The 2012 CSEC results has seen a 20% decrease in the English language passes, which is allegedly due to change in the 2011/2012 curriculum and assumedly the failure in its implementation. Although this is one example it sheds light on how evident Friedenberg's views about teachers and curriculum change may possibly exist within the Jamaican context. As a student who has benefited tremendously from an education which has facilitated individual growth and social mobility, I deduce that realistically teachers may not have much influence in curriculum design, but instead its implementation and it is through this medium that change has and continues to be evident. Lunenberg and Ornstein (2000) noted that most people think that it is easier to keep things the way they are, however many people believe that teachers are professional and can be trusted to commit themselves to the learning needs of children despite their discomfort with change (Sowell, 1987). There are therefore those teachers who are “lead teachers” and having their students’ interests as priority, adapt to change if it will result in greater rewards. This approach is not unique to the teaching profession as change in any respect is a process and doesn’t occur overnight.

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To address this discussion one must answer ultimately, “what is the role/purpose of a teacher?” A teacher’s most basic function is as an implementer of curriculum. The teacher ideally, should represent the standard image a society wishes to produce and it is the job of the teacher to model and call out from within the student, the best person he or she can be for their society. The teacher is a functionary of the school and curriculum and according to Sidorkin (1999) “schools should foster morality, integrity and, self-awareness” and it achieves this through the students’ interaction with teachers. Friendenberg’s assessment of a teacher then is consistent with the views of other academics. Where I disagree with the assessment is in stating that there is a reluctance to innovate as being conformist does not necessarily mean a reluctance to innovate or change and this is particularly true for teachers who follow a student centred curriculum design and will work to find what works best to enhance the learning experience of the student. Curriculum designs and teaching methods have evolved over time and this fact neg ates the hard and fast rigid image Friendenberg projects of teachers being resistant to change. What must be remembered however, is that the teacher like the police man, the counsellor and persons in helping professions for example and functionaries of the broader society and as such will in large part work to maintain the status quo.

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