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 Olivia Wheeler introduced us to the new Aotearoa New Zealand Histories Curriculum, and it was quite something to get one's head around. It is based around the philosophy of; Understand; Know; Do. It is defined in the overview as; Understand the big ideas of New Zealand histories; Know the national, rohe, and local contexts; and Do think critically about the past, interpreting stories about it. She went on the give us an example that would form part of the curriculum, the Dawn Raids, as one event throughout their time at school. There would be others too, all well resourced for their particular class group. Not every topic would be pleasant and it would take sensitivity to be able to discuss this, and potentially other topics. This history curriculum would sit inside the social sciences as a whole and so integrate learning about the wider world.
The development of this curriculum was in response to kids asking to know more of New Zealand's past.
"Getting comfortable with the uncomfortable " was a quote Olivia used. But she felt that New Zealanders would benefit from it in all sorts of ways. |
