The New NSW Curriculum

Ok! Before everyone switches off and says that’s an Australian state specific topic, just hold up for a sec, as this is an important discussion that all primary and secondary education systems need to be having.
 
To put this in some context, New South Wales (NSW), which is in fact nowhere near South Wales, has one of the biggest centralised departments of education in the world! It’s a behemoth, that’s responsible for over 2,000 schools and soon to have around 1 Million students! So whatever direction they decide to head in, it will have a lasting impact on Australian education moving forward and ultimately our competitive positioning in the world.
 
It’s the first time since the 1980s that a serious revision of the curriculum has been undertaken. Long gone are the outrageous hair styles, the punchy electro synth music and stunning block colours of the 80s, which mostly went out of style 5 years before it came in. However, we still have a curriculum that was shaped by the thoughts, ideas and social influences of that time.  It’s a scary thought if you’ve ever seen Devo!
 
This is concerning and disturbing on many levels. However, it highlights the fact that despite how rapidly our world has changed, the systems of education and what’s being taught have essentially remained the same. The world seems to have lurched forward into the 21st century whilst the old school masters remain yelling from the front of the room at students, ‘What do you want to do with your life????’ (Insert kid saying, ‘I Wanna Rock!’ and have a glam rock band appear for dramatic effect)!
 
So with my future focused mind, I wrote a submission for the new curriculum and highlighted the need for more experiential education as part of the curriculum. This shouldn’t be co-curricula. This shouldn’t be an optional extra that students do after school in code clubs, or through Duke of Ed. This should be completely integrated into the curriculum. So many teachers visit Norway to see what they’re doing in terms of in and out of classroom work there. They come back raving about Norway and hold it up as a model to be followed, but why don’t we see this sort of system being implemented here in reality?
 
People often cite the restrictive curriculum that stops them from reshaping their broken systems, so if that’s really the case, it’s now time to make that curriculum less restrictive and more experiential based. Throw out the HSC or whatever other leaving certificate that’s being done. This is essentially a waste of time for most students who never go close to going to uni and is just another outdated metric, like Madonna’s lace gloves.
 
I also love the German system of education, which enables choice with three different streams. If you want to go to uni, then take that stream. If you want to do a trade, take that stream. If you’re not sure, but want a balanced education, take that stream. We only have one stream in Australia and it’s neither experiential, nor beneficial to the majority of our students, so another massive point for improvement there!
 
Education needs to be reshaped to meet the needs of a new era. We have all the information we could possibly want at our finger tips, so let’s stop wasting time trying to memorise it. Instead, learn how to use that knowledge and apply it to global problems which affect our lives and the lives of others around the world. The most effective way of doing this is through practical experience. Learning to apply problem solving skills and reflecting on the outcome is critical to the success of any future education system. If your local education office, district or state start to review what’s being taught, jump in there and insist that it really does need to be more like Norway or Hahnish and that experience will always be the best form of education.