Cross-post: South Africa proposing new curriculum that may affect Home Education

[Hannah]

The South African education department is proposing a new curriculum for schools that will be implemented from January 2010. The SA Schools Act requires that home education must comply with the “minimum requirements†of the curriculum in public schools. As the curriculum proposal is very specific on what the requirements are, this may mean that home educators will be required to teach to this curriculum as well.

 

If you have the time and you're interested in reading this, it appears at http://www.education.gov.za/CAPS.asp.

 

I'd love to hear your comments on the proposal as well as your thoughts (in principle) of one national curriculum for all. We have another 10 days to submit comments and yours will help me think through my response.

[Teachin'Mine]

Hannah your link just lists the subjects which need to be taught at the different school levels. Is that all there is to the curriculum requirements, or is there a more detailed list of what must be taught? If it was just the subjects mentioned, I don't think it would be too much of a problem since they seem to be fairly basic and most would be teaching those anyway.

 

But I can understand not wanting it regulated on the national level and making the home schoolers comply with the same requirements that have been imposed on public schools. I went to HSLDA to see what they have to say, but what I found was an article from 2005 saying that this is what they planned to do. I guess it took some time from saying it will be done to doing it. Are you finding that your curriculum is not in compliance? Or are you just joining forces with the other home schoolers in voicing your objections? I think there are 100,000 home schoolers - back in 2005 - according to the article on HSLDA's website, and they said that it was growing each year. So you should have a large voice if all can come together for this cause.

 

Hopefully someone will have some better info. :tongue_smilie: I guess I'm just trying to find out more specifics. I know there would be an outrage if this was a national policy here in the US, but the reality is that some states have policies like this in force for home schoolers. Each state is different, but many do tell you what subjects must be covered.

 

ETA: Here's the link: http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/SouthAfrica/200501130.asp

[Hannah]

In 2005, South Africa implemented an Outcomes Based Education curriculum. This has been a major failure and the new 2011 curriculum seeks to address the shortcomings.

 

Each of the list of subjects in the link clicks through to a detailed curriculum document.

For example, for intermediate social sciences, the history sections for fourth grade states that for each of the 4 terms in the school year, the following topics need to be taught:

1) People who have made a difference

2) How we find out about the past and local history

3) Transport then and now

4) Communication then and now

 

It then goes on to detail exactly what must be taught for each topic.

2 hours much be spent on the qualities of people that make a difference (it lists the qualities).

Two hours each must be spent on the following people:

o Nelson Mandela: A South African and international leader 5 hours

o Miriam Makeba: South African singer who was forced to live far from home for most of her life 2 hours

o Mother Teresa: a nun who helped poor people in India 2 hours

o Neil Armstrong: first person to walk on the moon 2 hours

o Deshun Deysel: Uses the lessons of sport to make a difference in people’s lives

(Member of the first South African expedition to Mount Everest)

 

A note states that: Teachers must teach about Nelson Mandela, but can choose to replace one of the others with a local, provincial, national or international person who has made a positive difference. Use the broad questions above as a guide to structure the lessons.

 

The other subjects all have a similar level of very specific detail of what must be taught by when.

 

If this is implemented for homeschoolers and compliance is enforced, it is going to greatly restrict our freedom of education.

[Teachin'Mine]

If this is implemented for homeschoolers and compliance is enforced, it is going to greatly restrict our freedom of education.

 

I agree.

[Jemimah]

Two hours each must be spent on the following people:

o Nelson Mandela: A South African and international leader 5 hours

o Miriam Makeba: South African singer who was forced to live far from home for most of her life 2 hours

o Mother Teresa: a nun who helped poor people in India 2 hours

o Neil Armstrong: first person to walk on the moon 2 hours

o Deshun Deysel: Uses the lessons of sport to make a difference in people’s lives

(Member of the first South African expedition to Mount Everest)

 

A note states that: Teachers must teach about Nelson Mandela, but can choose to replace one of the others with a local, provincial, national or international person who has made a positive difference. Use the broad questions above as a guide to structure the lessons.

 

The other subjects all have a similar level of very specific detail of what must be taught by when.

 

If this is implemented for homeschoolers and compliance is enforced, it is going to greatly restrict our freedom of education.

 

 

Oh! I had just responded on your other thread before seeing this one.

Well, after all Mandela is pivotal in the shaping of your country so I can see them expecting the children to know something about him. Without knowing about him there'd be a huge gap in your children's history lessons. I guess I am not understanding what "freedoms" you are refering to. Does the problem lie in having to teach certain topics, like the one you gave on Nelson Mandela? I am still trying to find these in the long long documents to get a better understanding of what you are refering to.

[Hannah]

I guess I am not understanding what "freedoms" you are refering to. Does the problem lie in having to teach certain topics, like the one you gave on Nelson Mandela? I am still trying to find these in the long long documents to get a better understanding of what you are refering to.

 

 

Thanks for responding to the cross-posted thread.

 

Yes, the problem is that from K-12, the new proposal specifies exactly what every child will be taught in each subject - down to the week in which it will be taught.

 

Here is part of a response I posted to our local homeschooling eloup:

 

The most obvious concern is that our freedom to educate our children will be infringed upon if homeschoolers are required to follow the national curriculum. The curriculum is restricted to a subset of knowledge, based on the personal assumptions of a small group of people about what it means to be educated. The first general aim stated is that the “National Curriculum Statement Grades R - 12 gives expression to what is regarded to be knowledge, skills and values worth learning”. What one person might deem as “worth learning” is certainly not true for the next person and the values that are deemed important by the curriculum writers reflect their political and personal worldview are certainly not universal.

 

The state is trying to create a “teacher proof” curriculum that sets out the exact content, sequence and timing of what needs to be learned. It goes beyond setting the standard for a limited number of essential skills and areas of knowledge and tries to micro-manage teachers to follow a set method, and obviously also aims to instill a specific ideology in the classroom. It does not take into account the talents and abilities of the individual child. This one-size-fits-all curriculum does not meet the requirements that we have for our children’s education which includes the ability to learn independently and to create a lifelong love of learning.

 

One of the aims of the curriculum is that it supports human rights, social justice and diversity. Specifying and limiting what children are allowed to learn does not support this aim. As Alfie Kohn says so eloquently, “Uniformity is not the same as excellence – nor equality”. (http://www.alfiekohn.org)

[Teachin'Mine]

Hannah that's a great response! I hope that the homeschoolers there are able to form a united front in fighting this.