The National Curriculum

[Rorschach]

For years now I've noticed teaching become more and more complicated and less and less about learning core subjects and skills. Teachers are supposed to be Mum and Dad, Social Workers, and in general education a jack of all trades and master of none, due to an over crowded curriculum, filled with LW Prog courses that indoctrinate children instead of educate them.

Review calls for less crowded curriculum
Date October 12, 2014 - 11:43AM
Lisa Martin

A less crowded, parent friendly and back to basics approach has been recommended in the national curriculum review.

The federal government released the 288-page report by former teacher and Liberal staffer Kevin Donnelly and business professor Ken Wiltshire and its response on Sunday.

Education Minister Christopher Pyne flagged he'd like to see most of the 30 recommendations adopted.

"I don't get a sense that this is an ideological document," Mr Pyne told reporters in Adelaide.

There was nothing in it that would make state and territory governments baulk, he said.

However, critics have warned the report may reignite a "culture war".

It recommends ramping up the focus on Western civilisation and Australia's Judeo-Christian heritage and scaling back emphasis on indigenous history and Asia.

It calls for greater emphasis on the democratic underpinning of the British system of government to Australia's development.

The report found excessive curriculum content was affecting students' learning quality.

"We do want to see a less crowded curriculum," Mr Pyne said.

The report also raised concerns about teachers' poor grammar and punctuation.

"It's hard to expect teachers who have never been taught grammar, to teach it," the education minister said.

[Rorschach]

Abbott government to overhaul crowded curriculum
Date October 12, 2014 - 11:28AM
Jewel Topsfield
Education Editor for The Age

Schools are not devoting sufficient time to literacy and numeracy in the early years of primary school because the national curriculum is too overcrowded, according to a review released today.

The Abbott government has pledged to deal with the overcrowding of the curriculum as a "matter of priority", saying it would look carefully at when and how subjects were introduced to children.

Overcrowding in the curriculum was the main issue of concern raised by principals, teachers and parents during the review conducted by education consultant Kevin Donnelly and academic Ken Wiltshire.

The review received almost 1600 public submissions and held consultations with 72 organisations and eight individuals.

"Overcrowding means that teachers are finding it difficult to implement the Australian curriculum and cover all the content in each subject," the Australian government said in its response to the review.

"It also means that students are not necessarily getting the right amount of time devoted to the content in each subject that they really need - for example, literacy and numeracy in the early years of primary schooling."

The review suggested there should be a greater emphasis on phonics (where children learn new words by sounding them out) in the English curriculum, particularly in the early years of reading.

It warned the primary science curriculum was sacrificing depth for breadth, pointing out that in Singapore and Finland - two of the most high-performing education systems in the world - science was not taught until years 3 and 5 respectively.

The review said the geography curriculum should focus more on physical geography (the study of the natural environment) and less on studying human activities.

The controversial "cross-curriculum priorities", which required sustainability, Australia's engagement with Asia, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures to be "embedded" in every subject, also came under fire.

"There is concern about the seemingly political determination of these three "priorities" ... and a fear that changes of political persuasion could lead to constant changes in the priorities," the report said.

Science and maths teachers had questioned whether it was appropriate to teach themes such as "engagement with Asia" within their disciplines.

The review also questioned whether the curriculum was balanced.

"The review received a significant number of submissions arguing that the Australian curriculum did not pay enough attention to the impact of Western civilisation and Judeo-Christianity on Australia's development, institutions and broader society and culture," it said.

Although these concerns were predominantly raised in relation to history and civics and citizenship, they also cropped up in arts, English, economics and business.

Inquiry-based learning, where students work on projects related to their area of interest, was privileged in the geography, history and science curriculums according to the review.

"Such an approach is often associated with constructivism and a focus on skills and capabilities at the expense of essential knowledge and the need for explicit teaching of which direct instruction is one example," the review said.

The reviewers said they were not saying there was no place for inquiry-based learning but that caution should be exercised to ensure it did not become the prevailing orthodoxy.

Government responds to review findings

Education Minister Christopher Pyne said Australia's educational performance would fall behind unless most of the review's recommendations are adopted.

"The review doesn't find that we face any kind of crisis in education but the review says that we could do better and this is a way of moving forward," he said on Sunday.

"From my own knowledge over the last few years as a minister and shadow minister, it's clear that that edge that Australia's always had in terms of high quality school education does not exist any more against our Asian competitors and if we want our children to be international in their outlook and travel the world and be able to compete for jobs with everyone then we are going to have to adopt a lot of this review if we want our curriculum to be the best it can be."

Mr Pyne said he believed there would be strong support in the general community and among state and territory governments for the review's findings. He acknowledged he would have to work closely with the states - which own and operate schools - to implement the recommendations.

"I think the states and territories will believe this is a step forward in a positive direction," he said. "So I would like to see most of it adopted. There's nothing in it that I can see that the States and territories would baulked because nothing is trying to drive a political agenda.

"I don't get the sense that this is an ideological document and I don't feel the national curriculum is an ideological document."

Mr Pyne said he backed the review's finding that the national curriculum had tried to squeeze the three "cross-curriculum priorities" - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture; sustainability; and relations with Asia - into subject areas they did not belong. It is probably not appropriate to integrate relations with Asia into mathematics or physics lessons, he said.

- with Matthew Knott

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/ ... z3FtEGnRd0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mantra]

Some of the submissions are good, although it's a bit pointless stating that the teachers aren't adequately educated themselves. It is true to an extent, but nothing can be done about it for at least a couple of decades unless they encourage older teachers to come out of retirement to help out.

I object to the suggestion that we should be concentrating more on the history of Judeo Christianity - which is what the US base their value system on. They are not a good example. Leave the Judeo out of it.

[GeorgeH]

Another pointless review. Wonder HM Donnely got paid for putting politics into education? Is the present curriculum working?

[mantra]

Another pointless review. Wonder HM Donnely got paid for putting politics into education? Is the present curriculum working?

It actually isn't working very well. Kids these days can't spell and they are hopeless at maths. I taught my children English and Maths because the teachers didn't know how or the curriculum just washed over these important subjects.

[IQS.RLOW]

If you consider educating kids to the point of where they think drooling on the ballot paper to vote for the ALP is enough, then you probably think that it is working.

Those of us with kids know exactly what is wrong with the current system and it is correct that the curriculum is too full of far left progressive rubbish instead of core competency.

You don't have kids, Monk. You have no say.

[GeorgeH]

Imaginary kids don’t count IQ

I have great nephews/nieces going to school or about to.

The present curriculum was introduced January this year. Give it time before rushing to introduce some political crap brought in by that paid apologist to the tobacco industry Donnelly!

[IQS.RLOW]

It's a rucking stupid idea to have aboriginal and Asian studies across the curriculum. You can't teach science or math with an aboriginal flavour.

It's lefty batshit crazy.

[mantra]

Imaginary kids don’t count IQ

I have great nephews/nieces going to school or about to.

The present curriculum was introduced January this year. Give it time before rushing to introduce some political crap brought in by that paid apologist to the tobacco industry Donnelly!

Kids over the last 20 years have been taught English by phonics rather than 'whole language' English which we learnt. Their reading suffers as a result because it is difficult for them to construct or deconstruct words. Maybe it doesn't matter in this age of technology, but as other countries are leaping ahead of us when it comes to educational standards - it means we're doing something wrong.

When was the last time you encountered someone young who could do mental arithmetic?

[IQS.RLOW]

Rubbish.
Whole of language is what has been taught instead of phonics and it has failed spectacularly.

A return to phonics will do students the world of good.