edna.edu.au

Values and Curriculum Conference 26 March 2009

All schools teach values, whether they intend to or not.

Every human action (or failure to act) is value laden.

(I think everyone knows this, but it is good to be reminded of it from time to time.)

There is no such thing as value-free education (or value-free anything, for that matter)

Values for Australian schools, as agreed my MCEETYA include:

care and compassion
Integrity
Do your best
Respect
Fair Go
Responsibility
Freedom
Understanding, Tolerance and Inclusion
Honesty and Trustworthiness

www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/Framework_PDF_version_for_the_web.pdf

What is the ultimate purpose of schooling?

your answer depends upon your mental paradigm.

is the school...

a factory?
a community?
an army?
a business?
a nation state?
a temple?
a mini university?
a prison?
a workplace?

(I would add a few things to this list, and say that a school is all of them at once, from the perspective of different stakeholders)

your mindset shapes your actions ... and our mindsets are value laden.

according to UNESCO, the essential pillars of learning are:

learning to know
learning to do
learning to live together
learning to be

"Whatever an education is, it should make you a unique individual, not a conformist; it should furnish you with an original spirit with which to tackle the big challenges; it should allow you to find values which will be your road map through life; it should make you spiritually rich, a person who loves whatever you are doing, wherever you are, whomever you are with; it should teach you what is important, how to live and how to die."

  “ John Taylor Gatto

.The moral purpose of eudcation is to develop into fully alive human beings, i.e. to "grow a self".

 5 commandments for teachers:

1. love your students
2. be fanatical about their learning and growth
3. regard learning and life as a sacred and joy-filled connection - "hard fun"
4. be passionate about your own learning and subject matter
5. be always aware that ultimately we teach who we are.

Tags: values education curriculum values
Posted at 09:34PM Mar 27, 2009 by Nigel Mitchell  |