Curriculum Design

As I've buried myself in these readings, I can't help but think of our purpose for curriculum. Prior to reading, my thoughts on curriculum consisted of two basic ideas. To me, curriculum was a plan, a guidebook if you will, on how to teach in each grade level. I also thought that curriculum was a way to cross disciplines and connect subject levels together. However, after a few hours, I see that it's so much more.
Curriculum is something that we need to consider because it is the force that drives everything that we do as teachers. How we approach curriculum is up to us. It can be the dull and boring regurgitation of facts followed by question and answer worksheets that coincide. As Wiggins stated, we need to encourage the students to follow a question-answer-question format and presented to us rather than accepting it as fact.
As I examined all of the models of curriculum that were mentioned in our readings, I would like to think that my classroom is most like Wiggins- daring the students to think beyond what they see. In a way, this makes me think of the children's tale by C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe- Lucy found this magical armoire by seeing something that really wasn't there. Her siblings at first found her to be crazy, but they then tested it out and found that there was more than what meets the eye! How can you not challenge your students to think in this way?
Currently, my teaching "life" is at a kindergarten level. Many of the students entering my classroom are doing so with few experiences at home or daycare. It also seems that many of their early experiences revolve around a T.V. or video game. For me, creating a inquiry based environment where learning is about finding out more on a daily basis is key. How can you not encourage students to get involved and ask questions about the world around them? I feel as if I diminish their questioning skills now, will they ever look beyond what's just inside the cabinet and see something magical?
Wiggins talked of a need for a "modern" curriculum. To me, this would look like the students doing and not just reading. The modern curriculum would connect the various subjects studied in their school lives with their lives in the outside world. A modern curriculum would be made useful and meaningful and students would realize that in order to become intelligent, you must realize that you aren't intelligent. The world around you has so much to offer and school isn't the only place to learn. To me, a modern curriculum would be expanding a child's mind beyond a classroom and teaching them where to find things if they don't have the answer.