A reflection on the General Capabilities and Cross Curricular Priorities.
In my 90’s primary school education, there was very little incorporation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and never any mention of Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia. Aboriginal people were only mentioned during a year 7 social studies unit on the first fleet where they were referred to by outdated and racist terms. The narrative was told from the perspective of non-Indigenous voices with no consideration of the perspectives of the First Nation people, their culture, or the atrocities that were to follow.
Thankfully our curriculum has changed to include this vital aspect of Australian education. During a placement in a year 3/4 class, I was able to observe a series of lessons about the first fleet. When the teacher told the story of the landing on Australia, letters and documents were read from both the European side and the First Nations people explaining their perspectives and account of events. Students were asked to compare them and imagine themselves in the situation of the European settlers and the First Nations people. Such critical thinking, cultural understanding and reflections of the history of First Nations people were not a part of my education but will be now thanks to the incorporation of the CCPs.
As for the General Capabilities, literacy, numeracy and digital literacy were the foundation of education for 90’s children, with very little of the other GCs of today’s curriculum. However, aligning with the Sustainability CCP, I did develop some 21st century skills thanks to Miss C, a passionate environmentalist. She introduced our year 6 class to a major environmental issue at the time, the hole in the ozone layer The Ozone Hole Was Super Scary, So What Happened To It? | Smithsonian (smithsonianmag.com) with the song ‘Saltwater’ which we sang and used sign language to perform on an assembly.
She was the only teacher in my primary education that discussed these issues and sparked conversations about actions for change. We’d watch BTN – Behind The News (abc.net.au), a popular NEWS programme for students that explained big concepts for kids and got us thinking about the role we play in the future. A popular TV show ‘Beyond 2000’ (343) Beyond 2000 – Official Channel – YouTube documented science and technology advancements that were being developed, including solar panel cars which as 12-year-olds we thought we’d all be driving by the time we were able to drive.
To incorporate these issues we’d play a game on the school computers called ‘Ingenious’, that combined science and technology to investigate and experiment real life problems. You would complete science-based problems such as moving gears and levers to make things work and you would be awarded a car parts that allowed you to create your own solar panel car to race against other computer solar cars. Our year 6 teacher developed in us 21st century skills such as collaboration and critical thinking through strategies that engaged students and connected us to authentic important issues which is now a part of the Australian Curriculum today. Miss C was truly a teacher ahead of her time.
References
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA]. (n.d.). The Australian Curriculum: version 9. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/
