An insight into Australian education from the Independent...
Excerpt:
"Good," you hear parents think. But under this system, children as young as five can spend more than 55% of their school day writing mathematics and English into textbooks. Learning through play? Forget it. Fun in the classroom? No way.
"The thinking behind this is that an early focus on numeracy and literacy is the foundation for learning, and we need to get that right," says Ric Cliona, a senior assessment officer with the New South Wales Department of Education.
But some argue the policy is counter-productive, and is imposed at a creative cost.
"There is a global movement in understanding the significance arts has in education, and Australia seems to be missing that," says the president of Art Education Australia, Marian Strong, who is a member of the group developing the new national Australian curriculum.
Click to read the full story
"Good," you hear parents think. But under this system, children as young as five can spend more than 55% of their school day writing mathematics and English into textbooks. Learning through play? Forget it. Fun in the classroom? No way.
"The thinking behind this is that an early focus on numeracy and literacy is the foundation for learning, and we need to get that right," says Ric Cliona, a senior assessment officer with the New South Wales Department of Education.
But some argue the policy is counter-productive, and is imposed at a creative cost.
"There is a global movement in understanding the significance arts has in education, and Australia seems to be missing that," says the president of Art Education Australia, Marian Strong, who is a member of the group developing the new national Australian curriculum.
Click to read the full story
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