Yesterday, Natasha BtB Bita had an interesting report (M, P). Bita reported Federal Minister for Education Jason Clare to the effect that the Australian Curriculum, which education ministers had previously agreed would be reviewed every six years, would now only be reviewed every ten years. Thus, the proper “root and branch” review of the AC will now only begin in 2028. Thus thus, we’re all stuck with the current stew of slop and insanity for many more years.
That’s the very bad news,* and great job, you idiot Ministers. Bita had more, betterish news, however:
Education ministers have ordered emergency changes to the way maths is taught in primary school – part of “keyhole surgery’’ to the convoluted national curriculum.
In an official acknowledgment of flaws in lesson content, the maths curriculum for kindergarten to Year 2 will be rewritten over the school holidays, following complaints from teachers that it is too confusing and complex. …
“A number of principals and teachers have told us the current maths curriculum is too complex,’’ [Clare] said.
“Others have told us teachers need more support to implement the curriculum, with clear advice on what to teach in what order. That’s why we’re bringing forward work on the current maths curriculum for the start of school and creating better materials to help teachers.’’
This is idiotic framing, of course. The fundamental problem isn’t that the K-2 (and K-10) curriculum is “confusing” or “complex”; the fundamental problem is that it is contentless garbage. Still, it is difficult (but not impossible) to imagine that ACARA could make things worse. So, the news that K-2 Mathematics will be revised over the Summer is welcome. Plus, Bita suggests that the K-2 review is due at least in part to people listening to the Grattan Institute. Grattan is one of the few good guys in Australian Education (even if they could use a few lessons in agro from their mate, Headkicker Jensen), so if people are listening to Grattan rather than the usual nitwits, that is excellent.
Bita has to do her culture war thing, of course, bringing up the Aboriginal dance crap and giving a nod to Liberal thug-cretin, Sarah Henderson. But her heart is not really in it and the report is mostly straight.
The last bit of news, which is not really news, was that ACARA will be merged with AERO and AITSL and ESA, to form a mega-something. (This had been rumoured for a long time, but I had missed the formal decision last month.) God knows what will come of this. ACARA destroys everything it touches and AITSL is utterly useless. I don’t think AERO is remotely the godsend that some Ashman-types appear to believe, but AERO really pisses off AARE-types so they can’t be all bad. As for ESA, what the hell are they? Just a bunch of technophiles?
What this unholy mix of mediocrity will amount to, God only knows.
*) As it happened, I heard strong rumours about the ten-year cycle last year, and had been enquiring and FOI-ing. I got nowhere, of course.
If they just copy and paste it the Singapore curriculum, it would be very easy and very effective. Of course they won’t do it.