Let geography teach next generation, says Costello

06-Sep-2010

Anna Patty EDUCATION EDITOR

September 6, 2010

THE head of World Vision believes geography should be given the same prominence as history in the new national curriculum to help students think critically about issues including climate change, asylum seekers and indigenous Australians.

Tim Costello said he was concerned that geography may be sidelined as an elective subject and pressed for its inclusion as a national curriculum staple.

Mr Costello said geography was too important to be ''merely an elective in an already crowded curriculum''. ''Geography is a subject that needs to be a core subject for the compulsory years of schooling and not an optional extra,'' he said. ''As in the current NSW curriculum, it deserves the same profile and place in the timetable as does history.

''There is a genuine concern that this may not be the case in the new Australian curriculum. We need young Australians who can learn from the past and be critically aware of the issues facing the world in the present and the future.''

Geography was not just about learning how to read maps and reciting the names of capital cities. Rather, it called for critical thinking and the development of important knowledge about big issues of sustainability, migration, asylum seekers, population and climate change.

''Our children need a great education that equips them to be global citizens in an increasingly globalised world - and our world needs engaged and well-educated Australians with a global ethic,'' Mr Costello said.

The Australian Curriculum and Assessment Authority has drafted a ''shape paper'' for the development of a national geography curriculum.

Public feedback will be used to revise the draft, which will be published in its final form as The Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Geography. This paper will then be used to guide the writing of the final K-12 geography curriculum by February next year.

The final curriculum document is due to be published by September next year.

Courtesy of - www.smh.com.au

Comment

Go Back

Tairua Paddle for Humanity05-Oct-2011

Give us your FEEDBACK!!!30-Nov-2010

Huge Storm Hinders Tsunami Relief Work 01-Nov-2010

Let geography teach next generation, says Costello

Comment