Your+views+Sue+08

​Week 3 - What Should We Teach?

 * From Sue,**
 * Thanks for all your posts. There seems to be a general consensus that literacy and numeracy need to be addressed in schools as core subject areas. A number of you have delved more deeply into the complex issue of 'what to teach' with considerations of 'how we learn' being included. Others have considered the core subjects in terms of their process function ie we use literacy and numeracy skills to engage in the thinking and doing of a broad array of areas. It seems that the basic subject areas already offered by the curriculum are the ones you most agree with and I liked the comment on providing more time to explore ideas more deeply and complete projects properly. Finally, some have considered what students will need in the future e.g technology or to help the world became a more peaceful place. Many of you are starting to appreciate the complex nature of curriculum design.**
 * Regards**
 * Sue**

Your Views
What do you think should be in the curriculum?

Please use your name as a subheading and ensure you include a justification of your view.

Kelly Turnbull The goal for Tasmanian students is that they have the opportunity to learn and achieve the highest outcomes they can in a personalised learning program from all areas of the Tasmanian curriculum:English-literacy, Mathematics-Numeracy, ICT, Science, society and History, Health and wellbeing, Arts, vocational and applied learning. Responsibility for learning programs for each year rest with the school in partnership with students and parents. The basics are in the curriculum,I personally dont believe there is a need to add anything more.But I do believe that it is very important to take into consideration different students will need different programs to learn. Gone are the days when we were ALL taught the same way,with the same programs.When we either got it or we didn`t. Schools have to fulfil nation obligations but more importantly work with parents and students to personalise students learning. What could be more important than that.

Shanti Sundram

I think the National curriculum should include but not be limited to: Science, Literacy, ICT, Numeracy, History, Arts and Physical Education, these are the more traditional areas of learning and their inclusion is a necessity in order to gain the basic skills and knowledge required for adulthood. Within these subjects there is much room for expansion such as: within history there should be an emphasis on Aboriginal history. Aboriginal history is very important because it gives a clearer picture of Australian history as opposed to just the colonial side, I believe this will allow for students to have a deeper understanding of how our country has evolved into what it is today, I think it is also important for students to be culturally aware of the native people of Australia. Within literacy there should be a focus on handwriting, reading, spelling, comprehension, grammar and Australian literature. With the information technology available in modern society, students can easily lack the basic skills required to be soundly literate. Australian literature is also very important beacause it can help to create a sense of local identity, the content is relevant and it can add to one's understanding of Australia and our history, our place in the world and a deeper understanding of our culture. I believe Physical Education is as important as the other subjects as it involves our health and wellbeing. With obesity on the rise in Australia it is crucial for children to learn the importance of being physically active, not to mention the social and personal benefits that P.E can offer. I believe Physical Education should be allocated more time within the curriculum and include but not be limited to, sex education, healthy eating education, physical activity, health studies, drug and alcohol awareness and mental health awareness. The Arts is an area that I truely believe has many generally unrecognised benefits and therefore should be given more room within a national curriculum. Our society has a need for creative and innovative people and the arts plays a huge part in developing these attributes. The arts have the power to engage students in a way that other subjects often cannot so their importance should not be overlooked. All areas of the arts should be included as all areas of the arts are unique and so are the learning opportunities embedded within them. Although it may be a struggle to expand the time allocated to the arts within a schooling week, we must recognise their importance in the creative development of students and allow for this within the curriculum. I think the national curriculum should also include ethics, as this is vital for a compassionate, trusting and peaceful society.

Sarai McDougall
I feel that the National Curriculum should include: I do not feel I need to offer a rationale for the first two - numeracy and literacy - because they are almost self-evident. We can not survive in this modern world without those skills. They are so vital. And ICT in this increasingly computerised world is fast becoming essential. I think that splitting science into two sections is important. As obviously emphasised by my suggestion of a philosophy component, I think it's really important to understand culture and other people's ideas of the world so we can form our own. I think that the more we are exposed to different ideas and ways of life the more we will be capable of developing our own 'culture' and 'way of life' based on a variety of these that we've encountered. This will also make us more culturally aware and accepting of people from different ways of life. I also hope that this component might increase curiosity. The 'hard' science is important because a basic fundamental understanding of science can make the way we experience the world more interesting and clearer. When we have a better idea about the science of the world we live in and the irrefutable laws, we are more able to explore within these contexts. These are also foundational for many other subjects and ideas from carpentry to mircobiology. Including the arts is allowing for ideas of creative play and fostering a creativity that will be vital in whatever career path they choose. Arts can help promote a deeper understanding as students try to creatively represent ideas given to them, whether this be with their bodies or a paintbrush. I think that art, while being a stand alone component, should also be heavily incorporated into each of the other disciplines, and will be. I think that one of the key things missing from schools at the moment is Personal Development. Students are going through big life changes a lot earlier - whether it be hitting puberty, experiencing death, parental illness, divorce or acquiring a step family. Students tend to be insulated by social networking and video games and often talk to their parents less than students of fifteen years ago. PD would allow for students to explore their identities and how they should deal with certain situations in a healthy way and where to get help.
 * A strong literacy component that is perhaps closer to that of 15 years ago than that of 5 years ago - incorporating the study of literature as well as handwriting, spelling, comprehension, etc. AS WELL AS ICT.
 * A strong numeracy component that is, again, perhaps closer to that of 15 years ago.
 * Science - both social (culture/geography/history) and 'hard' (chemistry/biology/astronomy).
 * A philosophy/mythology/religion component that looks at how we see the world and ourselves in it.
 * The arts in the broader sense - drama, dance and music as well as painting and the like.
 * Personal Development - how we relate to other people, how we deal with big issues, what problems might we likely encounter emotionally and in our physical development, etc.

Susan Nielsen

I think that the national curriculum will endeavour to unite curriculum documents with all states as well as align with the Naplan assessments. Curriculum should be an integrated curriculum as today in most school contexts it is an ongoing struggle to engage our students and to develop their understandings, skills and knowledge for their future needs. There is no doubt that literacy and numeracy skills are essential but teachers can implement these skills also through many other disciplines such as Science and the Arts. Our students today in most school contexts are portraying behavioral issues and lack of engagement towards their educational years. Its not just teaching anymore its much more than that even social skills are a big element in school curriculums today.

Society has changed over the last ten years and this is ongoing effect which it has been over the past fifty years and more but from my perspective I have seen children's respect for others and for themselves decline over the past ten years. In some way it is like it is in the water, it's not just socio-economic schools it is the so called excellent public and private schools. A child's attitude to learning life skills for their future is quite different from when I went to school and that's because the skills that students need when moving into the workforce today demands much more from the individual to obtain and remain employed. It's not just the view of one will have many jobs in their working career and as well as develop many skills and learn knowledge along the way. Also it is not whether one can keep the job, or whether you have enough knowledge and skills for the job requirements as it moves with society and its expectations.

I actually look at students in my work environment and think what skills will this child possess by the time they leave school and what expectations will be placed on them in 10 years time to be able to achieve employment and to remain employable. I know this is all "If"s" and "What Ifs" and "I wonder feelings and thoughts", but it will be interesting to see what the expectations are as we move forward into this millennium world of ours.

﻿My Thoughts! I think that everything that is in the curriculum needs to stay in the curriculum, mathematics-numeracy, science, English-literacy, ICT, the arts, society and history, health and wellbeing, vocational and applied learning and thinking across the board. I think that things like safe driver training, drug and alcohol awareness, teen pregnancy awareness and so on are covered adequately in the school curriculum. I recall quite clearly that within our Health and PE lessons as well as focusing on physical fitness, nutrition and the body, we focused on, effects of cigarette smoking, drug and alcohol use, sex, gender, pregnancy etc. I also recall that within our sports science classes we looked at similar things, as well as in other discussions in other subject areas. Safe driver training was provided to us if we chose to take it, at the end of our course we were able to obtain our learners drivers license. I recall learning about cars, driving, how we should drive, how we should not drive and the reasons why in our home classes, we touched heavily on outcome. I believe that learning about mathematics and numeracy, science and space, literature and history benefited me for the future. Students should have the same opportunities I had to express myself and get to know ones own identity. I think that creativity should be a large focus for schools in each subject area. Without creativity we would have nothing. I also think that students should be started on a positive/negative (right way/wrong way) thinking train from their early stages, as a lot of children are not disciplined properly young, leaving teaching in the later years to be nearly impossible with some students. Schools should have a firm thinking policy, students should be taught and encouraged to think better. Think before they react, think about consequences, think about alternative answers etc, I think students need to learn to think reasonably and rationally. Elle Davy.

YOUR VIEWS:

The debate about what should be included in the curriculum is an interesting subject that has many different opinions. I am of the belief that every student needs a standard level of numeracy and literacy to proceed further in life. From my experiences with primary school children, their numeracy and literacy skills are not at the same level as fifteen years ago. A curriculum with a strong focus on these two essential subjects is necessary, however other subject areas also need to be included to expand and develop student’s interests. A focus on the arts in the curriculum is something I would like to see being developed. If children were, at a younger age, (grades three to six) encouraged to being creative with arts in the curriculum, I feel it would help them learn better numeracy and literacy because they will have been allowed to been to have some kind of creativeness which would encourage ‘out of the box’ thinking. Social science should also be in the curriculum, but with less of a focus before years five and six, because most of what children learn will change before they finish high school. Jason Blundell - 27/7/2010

My View Even though a large majority of students would consider the subjects of maths, science, history and English to be boring and maybe even irrelevant the educators, employers and parents of this world would rightly consider them to be vital in the progression of the development of mankind. The world is rapidly changing and there is a need to let students experience a variety of subjects. Unfortunately, school curriculums are becoming overcrowded and are taking more responsibility for what was once a parental role in the child’s life. In the article titled ‘Risk of overcrowding teaching program’ published in the ‘Age’ April 26, 2010, the author conveys the notion that the curriculum is in danger of becoming overcrowded. He states that some schools are teaching subjects revolving around responsible pet care, beach rip safety and table manners. Although these are things today’s student needs to know, surely it is not the role of a school to teach what the students family/social experiences should. The school system cannot take the role of a student’s family. I am currently employed as a teacher aide to work with children with disabilities. This group of students need ‘Life Skills’ taught to them through the traditional school system to assist learning on every level. Main stream students should be able to rely on their families to train them in the skills needed for home and recreational purposes. Schools are not a student’s family and should not be relied upon to be. The subjects that are currently included in the school curriculum should stay. As teachers we must find exciting ways to motivate and encourage our students to take interest in what is to be learned. We need to provide rich and diverse opportunities for our children to participate in their own learning. Lynda Harmer

My Views Finally by my third post I have woked out how to use this technology! I do not see a problem with the curriculum the way it is now however, a National curriculum would have far more benefits than state curiculums as they are. Take the politics out of the curriculum formulation and Australian history should be taught as it happened. Students need to know where they came from, how to add up and how to read and write. Literacy and numeracy skills are skills students need until the day their lives end. From my survey students want to do more sport, art, music and science experiements. I have witnessed how a grade four teacher took the words to a song, printed it out and the students read it out, in turn to the class. It was an older song so the students may not have been aware it was a song. Then the had to do a literacy task based on what they had just read. Then the song was played to them, twice. So this incorporated music into literacy. The students want more hands on things to do, so I think the curriculum should engage the students through these avenues to teach them the basics of literay, numeracy and history. Lisa Monks ​ ​

Since beginning this unit, I have been thinking about what should and should not be in the curriculum. From this I have come to the following conclusions. The current curriculum as it stands offers all the necessary tools for a well rounded education.
 * Your Views **

What would help students is more time to focus on certain areas rather than rushing through tasks just to tick it off as completed. From my experiences there is no care in the current era of schooling; students rush to do the work so they can move on to the next task. Where is the time for them to edit work, to have some pride in the finished product? Whilst on PE1, I observed each day a plan which was so full of moving from one activity to the next that students were being hurried to complete tasks so the teachers could move on to the next activity. Some students wanted to take extra time to present the activity as best they could, others didn't care, they didn't follow instructions and rule lines before labelling a map and they rushed to get it done. Whilst there were some great ideas for activities, on my second day in class I could see that there is no way it could be fitted in to the current timetable. I believe taking time to slow down and ensure students are learning is far more important than ticking the boxes to say yes we have done that.

I feel the development of the national curriculum will help make the whole schooling process standardised across the country which may help students who travel with their family, attending different schools. At last they will be working of a similar curriculum. Literacy, Numeracy, ICT, Science, Music, Art, Health, History – all of these areas help students develop skills to assist them through life. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">If there is one area where I think more attention should be payed it is in handwriting. When I was on professional experience at the end of the first week I thought wow no handwriting is taught, these students really need to practice their handwriting. In the second week it came to light that they had in fact missed handwriting lesson last week because of other pressing issues and this week they had it twice. Once taken by the teacher (which unfortunately I couldn’t observe as I was taking a small group activity at the time), the second time taken by me with the assistance of the teacher. It was interesting to go back to basics and teach students how to write the letter K and use it in a sentence.
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Sarah Greig **


 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">My views (Natalie Hillier) **


 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I believe that today's curriculum should assist students to prepare for life in the outside world. I believe that each learning area that is in our current curriculum is important, and needs to remain. However I think that although there are numerous learning areas, they are not always included in the classroom. For example when on prac recently, my teacher said she believes that science is really important, but there is such a push on literacy and numeracy that she finds it difficult fitting science in any more. I feel that this is a shame. **


 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I agree that literacy and numeracy are important, but also feel that science, the arts and ICT skills are important. Perhaps more of an integrated approach would enable other subjects to be included on a more regular basis. **


 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I believe that it is important that schools help teach life skills. I also believe that health and nutrition are important. In the school I was at on prac there are daily PE lessons. I think that this is fantastic, as there are many inactive, unhealthy people in today's society. I look forward to learning more about the new national curriculum. **

**<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">My views **
<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">An essential goal of the curriculum is to prepare students for life beyond school and into the future and I think current curriculums and the new national curriculum contain the subjects needed to meet this need. Good literacy and numeracy skills are essential, and I think that financial literacy should included. Life today revolves more and more around credit, payment plans and invisible money. Students need to be equipped to understand what all this means.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">With the rapid increase in technology use, ICT is also an essential subject that students need to be able to confidently access and use as I don’t think this skill is a matter of choice in the future but a necessity. History is important so that students can appreciate our cultural heritage and have a greater understanding of the impact decisions have on lives both present and future.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">I think the Arts, science, health and vocational studies need to be given some greater importance and I think the challenge for future educators is being able to effectively integrate subject content. I recently was lucky to spend a day in a class with a teacher who planned a day a round one whole theme, integrating literacy, maths, science, art and drama around that theme and kept the class engaged and genuinely learning all day. It was a great learning experience for me as well and showed that it can be very easily done but does require a lot of planning and thought.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Mell Moulin

** Part 3 – Your Views  ** ** I believe that every learning area should remain in the curriculum. ** **  I think that everyone would agree that Numeracy and Literacy would be the two most important learning areas as they prepare students to cope with everyday life, within their school years and beyond. ** **  Physical Education is important for the health and wellbeing of students, and even more so important with the climbing rate of obesity in our country. I would like to see more schools involve students in a Daily PE program. ** **  Information Technology is essential for each student with more occupations requiring computer skills. ** **  Music and the Arts are also important, giving students the opportunity to express themselves creatively. ** **  I would like to see specialist programs that cater for individual needs of lower achievers in mainstream schools. ** **  I work in a special needs school, which offers all the above along with a gardening program, aquatics, community access, home living skills, home maintenance, cooking and communication and social skills. ** ** //  Lauren Woodland  // **