Thread: Teaching our history sounds like an idea

I think it is time to focus less on minute details like which bits of history we do or don't teach, and more on making sure students focus on important skills like maths, english and science.

It is easy to pick up a history book and have a read later in life (as Nugget has done), but much harder to teach yourself calculus, physics or chemistry as an adult.

On a similar note, I think a 2nd language should be compulsory, like it is in the rest of the world.

I have grave concerns over the current curriculum review - given what has been released in the media to-date.

Why do we need maths? There are plenty of mathematicians and statisticians out there aching for a calculation!

It was in the news this week that NSW Dept of Education ( NSW Government urged to make maths compulsory for senior students - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) ) is considering making maths a compulsory subject for all year 11 and 12 students. Its about time and should have never have been allowed to drop it as a core subject in the first place.

Nugget - if you like a good read on some slightly more recent Australian history, grab any of the books written by Robin Miller (the Sugarbird Lady).

Robin was an aviator and nurse who used to fly up into the north west to conduct a vaccination program against polio, and later went on to fly with the RFDS. Her mother was Dame Mary Durack and her father was Captain Horrie Miller (of MMA fame). She married Harold Dicks, director of the RFDS.

She wrote two books (Flying Nurse and Sugarbird Lady), and started on a third book (can't remember the name of this one) - she died before this book was completed - her husband went on to complete her final book.

As well as telling a lot about the history of the times - the lady had one hell of a sense of humour. I have read all three of her books and thoroughly enjoyed them all (and I am not normally a reader of "history" type books).

The NSW History Syllabus has 100 hours of Australian history as a mandatory study.

It would not matter how many hundred hours of history were made compulsory, it would still be easy to name some aspect of Australian history that was not covered.

If you want to know what is covered in NSW schools rather than what some politician or some media outlet claims is or isn't studied, check the NSW Board of Studies site and read the syllabus itself.

Years 7-10 Syllabuses - Board of Studies NSW

Is this part of the national cirriculum vnx205?

Originally Posted by S3ute

Hello from Brisbane,

I know a lot of people out there may think Tim Flannery is a bit of a ******, especially in light of the ongoing climate change debate. However, I personally reckon that his book "The Explorers" is a pretty good read. It covers most of the greats or early exploration including a few of the lesser knowns who also made some important treks and discoveries.

A lot of books on the early explorers rely heavily on the original journals and diaries - or are basically direct reproductions of them. That's OK if you are really interested in some specific details etc or are researching some particular aspect of their travels. However, they can also be fairly dry reading if its just for general interest. I would have to admit that I found a couple of the books based on both Sturt's and Stuart's journals generally fell into this category, notwithstanding their many great achievements and deprivations as explorers.

An area of exploration/pioneering history that doesn't seem to get a lot of print coverage is the development of the early riverboat trade on the Murray and Darling. At one time Echuca had a busier port than a lot of the coastal cities and there were more paddlers working the Murray-Darling trade than on the Mississippi. Check out the histories of competing Captains Francis Cadell and William Randell for an interesting insight into the opening up of the inland river systems for commerce.

Cheers,

The murray-darling history is amazing. Wilcannia was a huge port as well.

My favourite story is Mary's Cross in Louth and how the Riverboat captain used his navigation skills to position it so it reflected back on the house door on her birthday.

I believe that it is, but as I am retired now, my familiarity with such matters is considerably less than it used to be.

The BOS syllabus that I referred to earlier covered Years 70 to 10, the first four years of Secondary School.

My checking to try to ensure that my answer to your question was correct revealed that Primary School history offers the opportunity (but not the compulsion) to study the achievements of some Australian explorers.

In Year 5 for example:
The role that a significant individual or group played in shaping a colony; for example, explorers, farmers, entrepreneurs, artists, writers, humanitarians, religious and political leaders, and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The details of the National Curriculum are here if anyone wants more information.
The Australian Curriculum v5.2

here is the new nsw k-10 syllabus History K

Remember that it isn't always about the content but the skills learnt.

I agree with isuzurover, On a similar note, I think a 2nd language should be compulsory, like it is in the rest of the world.