Open house

Posted on January 12, 2014 by KG

Chicago’s Forgotten Masterpiece

Greenfield on culture

Corrupt bastards

and below the fold, why education bureaucrats need shootin’, yerhonner

Australian curriculum beyond saving
“LANGUAGE,” claim the authors of the Australian Curriculum, “enables people to interact effectively.” They then proceed to demonstrate in 238,000 laboured words that this is not necessarily the case.
The curriculum is written in the private language of educationalism, which, like Latin in the hands of the medieval clergy, serves to keep the rest of us in our place. The implication is that parents, employers and general citizens don’t know what they’re talking about. Curriculum development is a job for the experts.
The first task of the government’s curriculum review panel should be to translate this doorstop of a document into English, eliminate the verbiage and publish it for public discussion. Forget all the stuff about content descriptions, content elaborations and learning continua.
Don’t bother telling us that the English language “provides rich and engaging contexts for developing students’ abilities,” or that “texts provide the means for communication”.
In our own inexpert way, we had sort of gathered that.
Just tell us how you plan to teach literacy and numeracy, and what else you are planning to put into the kiddies’ heads.
Then we can let the public decide whether “creating a more ecologically and socially just world through informed action” is a task for public schools.
Do we want educators or evangelists? Do we send children to school to “create texts that inform and persuade others to take action for sustainable futures”? Should a child under 10 be expected to produce “a persuasive audio-visual text to promote action on an environmental issue” or “promote awareness about how people can reduce their impact on the environment”?
By Year 9, they will be encouraged to ponder “Gaia – the interaction of Earth and its biosphere” and to think about the “limits of growth – that unlimited growth is unsustainable”.
They will be asked to “interrogate” Rachel Carson’s The Silent Spring and 1970 editions of Mother Earth News magazine, before considering the “rights of nature recognition – that humans and their natural environment are closely interrelated”.
The words “sustainable” and “sustainability” appear 139 times in the Australian Curriculum; “business” crops up six times, “markets” twice and “free markets” not at all. “Prosperity” features three times and “economic growth” is mentioned just once (and not in a nice way), for history is not the tale of steady improvement but just one shameful act after another.
Year 3 students will be taught significant days and weeks in the Australian calendar: Australia Day, Anzac Day, Harmony Week, National Reconciliation Week, NAIDOC week and National Sorry Day and Mabo day.
Doubtless this is uncontroversial stuff in the sheltered common rooms of public schools, salaried and superannuated from the bottomless pockets of the state. To much of the rest of Australia, however, this romantic, closed-minded view of the world seems eccentric. Non-expert citizens – that is those without a PhD in critical pedagogy – might wonder how a child infused with such a narrow world view, who finishes Year 12 without any appreciation of wealth creation, could possibly emerge equipped for the challenges of the 21st century.
The history curriculum includes the Harvester Judgment, but says nothing about the Sunshine Harvester, Australia’s most successful manufactured export, made in the factory where the work conditions test case was struck. In 699 pages, the curriculum mentions capitalism twice, but merely as one of the “competing ideologies” to communism.
At every turn, the curriculum appears intent on taking the most dismal brutal view of every episode in human history. The industrial revolution’s contribution to the world is restricted to “the transatlantic slave trade and convict transportation”. It led, we are told, to “longer working hours for low pay and the use of children as a cheap source of labour” and is best interpreted through reading the works of Charles Dickens.
The reforming instincts of 19th-century liberals that led to the end of transportation, slavery and child labour are whitewashed from history.
The measurable improvements to diet and health, made possible by agricultural innovation in sheep breeding, frozen meat transportation and broad-acre farming, form no part of the story.
They would have sounded a discordant note in the curriculum’s miserablist narrative of Australian history.
Instead, Year 4 students will be taught “historical terms for example ‘penal’, ‘transportation’, ‘navigation’, ‘frontier conflict’, ‘colonisation’ “.
In Year 6 they will be introduced to “experiences of citizenship and democracy” with reference to “internment camps during World War II, assimilation policies, anti-discrimination legislation, mandatory detention, pay and working conditions” and “children who were placed in orphanages, homes and other institutions”.
After all, the curriculum helpfully reminds us, democracy is an abstract noun expressing an intangible concept.
The leaden imposition of “cross-curriculum priorities” indigenous awareness, engagement with Asia and sustainability contaminate the curriculum writers’ thinking.
In English, “the priority of sustainability provides rich and engaging contexts for developing students’ abilities”.
In geography, “the sustainability priority and concept afford rich and engaging learning opportunities and purposeful contexts”.
In history, sustainability “provides content that supports the development of students’ world views, particularly in relation to judgments about past social and economic systems, and access to and use of the Earth’s resources”.
In mathematics, “sustainability provides rich, engaging and authentic contexts for developing students’ abilities in number and algebra, measurement and geometry, statistics and probability”.
Sustainability in science develops “an appreciation for the interconnectedness of Earth’s biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere”.
Christopher Pyne has been condemned as a culture warrior for having the audacity to question this tosh.
The opposition has accused him of attempting to politicise the curriculum, and has labelled his chosen reviewers, Kevin Donnelly and Ken Wiltshire, as ideologues.
If the Education Minister is to be criticised, it is for imagining this irredeemable document can be tidied up and put back on the shelf when the only realistic course of action is to tear the damn thing up…’
Nick Cater, writing in today’s ‘Australian.’

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48 Responses to Open house

  2. KG says:
    January 12, 2014 at 19:51

    Make it harder for the bastards:
    https://duckduckgo.com/
    or:
    https://ixquick.com

  3. Darin says:
    January 13, 2014 at 06:36

    Finally got some range time in with the new Ruger.One of the guys at work and I went out to a private range at his BIL’s farm.Nice,quiet well shaded range with 150 yrds to the backstop.
    First round out the box on paper at 25 yards,9 more in an 8″ group,10 more to warm the barrel up.Tried two different ammo mfgs,Winchester Super X and Federal target premium.Final results were the group on the left at 25 yards and the two groups on the right at 30 yards.

    Today told me three things-#1 This Pistol does not like Federal ammo,in 100 rds there were several flyers and 4 misfires.#2 The mag follower buttons are murder on the fingers,easy fix though.#3 I need glasses :shock: I could manage a tighter group if there was 1 bullseye instead of 1-3/4 :mrgreen:

    • KG says:
      January 13, 2014 at 07:47

      Hell, it’ll do for a start, Darin. I don’t use Federal ammo any more either, it just doesn’t seem consistent.

  4. The Gantt Guy says:
    January 13, 2014 at 07:18

    Why would the BEEB spend more than twenty grand on barristers to fight a Freedom of Information request about a conference that took place in 2006?

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2537886/BBCs-six-year-cover-secret-green-propaganda-training-executives.html

    Oh I know. Corruption, much?

  5. The Gantt Guy says:
    January 13, 2014 at 08:20

    Excellent article destroying Bush-style “compassionate conservatism”.

    http://thefederalist.com/2014/01/10/compassionate-conservatives-are-confusing-a-slogan-with-an-agenda/

    IMHO the US is lost. Christie will be reformed and will beat Hillary Rotten Clinton, but nobody will be able to tell the difference. Perhaps a TEA Party takeover of the State Houses and an Article V convention can save things, but I doubt it.

    • KG says:
      January 13, 2014 at 10:06

      I doubt it too. The corrosion goes too deep and too wide.
      Since there hasn’t been another revolution by now, there ain’t going to be one at all.
      The “last, best hope”..no longer is.

      • Wombat says:
        January 13, 2014 at 10:37

        When the debt crisis boils over it will be every state for itself. Some will hold true to the ideals of the founders but the union will be dead. Of that you can be 100% certain.

        Of course, a “terrorist” nuke going off in a major metropolitan area might be a gamechanger, which is why I suspect it’s going to happen before the U.S. dollar becomes toilet paper.

        Under martial law the concept of money is irrelevant…

    • Darin says:
      January 13, 2014 at 11:46

      Yup,and we see where most of the money for the school goes-in the teachers union pockets. :evil:

    • john says:
      January 13, 2014 at 14:23

      I guess “demountable trailers” sounds better than “40′ shipping containers” for the storage of kindergartners therein.

  7. Darin says:
    January 13, 2014 at 11:57

    Detroit’s new police chief gets it-

    http://youtu.be/bAYte69z-6k

  8. Flashman says:
    January 14, 2014 at 03:27

    A 1935 Enfield in .32 caliber. Makes an excellent starting pistol and party noise-maker. Better be quick…these babies will be flying off the shelves.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2538533/Indias-handgun-women-backfires-named-Delhi-gang-rape-victim.html

  10. WebWrat says:
    January 14, 2014 at 05:22

    Heard a wanker on the radio yesterday, “…. we have to stop climate change!”

  11. HarvardPotatoHead says:
    January 14, 2014 at 05:42

    !!!DSSH?!!!*Yours Very Trulilily if it pleases those US Persons in our 56-57th Steaks shall announce pending exchanges of vocabulary Omni Gallia est divisa into tre partes therefore nothing pending @ our website is working for the moment just a glitch B4 BlackBerry knocks a hola N 1 ending the derailment of D cattle train 2 ostricth. BlackBerry has announced that he B moving to Colorado where he can gainst clarity de la mind with pot smokers who hath replaced the cowboys undt gold miners of elder days. YvT thinks the old timers digging and panning they little hearst out may approve since Miss Kitty opened her saloon recently. Otherwise, appearing tonight at O’Keefe’s Feed and Seed Lot will be the chef what invented pickled placentas undt the buffet will once again feature same all U can eat for $9.99 starting with the LGBT community at 4 PM Antarctic time. World wide known and respected Professor Lo Lung, Harvard University School of Pickled [US] Persons, will !!!OMG!!!here come Diplomatic Pouch!!!must make haste later over N out Yours Very Trulililular HarvardPotatoHead coming up for a breath

    *Did someone say Harvard?

  12. Contempt says:
    January 14, 2014 at 05:51

    :shock: No, Harvard, NOBODY said Harvard. Take a pill dude. :roll:

    Beyond that, I don’t have much to add to this particular Open House. My Little Red Sports car convertible has been in intensive care recently including today. Today its steering column is being disassembled. However, will still sell to highest bidder asap: $200,000 [no counterfeit, pls] US which equals about 20,000 OR $100,000 Confederate which equals $300,000 US OR gold, family jewels, uncracked nuts, may trade for a working vehicle.http://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_cry.gif

    • KG says:
      January 14, 2014 at 08:43

      Sheesh, Contempt! How hard can it be to take the shroud off the steering column and fit a new lock???

      • Contempt says:
        January 15, 2014 at 08:07

        $183.00. Not too bad but hey KG, I’m a busy dude. Plus I ain’t no mechanic. Have discovered parts for a 91 are difficult to come by. Finally found my old mechanic who performed the ignitionectomy. My antique Little Red Sportscar needs several obsolete parts so will have to replace some parts as they are found. I bought it in 02 to keep until I could put an antique car tag on it. Here, a car must be 25 years old to get the tag.

        • KG says:
          January 15, 2014 at 08:14

          The lock is probably a generic item, Contempt. There’s absolutely no way it’ll be unique to that year and that model. And that probably goes for a whole lot of other parts too. :grin:
          Darin will know a lot more about it than me.

  13. KG says:
    January 14, 2014 at 08:42

    ‘… reports of rising tensions at the Christmas Island detention centre.
    The ABC reports a hunger strike is under way and half a dozen detainees have sewn their lips together…’

    Good–that’ll save some taxpayer’s money on feeding the bastards.

  14. Darin says:
    January 14, 2014 at 13:11

    Testing my F–king smart phone I now have to have for work,even though half the places I go are cell restrictedhttp://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_wacko.gif
    http://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_cool.gif.

  15. KG says:
    January 14, 2014 at 14:50

    Life’s tough…. :lol:

  16. Darin says:
    January 14, 2014 at 15:43

    At least I got a Blackberry instead of an iphone,made in the slums of Mexico rather than the slums of China http://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_mail.gif

  17. The Gantt Guy says:
    January 15, 2014 at 11:32

    KG, I just caught your comment on Andrew Bolt’s “New Zealand is Paradise” post (Andrew, the cheque is in the mail).

    http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/new_zealand_is_simply_beautiful/

    Glad there’s someone there providing some balance! :lol:

    • KG says:
      January 15, 2014 at 12:11

      Well, somebody urgently needed to. The comments from naive tourists were nauseating.
      ” Another great thing about NZ slow drivers, trucks, vans pull over when safe to do so.” :shock: :shock:
      That’s when the fuckers aren’t trying to kill you with their incompetence, stupidity or savagery, one assumes – or speeding up when they get to an overtaking lane or…..

  19. KG says:
    January 15, 2014 at 17:56

    ‘A “deeply ashamed” judge who was drink driving when she struck a cyclist in Adelaide has been banned from sentencing drunk offenders. ‘
    :shock: And she keeps her job!