The following letter was submitted in response to an editorial in The Australian for possible publication on Thursday 23 February 2017 but it failed to make it into print. The editorial had been prompted by changes to Years 11 and 12 syllabuses in NSW.
Deconstructing literary texts
Your editorial urged that, in senior secondary English classes, students should be taught to enjoy, appreciate and study literary texts (or pieces of literature if the word "texts" is upsetting) rather than to deconstruct them ("Tackling school reform from first principles", Feb 22).
It is certainly to be hoped that enjoyment and appreciation are routine aspects of the process in English classrooms. However, if "deconstruct" is a synonym for "analyse", it is difficult to see how novels, plays and poems can be properly studied, or indeed fully appreciated, without an element of deconstruction being involved.
Apart from that, the paper is to be commended for not lazily resorting to the tired cliché of "back to basics" in this leader.
Tags:Curriculum matters |
Understanding ShakespeareRob Pensalfini will present this workshop via zoom on Saturday 15 October from 9am till 11 am. For further information download the flyer . Details for joining the zoom meeting will be sent on Wednesday 12 October. As this message will be sent to the email address in the registration it is important that you use your own address, rath... | |||||||||||||||
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Early Career Conference 2022: Writing our future?Writing our future? - a conference presented by and for early career teachers on Saturday 22 October at Wynnum SHS (tbc) | ||||||||||||
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External Examination PreparationRegistration Scroll down to register - but please do read this information Schools should register each teacher who will be using the materials. Acting on feedback from last year, we will be making the materials available earlier this year. We will be running the External Examination Preparation as one package with more fl... | ||||||||||||||||||
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Writing our future in Essential English 2022Writing our future in Essential English - a community of practice especially for teachers of Essential English on Saturday 5 November. | ||||||||||||
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Indigenous Perspectives in the Junior CurriculumAfter a work program review Town High explored ways to better embed indigenous perspectives in the year 7 program through a novella study of Black Cockatoo. The unit became our first taste of analytical essay writing in year 7, in preparation for subsequent years. We found greater engagement from students across the board. ... | |||||||||||||||
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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.
Read AllConnect to a great range of people who are passionate about English and have their finger on the pulse.