Yeah, it’s Godzilla versus Mothra. Either is sufficiently destructive to lay waste to a city. But, at the moment, Jo Mind-Set-In-Stone Boaler is less likely than ACARA to cause lasting damage. Really.
About a year ago, the California Department of Education (CDE) came out with its draft mathematics curriculum. The work of the inevitable maths ed types, including Slow Boaler, and seemingly without a mathematician within cooee, the draft was, of course, very bad and consequently it was very hammered. The draft was rewritten and, just recently, rewritten again. It is still very bad. It will presumably remain so.
To the readers of this blog, that should all sound very familiar. We’ve all watched ACARA piss-fart its way through two years of incompetence and calculated mateship in order to produce a truly appalling draft mathematics curriculum. Since its public release almost a year ago, ACARA has rewritten and re-faux-consulted and, undoubtedly, the draft is still appalling. Now, at gunpoint, ACARA is faux-fixing the thing again. Just like California. Same same. There is, however, one critical not-same, one massive difference between CDE’s garbage process and ACARA’s garbage process.
People in California can see CDE’s work. They can evaluate it and criticise it, both formally and publicly. In Australia, this is impossible. ACARA, without an ounce of mandate or moral, flatly refuses to permit the public to see their work. Their plan is simply to tinker on their Titanic for another month or so, and then have their invisible, inevitable wreck be approved by a cabal of gullible, fifth-rate education ministers. And, an ignorant and compliant, if not complicit, education media will let them do it.
America is a loathsome, idiotic country, but Americans’ general intolerance of secrecy and suspicion of authority is to be admired. Australians’ sheepish acceptance of their political and civil leadership is infuriating.
Incompetence can be ‘tolerated’, it is not of itself a character flaw. But secrecy …. The secrecy exposes ACARA as a cowardly, gutless, arrogant organisation. This is something even the lay-person with no understanding of a national curriculum can/should understand and despise.
If Education was a M*A*S*H (and some might say it’s a mishmash …), ACARA would be Frank Burns.
The lay person, and anyone, can understand it. But no one cares. Among the people who do not care are Adam Carey, Jordan Baker and Lisa Visentin.
America is not a loathsome, idiotic country, and you’re a fool to think so. Idiot.
Thanks.
You’re welcome.