Theory Matters | What Are We Teaching?

Join Dr. Shauna McGill in a profound conversation with educator and author Dr. Richard Bustin as they dismantle the traditional "content-delivery" model of education.Drawing on Richard’s book, What Are We Teaching? Powerful Knowledge and a Capabilities Curriculum, this episode moves beyond the "knowledge vs. skills" binary to ask a more urgent question: How can what we teach truly empower students to navigate an uncertain world?Key Themes Explored:Defining "Powerful Knowledge": We dive into curriculum theory to understand why knowledge shouldn't just be a fixed body of facts, but a tool for liberation and intellectual depth.The Capabilities Approach: Richard argues for a curriculum that explicitly connects academic knowledge with the human capabilities students need to think, participate, and contribute to society.Social Justice & Opportunity: Why curriculum decisions are never neutral. We discuss how traditional academic hierarchies can exclude learners and how a capabilities-focused approach can expand student agency.Curriculum Coherence: Learn how a unified vision can help schools overcome the fragmentation caused by policy shifts and assessment pressures.The Future of Schooling: In an era of rapid technological change and global uncertainty, how do we strengthen the role of education through better judgment and human capability?Why Listen?For teachers, student teachers, and education leaders, this episode is both a challenge and a reassurance. It moves curriculum design away from a purely technical task and restores it as one of the most powerful ways to shape equity, opportunity, and intellectual growth.Listen now to rediscover the "why" behind what we teach.