| Primary Industries in the Australian Curriculum
Dear PIEF Network member,
I am forwarding on behalf of Dr. Cameron Archers' an email from the foundation in support of the inclusion of primary industries in the Australian curriculum.
Some in our network have received discouragement and we hope, through a nationally coordinated approach, to let our elected officials know the potential benefits of inclusion and the ramifications of exclusion.
We are advocating that you copy, cut, paste the letter below, or indeed author your own (cc to us please!), and send to the federal minister, Simon Crean, state ministers for education and your local member of parliament.
In this spirit, please feel free to forward this to others in your network.
Please read below and forward all correspondence to me regarding this matter, including any feedback or responses to letters.
Dear Network Members
You will be aware that deliberations are underway to cast the dye for the Australian Curriculum for Kindergarten to Year 10.
Years 11 and 12 are being dealt with a little later on, but very soon.
As you would realise there has been much emphasis on numeracy and literacy with which I don’t think anyone would disagree. Accordingly, 50% of the curriculum from Kindergarten to Year 10 is devoted solely to literacy and numeracy (English and Maths). The Primary Industries Education Foundation will be working to ensure that there is material involving primary industries which will be used to teach English, Maths and other areas of the curriculum with primary industries as the context. We are confident that can occur.
There is, however, the issue of the application of these skills to real world matters: this area of study is called technology. Therefore the study primary industries in their own right it will be in the technology component of the curriculum. Agriculture is a technology subject.
The problem with the proposed Australian Curriculum is that the amount of time devoted to technology is relatively limited. Further decisions regarding the Australian Curriculum will be taken very soon and we would suggest representations are immediately made to State Ministers for Education and The Hon Simon Crean, MP, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations; Minister for Education; Minister for Social Inclusion.
The aim is to raise awareness and importance of technology.
A suggested draft to a letter would be as follows:
“Dear Minister
I am writing to you regarding the development of the Australian Curriculum. I am concerned to the lack of emphasis that has been placed on technology within the Curriculum.
My area of interest relates specifically to primary industries and the importance of children understanding where the food and fibre that sustains their life style comes from. Primary industries (agriculture, fisheries, forestry) remain an important part of the Australian economy and provide much employment in both regional and rural areas as well as in urban areas. The recent Global Financial Crisis saw a decrease in all areas of the economy except farm production.
The recent adjustment to the Minister for Population’s portfolio name from being Minister for Population to Minister for Sustainable Population also indicates the importance the ability of our country’s resources to sustain a certain level of population.
Primary industries are a core element of the sustainability’s debate.
Therefore, downgrading the amount of time available within the Curriculum through the technology strand will devalue and produce a generation of young Australians who have little or no knowledge of where their food and fibre comes from.
They will be disconnected from the very land that sustains them.
I therefore urge you to increase the amount of time allocated within the Curriculum to primary industries studies.”
Yours etc "
We hope you can make time to get emails away to your state minister for education and your local state and federal MP.
Please direct all responses to benstockwin@gmail.com<mailto:benstockwin@gmail.com>
Cheers
Ben Stockwin
Interim Chief Executive
Primary Industries Education Foundation
www.primaryindustrieseducation.com.au<http://www.primaryindustrieseducation.com.au/>
Address: Salamanca Plc, Hobart 7000
Postal: PO Box 42 Canberra City ACT 2601
Mobile:0427931148
'Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.' Robert Louis Stevenson |