Topics: Indigenous culture in maths, national school curriculum
Chris Kenny: The national school curriculum is under fire again with the federal opposition compiling a list of some pretty ridiculous ways that maths teachers are expected to incorporate Indigenous culture into lessons, including high school students taught Pythagoras’s theorem alongside navigation design of technologies or surveying by First Nations Australians. Students in year 3, these are seven and eight-year-olds, they’re taught to explore First Nations, Australian stories and dances that show the connection between addition and subtraction. Can anyone explain what any of this means? Let me bring in Shadow Education Minister, Sarah Henderson, live from Melbourne. Sarah, this is just appalling, isn’t it? It’s just going to muddle young minds and create havoc for teachers.
Senator Henderson: Well, Chris, good afternoon and it is no wonder that primary school teachers and principals from every sector are saying the curriculum is impossible to teach. It is asking too much of teachers and, of course, when teachers don’t thrive, neither do students. We are very concerned, we spent many weeks mapping the national curriculum, Justin, in my office, did an amazing job. We discovered that there are almost two and a half thousand different ways in which teachers can embed the cross-curriculum priorities into the teaching of subjects right across the board. So in maths, teachers are being encouraged to teach addition and subtraction through the eyes of First Nations dance, and this is right through the curriculum, Chris. It is concerning and it is making life far too tough for teachers, and frankly, they deserve better. And it’s very disappointing that we have seen no action on the national curriculum from the Albanese government, including its 10-year reform plan, which does not even mention the curriculum.
Chris Kenny: Yeah, look, I can understand why you’re talking about the pressure this puts on teachers. And yeah, it is too complicated for them but it is just dumb, right? It’s virtue signalling, obviously, but it’s dumb and it complicates things for the students. They need to go into maths and just learn maths.
Senator Henderson: Chris, that’s exactly right and it’s really concerning that the national curriculum has so many different examples embedded right through this unwieldy document, which is so big and complex and overcrowded that the curriculum regulator, ACARA cannot actually print this document out. I asked for a copy, would you believe, in hard copy, the curriculum regulator CEO, Stephen Gniel, said it’s thousands of pages and we don’t have the resources to print it out. How ridiculous is that? If the curriculum regulator cannot print this document, how can teachers and students and parents be expected to understand it?
Chris Kenny: Shouldn’t we get rid of a national curriculum and let the states compete against each other for decent education?
Senator Henderson: Well, Chris, I think the national curriculum does play a really important role. It sets benchmarks right across the board as to what students should learn, no matter where they are in Australia. But one of the big issues with the national curriculum, it doesn’t meet the best evidence-based curricula around the world, such as in Singapore and also in the United Kingdom. It’s not knowledge-rich. And frankly, that’s the focus. I think the national curriculum needs to place in terms of what actually resonates in the classroom, it’s got to be knowledge-rich, setting out what students are expected to learn in each subject, in each year level. Certainly, the Australian Education Research Organisation is calling it out. But if you have a curriculum that is not working in the classroom, we cannot achieve our best. And look at the situation at the moment, Chris, one in three children is failing NAPLAN. That is simply not good enough, not just for individual children, but for our nation. And that’s why the Coalition is determined to get back to basics and get our classrooms and our schools back on track.
Chris Kenny: Good stuff. Sarah. Thanks for joining us.