‘Evidence not ideology’: Major overhaul of the NSW high school curriculum

Wlll they be taught that Hitler was a socialist? Will they be taught that the "stolen generation" was just social workers doing their job? I suspect not. A balanced curriculum would include mention of those dreadful thoughts but would creete a politically correct storm of outrage if it did

High school students will be taught about Indigenous Australians’ experience of colonisation under a sweeping rewrite of the history curriculum that will also mandate the study of civics and the foundations of democracy.

The biggest overhaul of the state’s history syllabus in a decade will also include compulsory study of the Holocaust as part of a new standalone topic on World War II.

A revised year 7 to 10 history syllabus, released on Thursday, will be rolled out under major reforms to the NSW curriculum that include more facts and aim to spell out the core knowledge students need to master before finishing school.

New high school geography and visual arts syllabus will also be released this week, while the revised HSC maths and English syllabuses will be finalised before the end of the year.

Paul Cahill, the executive director for curriculum at the NSW Education Standards Authority, said the updated history curriculum “explicitly articulates” the knowledge students need to learn in each year of schooling.

“Our syllabuses are steeped in evidence, not ideology. Students will have the tools to critique ideas and understand differing perspectives – which are important for identifying disinformation and misinformation in the contemporary world,” he said.

“We have identified what students need to know so they understand the people and events that have made us who we are today.”

The new year 7 to 10 history syllabus includes five core areas: the ancient past, the medieval world, the era of colonisation, the making of the modern world and the post-war period.

For the first time, all NSW students in years 7 and 8 will study Aboriginal peoples’ experiences of colonisation in Australia. The unit will include Aboriginal perspectives and experiences of colonisation, significant conflicts during initial contact, the Frontier Wars, the Myall Creek massacre and the reasons for expansion over the Blue Mountains and into Tasmania.

Students will be taught more detailed history of the Holocaust, the significance of the Nuremberg trials and the creation of the UN Genocide Convention in 1948. Experiences of Jewish survivors in post-World War II Australia will also be included in the new mandatory study unit.

Head history teacher at North Sydney Girls, Michelle Kennedy, said students could previously “go through the whole of school without being taught about the Holocaust”.

“The impact of Nazi Germany on minority groups are also now explicitly referenced,” she said.

While many NSW teachers would elect to cover the Holocaust as a school developed study, the new syllabus provides much clearer guidance on what students need to learn, she said.

Cahill said the approach to the new history syllabuses was chronological, starting in year 7 with the ancient world, covering the era of colonisation, and in years 9 and 10 moving to events that shaped modern Australia.

Jenni Wenzel, who advises NESA on Aboriginal education, said the syllabus changes would mean Aboriginal students would see their cultures reflected in the curriculum.

“All students need to know about the history of Australia, and truth telling and presenting multiple perspectives is an important part of that,” she said. “For the first time in my life I’m confident that my grandchildren and future generations will be taught the full history of Australia at school.”

Civics and citizenship will become a mandated study area in high school, with students to learn about the development of Australian democracy, the separation of powers, features of the constitution, referendums and voting in elections.

Kennedy, who has taught in NSW public schools for 28 years, said one of the jobs of a history teacher is to “create informed citizens who have an understanding of politics, the Australian political system and how democracy works”.

Under the previous curriculum, students studied the constitution if they took a commerce elective.

“This change ensures all students get that grounding in Australian politics, which is vital for a country with compulsory voting.”

The consequences of imperialism and changes in Asia leading up to the end of World War I will be included, while World War II will be a standalone unit, with students to focus on causes of the war and the reasons for Australia’s involvement.

The changes follow political turmoil that erupted in 2021, when former federal education minister Alan Tudge said the history curriculum might encourage students to hate rather than love their country.

“I think things change and vary depending on the contemporary political climate,” said Kennedy. “History can be weaponised by people with a political agenda. Young students need to be equipped with the skills to critique dominate narratives and explore multiple perspectives.”

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/evidence-not-ideology-major-overhaul-of-the-nsw-high-school-curriculum-20240910-p5k9j5.html

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Censoring kids

I am concerned about the rise of misogyny among young boys due to the disturbing reach of Andrew Tate-like figures. I am equally concerned about body image, for both boys and girls, and I worry about cyberbullying and the impact on mental health. All real and well-publicised risks with social media. And yes, as the PM said, there is no map to direct us through the minefield.

That said, implementing an arbitrary age ban for social media, based on an assumption that all kids reach the same level of maturity once a particular birthday ticks over, is not the answer. I’ve no doubt a ban would help parents set rules, but the focus should be on educating us and our kids on how to use social media safely.

Albanese jumped on an age ban after his South Australian counterpart, Labor Premier Peter Malinauskas, last weekend said his government would force social media giants to block children under the age of 14 from their platforms or face hefty penalties. The prime minister had no choice but to take the lead. The states, including NSW, were yapping at his heels, and the Coalition had already announced a similar policy earlier in the year.

Albanese says Australia will move before the next election to a national system to force tech platforms to enforce age verification. No final age has yet been settled but is likely to be within the 13- to 16-year-old range. The announcement was vague, but was designed to show that Albanese was being decisive.

How would a social media ban actually work?

Malinauskas told ABC Sydney on Wednesday that “social media addiction among children is doing them harm. It is happening, it is real.” Joining him on air was NSW Premier Chris Minns, who described social media as a “global unregulated experiment on young people”. The pair, who formed a strong bond as opposition leaders, will host a combined two-day social media summit next month, with one day in Sydney followed by another in Adelaide.

Malinauskas has already shown his hand. Based on a report by former High Court justice Robert French, which concluded that social media giants should take “systemic responsibility”, Malinauskas has promised an age ban. Minns, too, has enthusiastically backed South Australia’s proposal, as well as Albanese’s announcement.

I want to keep my kids safe, happy and healthy. I want them to hold on to their childhoods for as long as possible. But I also accept that the digital age in which they were born is vastly different from the world I entered. Social media is not going to disappear, so rather than take the very Australian approach of slapping a ban on a problem, we should be working to educate.

Writing in The Conversation, Dr Joanne Orlando, a digital literacy researcher at Western Sydney University, said: “banning children from social media isn’t going to fix the problem of online harms faced by young people – it’s only going to put the problem on pause.” Orlando argues the best way to help young people safely navigate the digital world is by improving their social media literacy.

But that digital literacy, she says, is serious lacking, and Orlando likens it to how young people were once taught about sex. “But that has started to change,” Orlando wrote, “and now there is more of a focus on teaching young people how to have sex safely and with consent.” The same should be done with social media, she argued. Not annual cyber safety talks, which highlight the dangers of the online world, but specific classes within school.

Albanese said what parents want to hear. “The safety and mental and physical health of our young people is paramount,” was his message. “Parents want their kids off their phones and on the footy field. So do I”.

And so do I, prime minister, but I also accept that we cannot return to the golden days when social media did not exist. The yo-yo is as good as a dodo. So instead we need to accept its ubiquity and ensure kids, and parents, know how to navigate a digital world which is here to stay.

https://www.smh.com.au/technology/the-pm-is-sigma-but-his-social-media-ban-belongs-in-the-skibidi-toilet-20240910-p5k9gp.html

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Violent peaceful protesters, and other hypocrisies

Australians have long watched overseas riots on the telly. ‘Those crazy foreigners, lucky it doesn’t happen here,’ we’d say. Well, those riots are no longer just on the telly, they are happening on Australian soil. Rather than condemning this violent behaviour, the Australian Greens are effectively cheering them on.

The irony of the riots is that the crowd outside the Melbourne Convention Centre, many of them wearing masks and keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags, were protesting for peace. The Land Forces defence expo had protesters calling for citizens’ arrests of key public figures attending the expo. And then it went sour.

The protestors’ narrative goes that Australia should not be hosting events that promote weapons of war as well as being (somehow) connected to the ‘genocide’ in Gaza. Many of the protestors then went on to become violent, allegedly pelting police and their horses with manure, projectiles, and even acid (‘food grade acid’, according to SBS News).

Victoria Police were prepared for the riots, with a police presence of some 2,000 officers including mounted police and the riot squad. It is the first time a riot of such scale has occurred in Melbourne since the anti-World Economic Forum S11 riots of September 2000.

The cost of the police presence is estimated to be somewhere around $15 million.

Following the first day of the riots, several Greens MPs accused police of using excessive force to prevent the expression of legitimate criticism against the ‘War Expo’.

And state-owned media, SBS News, reported the protests were:

‘…sparked by the government’s stance on the conflict in the Middle East with many weapons on display inside the convention used on civilians in Gaza.’

But Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said of the protesters:

‘The only way I can describe them is [as] a bunch of hypocrites.’

The ‘holistic’ mix of protestors ranged from pro-Palestine supporters to pro-Hamas and Hezbollah cheerleaders to radical Marxist provocateurs. Their collective involvement in the weekly anti-Israel rallies over the last 11 months makes it clear that key to the riots has been the weak response by our state and federal governments to these essentially pro-Hamas demonstrations since October 7 last year.

Freedom of speech has been prioritised over public order in what is replicating the ‘two-tier policing’ that has occurred in the UK. For example, 200 anti-lockdown protesters were arrested in Melbourne following the CFMEU’s construction site lockout. But we don’t recall bins being set on fire in the streets.

On the first day of the riots in Melbourne, despite the omnipresent terrorist sympathiser element, only 42 arrests were made.

Having said that, Victorian Police Minister, Anthony Carbines:

…has accused the Greens of inciting Wednesday’s protest violence, sneering at the party’s call for an inquiry into the tactics and “excessive force” used by Victoria Police.

He also said of the Greens:

‘They played a role here in inciting violence and inciting bad behaviour, illegal behaviour, criminal behaviour by some of the protesters.’

Here we are in a situation where an Australian political party is championing the ideas (From the River to the Sea) of what is essentially a proscribed terrorist organisation.

A bridge too far you might say. Or perhaps we are drawing a long bow?

Yet just before the riots began, a Melbourne art gallery was displaying an inverted red triangle, an art installation that has been described by others as ‘legitimising terrorism’.

This is because the symbol:

‘…has its roots in Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, to showcase in propaganda videos which Israeli targets it would seek to destroy. Its use was recently banned by the Berlin state Parliament.’

To make matters worse, a protestor carrying a Palestinian flag on the second day of the protests was allegedly shouting, ‘Hamas, Houthis, Hezbollah!’

This was happening on Australian soil.

While the right to protest is the first point that Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen made when she was interviewed about the violent riots, in the same breath she supported police actions.

Much of this is like the inquiry into antisemitism at universities – one cannot mention antisemitism without uttering in the same breath Islamophobia. It is a way of watering down the fact that we now have home-grown terrorist supporters in Australia, and they seem to enjoy significant support from staff and students of some of our universities.

Things must change and they must change quickly if we want to continue to enjoy the Australia we all know and love.

https://www.spectator.com.au/2024/09/violent-peaceful-protesters-and-other-hypocrisies/

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Military is happy to buy arms off Israel, says Chief of Army

Israeli gear is the best

Israel’s top arms companies have defied protesters and rising international criticism over the war in Gaza to spruik cutting-edge capabilities at the Land Forces expo in Melbourne, as Australia’s Chief of Army declared he had no problem buying weapons from the Jewish state.

As pro-Palestine protests turned violent outside the biennial weapons fair, Israel’s biggest weapons manufacturer IAI said it was ready to provide the ADF with “whatever they need” at a “competitive price” to deal with advanced threats.

Another Israeli company, ­Rafael, said its air defence systems offered “amazing interception rates”, pointing to the country’s almost complete success in taking out more than 300 Iranian drones and missiles in April.

Chief of Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart said he saw no obstacle to the service purchasing more Israeli equipment if it could protect Australian personnel.

“We’ve certainly purchased a range of (Israeli) equipment over the years,” he told The Australian.

“What we want to do is ensure we’ve got the best possible equipment we can possibly get our hands on to ensure that our people have the best chance of fulfilling their mission … and coming home to their families.”

The West’s biggest weapons companies, including the US’s Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman, and Britain’s BAE Systems, are among hundreds of exhibitors at the three-day Land Forces expo.

BAE used the event to unveil its newest unmanned system, an eight-wheeled armoured drone with a 25mm canon that automatically finds and tracks its targets, but requires a human to pull the trigger.

BAE Systems Australia managing director Andrew Gresham said the Autonomous Tactical Light Armour System (ATLAS), which is yet to go into commercial production, would give soldiers an “unfair advantage” on the battlefield.

“It will help the soldier outpace, out-manoeuvre and out-think conventional and unconventional threats,” he said.

Amid criticism of the Australian government’s slowness in procuring killer drones, General Stuart declared: “We’ve got to be conscious about our resources, and you’ve got to pick the point at which you invest.

“As Chief of Army, I would always like more (uncrewed systems). There’s no doubt about that,” he said.

But the development of uncrewed weapons was a case of “evolution” rather than revolution, General Stuart said, adding that he was confident Australian industry and key international suppliers could rapidly deliver new capabilities when they were required.

IAI Australia managing director Yonatan Segev said the company’s lethal drones and air defence systems were among the world’s best, and offered good value for money for the ADF when compared to US-made equipment.

“We are able to provide a means to deal with advanced threats,” he said. “IAI is in the forefront of technology, both in air defence and strike systems, and we are closely following the trends and the technology development in those areas.”

Rafael Australia managing director Golan Ben-Giat said the company’s missile interception systems were “the most accurate, precise weapons in the world”, and “more affordable than any other competitors in the market”.

“Our concept is not to have any holes in the air defence area,” he said. “We can’t allow any missiles to get through and penetrate into the ground. So our aim is to intercept 100 per cent.”

The Australian Army is already equipped with Rafael’s Spike anti-tank missiles, while Israeli company Elbit’s sensors will be incorporated into the service’s new Korean-designed infantry fighting vehicles.

However, the Albanese government has been at pains to emphasise since the start of the Gaza war no Australian-made weapons are being exported to Israel.

Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie said the ADF would not get the new capabilities it needed without a major budget boost from the government.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/military-is-happy-to-buy-arms-off-israel-says-chief-of-army/news-story/fae72d241903b3f68bf9e3462112d14d

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