Last weekend David Dale wrote an article in the Sydney Morning Herald regarding the teaching of Australian history in our schools. His article was prompted by the fact that the newly formed National Curriculum Board have commenced their meetings to start building a syllabus for History, English, Science and Mathematics. The new syllabus will come into effect in 2010. I am personally not sure how this new Board will achieve their goals given that they are only meeting on a few occasions and their numbers are few.

I personally have mixed emotions about the teaching of Australian history at present. More on that later.

I take exception to one Mr Dale’s statements, “Traditionally history lessons convinced kids Australia is one of the most boring places on the planet.” Which history lessons, Mr Dale? Elsewhere Mr Dale raises some good points. Yet, I wonder if he realises that all of the historical incidents that he listed in the article could not be taught in the current complusory Australian history course in NSW as they all took place before 1900?

Now, Australian history may not be as bloodthirsty or as thrilling as some episodes during the course of world history yet it is still possible to bring the content to life and make it relevant for the students.

One thing that annoys me about the teaching of Australian history here in NSW is that in recent years politicians have determined much of what and when we teach as opposed to historians and educators. This is frustrating. During the Howard years a jingoistic approach has crept into the teaching of the subject. Some politicians want teachers to be politically correct as we teach the subject.

I teach Australian history to Years 9 and 10 over a two year period. It is compulsory. I feel that the decision to make Australian history compulsory for students of Years 9 and 10 to be a poor decision. The syllabus content is tedious at times and admittedly it is challenging to engender interest and excitement in that specific content. The compulsory 100 hours of Australian history should be taught either to Years 7 and 8, either in a single 12 month period or over the two years in tandem with the Australian geography course. The Australian history taught should be comprehensive and not limited to the twentieth century.

Following that the Year 9 and 10 students should be allowed to select History as an elective. That elective subject should have a sweeping syllabus that covers world history, ancient through to modern and across all continents, including Australia. History should be an elective for the older students. The subject will attract a core of students interested in History. They can take that interest into senior subjects and then on to the community.

The politicians should leave the structure and content of the syllabus up to the teachers and not peddle their political or ideological agendas via our classrooms.

David Dale posed the question to his readers, “What should be in the core curriculum for Australian history?” A number of respondents suggest a wide range of topics and a number of students point out the boring aspects of the current syllabus. One students mentions how they are taught too much Australian history. This may not be entirely correct yet I can understand their sentiments given the structure of the syllabus.  We have limited hours in which to teach the course and as a result it is difficult to sink one’s teeth into the content.

A teacher Greg Leighton, put it rather well:

In NSW we have two constraints on good history teaching practice and they apply before any teacher gets into a classroom. Firstly, the Primary School syllabus limits Australian History content to the 19th Century if it is taught at all (with all the other subject and topics our overworked Primary teachers are required to do). Secondly, in High School we are limited to a shared (half) teaching load with Geography yet we still have a School Certificate exam. Because of this, content coverage is superficial in many areas in the interests of keeping our SC exam results at a satisfactory level. (Have a look at the SC Australian History exam sometime if you don’t believe the politicisation of the curriculum).

The ones who generally get forgotten are the students themselves, as has been shown by some of the earlier posts. I expect I’ll be howled down as one of those dreadfully biased teachers who ignores all the really important aspects of our history. However there are a lot of very dedicated History Teachers in NSW and no doubt across the country who would just like to be given a fair go at being able to deliver an interesting story that can both inspire as well as educate our students.

Other readers of David Dale’s article contributed salient points. Others did not. It makes an interesting read, particularly for teachers and students of Australian history.

And finally, one respondent Tony Flander made an impassioned plea that some of the lowest ebb of human decency should be taught. Do not worry Mr Flander, it is being taught. After all, History should at least engender in us all a desire not to repeat the errors of the past.