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Back to the Fifties
February 03, 2006
By Julie M. Quist
In Australia, national curricula are coming under fire for their “politically correct, New Age approach” and their “fragmented understanding of the past,” as described by Kevin Donnelly, a former Aussie high government official. This is yet another developed nation, [see last week’s WOMANTalk Education blog], tossing aside traditional history and literature for being “misguided, Eurocentric and socially unjust.”
Once again, we’re seeing a singular international battle in education that undermines real learning, where teachers are trained to "deconstruct dominant views of society" – that is, the Western European worldview. By the way, that includes the Western Judeo-Christian heritage of individual freedom.
The issues are the same on at least three continents, and yet, students were more literate in the 1950’s, before education was “reformed” to the constructivist math, no-phonics reading, no memorization, no truth, and calculators and laptops for all. The Aussie teachers union has made it clear, however, that they oppose any “back-to-the-basics literacy push.” They are committed to their postmodern motto, "Knowledge is always tentative," rather than teaching students how to systematically search for facts, data, and truth.
The Aussie national curricula describe European settlement as an invasion and native cultures as being in idealized harmony. These days, they’re coming under severe public criticism. John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister, is forcefully exposing the gender politics, multiculturalism and global government agendas.
The Victoria Province History Teachers' Association trains teachers that, "History is a version of the past which varies according to the person and the times ... So not only is there no single version of history, but each generation re-interprets the past in the light of its own values and attitudes." Of course, that leaves genuine history meaningless.
In America, the federal curriculum is called the “national standards.” Our leaders should be speaking out against them as the Australian Prime Minister has done.
Julie Quist is an education researcher and analyst, Vice-President and Political Director of EdWatch and Editor of EdWatch Newsletter.
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