'I cannot conceive how you can teach the history of the Second World War without having Churchill, Hitler and Stalin as part of the story.' SCHOOLS MINISTER LORD ADONIS, responding to outrage that Winston Churchill (above) is not mentioned on the list of compulsory studies in the revamped syllabus, although World War II is.-- FILE PHOTO: HIROSHI SUGIMOTO |
LONDON - A SWEEPING shake-up of studies in British schools has provoked alarm among academia, which warns that the government is abandoning traditional subjects in favour of 'lightweight' alternatives such as shopping and personal well-being.
The government's Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) announced on July 12 that teenagers aged 11 to 14 would face a radical revamp of lessons next year, with some striking new additions to the syllabus including healthy cooking, debt management and personal finance.
Officials say the new focus is aimed at producing young adults who are equipped to deal with the complexities of the modern world.
But teachers, headmasters and academic experts are concerned it will water down the academic content of study and produce students with a weaker grasp of basic knowledge.
'This is moving away from subjects and towards skills and issues,' said Professor Alan Smithers, an education expert and former member of the National Curriculum Council.
'The new curriculum is making assumptions that you can teach things like citizenship and coping with debt and equality rather than thinking these are things children could pick up through studying history or English literature,' he said, adding that he believes the traditional subjects are a better way of 'making sense of the world'.
In its defence, the QCA says the update is aimed at making education more relevant and will liberate up to 25 per cent of the school timetable.
QCA spokesman Alan Cox said: 'One of the things we have tried to do is to encourage schools to think...not just in terms of academic subjects, but how you deal with life skills. They are important to equip kids for the modern world and the increasingly complex decisions you have to make on a daily basis.'
The revamp recalls similar changes instituted in Singapore. In 1999, the Ministry of Education cut school syllabuses by up to 30 per cent in a 'teach less, learn more' effort to allow more time for creative thinking, computer-based learning and teaching National Education.
In 2006, the ministry bolstered the teaching of elective modules such as computer animation in secondary schools to offer students more choice and flexibility in their studies.
The new syllabus in Britain, said well-known education expert Chris McGovern, forces teachers to teach in certain ways - viewing historical episodes through the prisms of gender, race or social conditions.
Mr McGovern, a historian and former government adviser, is outraged that the revamped history syllabus will no longer mention Winston Churchill on the list of compulsory studies.
Government officials, however, insist that World War II will remain a mandatory subject and that one cannot study the war without studying Churchill.
'I cannot conceive how you can teach the history of the Second World War without having Churchill, Hitler and Stalin as part of the story,' said Schools Minister Lord Adonis.
mark.riceoxley@btinternet.com
'I cannot conceive how you can teach the history of the Second World War without having Churchill, Hitler and Stalin as part of the story.'
SCHOOLS MINISTER LORD ADONIS, responding to outrage that Winston Churchill is not mentioned on the list of compulsory studies in the revamped syllabus, although World War II is.
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