This article traces the career of one teacher through his involvement in a number of school based curriculum design innovations. The idea of "depth" or distance is used to discuss a number of dimensions against which it is possible to judge the worth of a curriculum from a range of perspectives, most especially that of the student. The discussion also regrets the lack of a robust contemporary debate around the nature of curriculum and illuminates a lack of coherence and understanding of criteria for selecting curriculum content in our schools today. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)