Principal introspection

In good old Western Australia (WA) as a school Principal I would be faced with implementing the Australian National Curriculum (ANC) or a WA version of it.  I want to state up front that in a country like Australia, where responsibility for public (state or government ) schooling is a matter for each of the six states and 2 territories I am very comfortable in now having the ANC. The Federal Australian government assists each state with funding for education and at times sets out conditions like regular national testing in literacy and numeracy that states must abide by to receive the federal money. This national testing is known as NAPLAN (National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy).

Within the above context I would spend a considerable period of alone - time introspection as either a primary (elementary) school Principal or a secondary (high) school Principal working out how with my school staff I could implement an ANC taking into account what the futurists predict for the world and its employment opportunities of the future.

This would require me to educate myself about these futurist predictions. Currently I am doing this and find it a bit mind blowing. It causes me to ask whether the ANC fits the bill in readying my students for this ever changing world or does it generally fit the bill but needs some adaptations  added within my school community? As a primary school Principal I would undoubtedly come to a different set of conclusions compared to a Secondary school Principal whose students are much closer to further relevant tertiary studies or entrance to the world of work.

Being a senior person, Principal now well into retirement, I clearly recall in my day (God help me for this cliche) the contemporary view that we were educating our students towards a future of jobs that were yet to be created.  It didn't seem to cause much change to a very stable curriculum diet but today it is different.  Change is exponential and at a rate that makes our minds buckle.  That is why I would need the introspective time of which I write and in a context of what I can glean about the futurists' predictions.

In this blog I hope to develop this theme in more depth but at the moment am marshalling my arguments and thoughts.


May the Force be with you!

GD