Pip Tinning: English Teachers' Association President on the updated curriculum proposed by the Ministry of Education

There's scepticism in the education sector over a newly proposed English curriculum.

The Ministry of Education has released suggestions for year 7-to-13 studies - for consultation until June.

Suggested texts include making Shakespeare compulsory for Years 12 and 13 - and all years reading books by New Zealand authors.

English Teachers' Association President Pip Tinning says the draft feels like a 'tick-box', with little clarity on assessments.

"I would hope that there's actually better consultation and working with the sector around that, because the lack of transparency with this curriculum should be concerning everyone."

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Bryan Bridge.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
Just gone ten after four News Talk SEB. The Ministry
of Education has released the draft English curriculum for high schoolers.
Suggested reads include George Orwell's nineteen eighty four great book
I read that at school. You've got poetry in there,
You've got World War Two speeches from Winston Churchill. That's great. Shakespeare,
of course is in They're compulsory for seniors. English Teachers

(00:24):
Association President Tinning is here for reaction. Pip good afternoon, Hello,
how are you good?

Speaker 1 (00:31):
Thank you?

Speaker 2 (00:31):
So are you happy with the curriculum for high schoolers
and intermediate as it stands?

Speaker 3 (00:37):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (00:38):
Isn't it a big question? And not entirely. There's definitely
some some aspects of it that I think are really promising.
There are definitely aspects that are a little bit concerning
as well.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Let's start with those. What don't you like about it?

Speaker 1 (00:55):
How full it is in the expectations for teachers to
get through a huge amount of work over across the
school year. That is worrying, And the idea of students
engaging meaningfully with the number of texts that are being
being asked to be covered, as well as all the

(01:16):
other areas that are expected to be covered across across
that school year.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
So for years for seniors twelve and thirteen, you've got
to read one Shakespeare and you've got to read one
nineteenth century text. Aren't the rest all suggested?

Speaker 1 (01:31):
Yeah? It's interesting because that is what it's been called.
Is when you look at the actual website, there's some
language there that is ringing a few of my alarm
bells definitely around whether that suggested is at some point
going to turn into compulsory. The language is still concerning

(01:51):
and has been now for us for oh my gosh,
what are we April pushing a year? Now?

Speaker 2 (01:55):
What language you're talking about? What word are they using?
Because here I'm reading.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
Yes. So if we have a look on the website,
is talking about a supplement A follow list for teachers
to choose from will be available with the final English
Learning Area area. So what that sort of starts to
sound a little bit like is that actually there's going
to be a list and you're going to be expected

(02:23):
to choose from. Now, if I'm wrong, I'll be super stoked. However,
moving from suggested through to a fuller list for you
to choose from becomes a little bit alarming.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
Okay, So but as it stands, I mean, let's let's
let's assume that they're not, you know, plotting against you here.
As it stands, you're okay with that. I mean, how
many books can it should it could read in a year, Well,
you know, over the course of a class.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
I think it's really important that they read definitely an
extended written text. So whether that's a novel or some
kind of nonfiction memoir, et cetera. I think we definitely
understand as English teachers that those extended texts are are vital. However,
you've got extended texts, and you've got poetry collections, you've
got drama texts, you got a film and other text
forms along with, you know, making sure that you're covering

(03:15):
those with some real depth and thought. And then you've
also got the idea that there's fiction and non fiction
and different times in places and this is important and
should definitely be their text by ar Turtle and New
Zealand authors around the world. Popular and youth cultures which
could be interesting, but you know in text that they've

(03:38):
chosen for personal enjoyment. Now, all of those are really important.
Potentially it's going to be difficult to cover all those
meaningfully when you start looking right across.

Speaker 3 (03:50):
Those aspects one year, because it's so in one year
you've got to do an extended text, a poetry, a film,
a drama, and you've got to meet tack all of
those boxes as well.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
And that's for one year group, that's not across the
whole their whole experience at school.

Speaker 1 (04:07):
And I think Ryan, that's a really good phrase that
you've used, because it does feel a lot like a
bit of a tick box. Because the other thing that
hasn't come out is how all of this is going
to be assessed and what that's going to end up
looking like. I would hope there's actually better consultation and
working with the sector around that then there has been

(04:28):
with this curriculum, because the lack of openness and transparency
with it should be concerning everyone, not just English teachers.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
All right, but appreciate your time. That's the English Teachers
Association President Pip Tinning on the program talking about this
new curriculum that's for English for your intermediate students and
for high schools as well. Nine two nine two. The
number of text I was saying to ants earlier, you
can only remember one book that I read at school,
and the only reason I remember it was Othello, And

(04:58):
the only reason I remember it because the teacher, Missus Jorgenson,
who was just brilliant, made us all perform it around
the classroom Basically, you know, read it aloud and you
would each play a character or whatever, and so it
was interactive and it was fun. But I'm sure we
had to read other books. I just honestly could not
tell you what I read nineteen eighty four. Apart from that,
I honestly couldn't tell you basically much of what happened

(05:20):
at high school, and now I wasn't started most of
the time. For more from Heather Duplessy, Allen Drive, listen
live to news talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio