If you've been following the GA's curriculum consultation, you'll know that you've got until the end of the week to take part and give your thoughts on the curriculum.
I strongly suggest that you read the GA's ideas about knowledge, and the format that we have put together on the National Curriculum Review group to begin to think about the nature of the geography curriculum that may emerge in 2013, and be taught from 2014.
Whatever your school's circumstances, there will still be a need to decide on what is to be taught...
Michael Gove is interested in core knowledge, and this has a connection with cultural literacy.
This RADIO 4 programme looks at the work of E.D Hirsch, and the influence on the people who are currently running the Department for Education.
E.D. (Eric Donald) Hirsch is someone that I came across some years ago now when working at the Geographical Association, when we were putting together the GA's manifesto 'a different view' and also the various consultations that we have been involved with.
Hirsch says that we all need cultural literacy in order to operate effectively as citizens
This is 'the shared intellectual currency of a society'...
Schools need to deliver these facts in a highly organised, structured way.
What are the 'right' facts ? Who decides what they are ?
Hirsch created a compendium of knowledge, and lists of knowledge for particular grades within the school system. He argues for a content-led curriculum, and a quite prescriptive approach to introducing the main contexts for learning. Without this knowledge, are some students 'excluded from conversations' because they have no basis for their participation - which could be a factor of their home background ?
Fran Abrams talks to Nick Gibb who has lots of Hirsch's books in his office 'full of post it notes', and criticises the History KS3 curriculum because of the emphasis on skills.
He mentions a few examples of observations from the classroom, but forgets something...
The plural of 'anecdote' is not data.
One issue with this, as I have blogged about previously, is the nature of knowledge, and the way that changes. You also have the ubiquitous nature of 'answers' but the need for good 'questions' - which means there needs to be geographical enquiry.
The programme looks at the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence. Nick Gibb is similarly scathing of this, and the way that the teaching is supposed to be organised so that teachers are imparting the knowledge in more creative ways.
I shall be up at the SAGT conference yet again at the weekend, and will be supporting teachers with the possible use of GIS and mapping for National 4 and 5 qualifications.
Several things that are mentioned by Sir Michael Barber are particularly important from my point of view: school management and the support of parents are vital, and are outside of the control of classroom teachers to a large extent...
I am grateful to Simon Renshaw, co-chair of the GA's Secondary Committee for tipping me off about the programme. Some of the other programmes in the series look similarly useful...
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