chunks– Taking your available time in account, set yourself a schedule and break it into reasonable chunks. If you have an hour or two a week, it may not be feasible to read an entire book in that time, and that is also okay. I would recommend going slower than you think, to allow yourself time. (No, nothing will happen if you don’t meet your own schedule, but it is nice to have the mental boost of accomplishment!)
- Start!– It may seem obvious, but at some point, just get started! Start reading, start watching, start listening, start practicing- whatever you’ve set out to do, just do it.
Personal Curriculum Tips
I’ve got a few tips to help make it easier!
-Start small- if you want to learn calligraphy, maybe set yourself a goal of learning how to draw each letter. It takes time and practice, and we all have to start with the building blocks.
-Know your limits- you might not have time to take anything on in the meantime, other than watching a YouTube video here and there, or reading a few pages of a book. You can always pick it up later!
-Pick a topic or skill you are excited about- no one has to create a personal curriculum. If you aren’t excited about it, don’t include it!
Will you be creating your own personal curriculum this year?
Cheers,
The Historian
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