Curriculum Consultation

Many of our schools took Tuesday as a Teacher Only Day to discuss the draft curriculum & feedback to the MOE in the consultation process.
I spent the morning @ Stratford where Bruce was leading discussion. We examined the teaching practises of the industrial age classroom as we experienced it growing up in NZ and discussed what we wanted a Yr8 graduate to look like at SPS - what skills, attitudes & capabilities we felt they needed. These were all generic to the rhetoric that supports the idea of a 'life long learner in the knowledge age' & has been articulated by all our BardWired teachers in 'visioning' workshops before. Pretty much all summed up in the draft curriculum vision - our young people will be...
Confident

• Positive in their own identity
• Motivated and reliable
• Entrepreneurial
• Enterprising
• Resiliant

Connected

• Able to relate well to others
• Effective users of communication tools

Lifelong Learners

• Literate and numerate
• Critical and creative thinkers
• Active seekers, users, and creators of knowledge
• Informed decision makers

Actively Involved

• Participants in a range of life contexts
• Contributors to the well-being of NZ - social, economical & environmental

All very worthy attributes ok, but I can't help thinking that what we have criticised industrial age teaching for - moulding our kids to suit society (Another Brick in the Wall) we are still doing but for a different society 'The Knowledge Society'. No country wants to be left behind in our new "Flat World"! I really felt this also as I listened to Jane Gilbert speak at ULearn as well. Somewhere in the equation needs to be some student voice and choice...