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An edited version of the letter below was published in The Australian of Wenesday 5 November 2014. The underlined words were deleted and the bracketed ones inserted. The heading shown is the one provided by the newspaper.
Let teachers choose the texts that expose children to ethics
In her comments on the Foundation to Year 10 section of the national English curriculum, Institute of Public Affairs researcher Stephanie Forrest argues that more (says) classic English literature texts should be mandated (“Great writers forge minds”, 4/11).
The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority’s curriculum document does not prescribe any particular texts at all, believing that such decisions are best made at the school and system level. This is surely in line with the currently widespread belief (view) that there should be greater school autonomy. Most English teachers appreciate the professional freedom to select the texts, literary and otherwise, that they believe will work best with their own students.
Strangely, Ms Forrest suggests that the national curriculum’s 'General Capability' of ethical understanding has little place in (the) subject English. I can’t think of a single literary classic which does not involve an ethical dimension. Vicarious engagement with ethical questions is one of the reasons that literature is so important in the school curriculum.
It is perhaps worth noting that Ms Forrest’s bachelor’s degree is in classics and history and that she has never been a school teacher.
Garry Collins
President, Australian Association for the Teaching of English (AATE)
 "Garry Collins, AATE President")
Author: Garry Collins, AATE President
| Tags: Curriculum matters |
March Seminar 2021: Challenge and Change: Doing things differentlyWe are delighted to announce that we will be back with face to face professional learing events in 2021 - usual format but with some important changes: the March Seminar will be a full day event; the AATE-ALEA National Conference will be held in Brisbane in July and consequently there will not be a state conference. The Program Our fi... |
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Grammar at Hervey BayA grammar workshop will be held at Hervey Bay State High School to assist attendees to develop their understandings of grammar in order to fully comprehend and to effectively teach the Australia Curriculum: English (AC:E). Also highly relevant to Years 11 & 12. This will be an updated re-run of the activity conducted in both 2018 and ... |
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May Masterclass 2021THE CHALLENGE OF TEACHING ANALYSIS: DO WE NEED TO CHANGE OUR PRACTICES? Teaching the process of analysing texts in order for students to produce a spoken or written response remains amongst the most exciting and difficult challenges we face as a community of English teachers. Building on lessons from ETAQ's 2020 student and teacher ev... |
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JCU SpectacularJoin Dr Claire Hansen for a two-hour session on teaching Macbeth. We'll dive into an exploration of the language of Macbeth and teaching strategies to engage students with Shakespeare's Scottish play. The workshop will also explore learning activities for Macbeth created by the Shakespeare Reloaded project. This session will... |
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Grammar DayETAQ will be conducting another of the very successful grammar days on Saturday 29 May 2021. The venue will be Elanora SHS; any one who wishes to come is welcome. |
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Jennifer Alford, QUT
The six practices of English teachers who effectively exercise their agency.
Tristan Bancks, author
Keynote: A future-facing method for inspiring young writers
Workshop: Vision boarding
This is the first time I have been to an ETAQ conference and it was really sensational to get so much at all of the sessions.
ETAQ conferences always have sessions that make me excited to be a teacher.
I know that ETAQ conferences in the past have never disappointed - valuable, relevant, practical, inspiring so I came again.
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