Imagine a world full of human beings existing to and for themselves alone, inconsiderate, insensitive, and removed from the social and natural world around them. The prospect of a world full of selfish and self-centered inhabitants is a frightening one indeed. However, as we critically reflect on the language used in early years curriculum documents, we wonder if the discourses of child-centeredness that pervade our curricula put children at risk of developing into such individuals. What might a discourse of child-centeredness in our curricula be perpetuating in children and how they understand themselves and their place within the world? Further, what does a child-centered curriculum mean for who we are as teachers? Gert Biesta (2017), who is influenced by the work of Jean-Paul Sartre, paraphrases the French philosopher when he explains that “we first of all exist, that we ‘find’ ourselves in existence, and that any answer to the question of who we are comes afterwards” (p. 10). In other words, understanding ourselves as individuals is only possible once we understand ourselves in relation to our greater existence. We believe it is our responsibility to engage with our students in a way that helps them to understand that their existence within the world is one of pronounced importance and meaning, and that to engage with others openly requires an openness to be affected by those encounters.

中文翻译：

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对以儿童为中心的课程的批判

想象一个充满人类的世界，他们独自存在，不体谅人，麻木不仁，远离周围的社会和自然世界。一个充满自私和以自我为中心的居民的世界的前景确实令人恐惧。然而，当我们批判性地反思早年课程文件中使用的语言时，我们想知道我们课程中普遍存在的以儿童为中心的话语是否会使儿童面临发展成为这样的人的风险。我们课程中关于以儿童为中心的话语可能会在儿童身上延续下去，以及他们如何理解自己和他们在世界中的位置？此外，以儿童为中心的课程对我们作为教师意味着什么？Gert Biesta (2017)，受让-保罗·萨特作品影响，当这位法国哲学家解释说“我们首先存在，我们'发现'自己存在，而对我们是谁的问题的任何答案之后”（第 10 页）时，他是这样解释的。换句话说，只有在我们了解自己与我们更大的存在的关系之后，才能将我们自己理解为个体。我们相信我们有责任以某种方式与我们的学生互动，以帮助他们理解他们在世界上的存在具有明显的重要性和意义，而与他人公开互动需要一种开放的态度来接受这些遭遇的影响。只有当我们了解自己与我们更伟大的存在的关系时，才能将自己理解为个体。我们相信我们有责任以某种方式与我们的学生互动，以帮助他们理解他们在世界上的存在具有明显的重要性和意义，而与他人公开互动需要一种开放的态度来接受这些遭遇的影响。只有当我们了解自己与我们更伟大的存在的关系时，才能将自己理解为个体。我们相信我们有责任以某种方式与我们的学生互动，以帮助他们理解他们在世界上的存在具有明显的重要性和意义，而与他人公开互动需要一种开放的态度来接受这些遭遇的影响。