grodscorp@grods.comHistory dickheadery
 | Posted by Bridgit Gread on Sunday 14 October 2007, 1:56 am Categories: Education, Politics Tags: history, JohnHoward, schools |
Howard’s immaculate perception of Australian history, the Guide-to-the-75-events-all-Orstrayans-must-know, was released last week:
The Guide sets out a framework of topics, key events and people that have shaped our nation. It also outlines the range of skills which the study of Australian history can help to develop. I’d like to thank those who have shaped this Guide [including] Associate Professor Tony Taylor who was commissioned to do further work.
Only problem is that Associate Professor Tony Taylor himself thinks it’s crap:
The course, if implemented as it stands, is scarcely teachable and will almost certainly alienate large numbers of both teachers and students, killing off any long-term interest in the subject.
The professor’s main criticism is that Johnny’s course isn’t feasible because it tries to cram too much content into not enough class time. Now I’m no high-school teacher (which shouldn’t matter; neither were those who wrote this tripe) but trying to teach 75 so-called key topics into 150 hours of class (an average of two hours each) isn’t going to work. There’s going to be a helluva lot of rushing, glossing over and simplification. A bad case of flu, some tonsilitis or a broken bone and some kid might miss the whole 19th century. Very little contextualisation, depth, competing viewpoints or critical thinking. No opportunity for anything remotely interesting like field trips, museum visits or research projects either; just lots of teacher-talking and read-this-answer-that stuff. Boooooorring.
Way to kill any interest in the humanities, Johnny. Hopefully your next involvement with history is to become part of it.
Sunday 14 October 2007, 2:22 am #The Happy Revolutionary
In other words, a simplistic, airbrushed version of history, of the sort that will stifle, rather than stimulate thinking.
This is really a low-point in the culture wars. I expect the Tories to believe French theorists are the spawn of Satan, but this will potentially be a shameless exercise in revisionism.
How do these people intend to say, deal with the historical fact of widespread opposition to the Vietnam War? Or, for that matter, the Iraq War?
Sunday 14 October 2007, 8:21 am #The Editor
Come on, Bridgit. We don’t actually want kids to think, just to memorise.
Sunday 14 October 2007, 10:36 am #John Surname
I’m all for teaching history. But is the Bodyline series important enough? Are we going to teach kids about World Championship Cricket too? And why isn’t there a whole section dedicated to this man?
Sunday 14 October 2007, 10:40 am #John Surname
Nice to see you posting too, Bridget.
Sunday 14 October 2007, 12:49 pm #AV
Very little contextualisation, depth, competing viewpoints or critical thinking.
Critical thinking? THAT COMES STRAIGHT FROM CHAIRMAN MAO!!!
Monday 15 October 2007, 8:41 am #Bridgit Gread
The first Internet in Australia (1989) is in there; I hope we’re going to give due credit to Al Gore.