New curriculum

[ladyofastolat]

I've posted before about how children's non-fiction publishing is almost entirely based around the school curriculum. "Leisure interest" books such as Scary Animals With Teeth!, HUGE trucks, Ahhh!they'resocuuuuuteandfurries and football are exempt, but history and science books, in particular, are published entirely with the curriculum in mind. Tudors are done in year 4, where they do Henry VIII and Rich & Poor in Tudor England, so there are no books on Tudors for 5 year olds or 12 year olds, and nothing for anyone at all on Elizabeth I.

Obviously, this is all very unfortunate for the 6 year old child who conceives a mad, burning enthusiasm for Tudors. It is also very unfortunate for schools and libraries when the curriculum goes and changes, and you find yourself staring at 450 books on Tudors for 9 year olds, when Tudors Aren't Done now, and all everyone wants is books on the Stone Age for 6 year olds.

Yes, the Stone Age. Primary School children now start history at the Stone Age, and work through the Bronze Age and the Iron Age until they finally reach Vikings by 11 - although they do depart from this chronology to do certain other themes and projects along the way. Unfortunately, the Stone Age hasn't been done in school for years, and there are literally NO BOOKS on it. Despite the fact that the new curriculum was announced a good while back, and went live in September, there are still NO BOOKS on it. This is causing considerable angst and despair in all quarters.

Personally, I can't really see what They were thinking to start the children off on the Stone Age. The previous curriculum started them off gently by introducing the concept of the past, and the fact that Things Were Sometimes Different Then, focusing on things like toys, houses, clothes etc.

But now children have to launch straight in to what is, in my opinion, a very hard period to understand. I still remember the shock of going from 19th century history for A-level (which is not at all my favourite, but it's what I was landed with, since apparently only Bad Boys did my preferred choice of the Renaissance) to the Anglo-Saxon invasions in my first term at Oxford. It was so hard to go from a period where documentary evidence abounds, to a period when we know so very little, and have to piece it together from archaeological finds and dubious documentary sources. Each new archaeological find could potentially overturn everything we thought we knew. How on earth do you teach this to 5 year olds?

Comments

[bunn.livejournal.com]

...I know my taste for history is unusual. That short period I taught GCSE history, I had to cover American history and was woeful and baffled to discover that none of my students were at all interested in any of the fascinating incidental bits I tried to weave in about Native American history and cultures that I thought was top stuff. :-D

[bunn.livejournal.com]

... although if you had 450 books about Victorians for Fiveyearolds and you are now going to have to bin those and buy 450 books about The Stone Age for Fiveyearolds, I can definitely see that no matter the potential the stone age could be made for that agegroup, that's still really annoying.

Maybe there could be space for the Stone Age at some point in the curriculum though? I mean, I have a recipe here that describes itself as a 'paleolithic raspberry and coconut microwave mug cake', without a shadow of irony. :-D

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

But I thought everybody knew that the Beaker People were so called because they went round selling mugs to Ancient Men, specifically for them to make raspberry and coconut mug cakes in?

[bunn.livejournal.com]

The invention of flaked tools led naturally to the microwave oven, although we don't yet know if the first microwaves were already in use during the middle Paleolithic period or if this vital survival tool was developed during the burst of technological innovation which characterised the Upper Paleolithic. It was certainly widely in use by the start of the Mesolithic period.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

These first microwave ovens may have been carried in woven slings, adapted from those created for carrying babies, but this is hotly debated, since woven materials do not survive well.

See "The Culture of the Middle Paleolithic/Middle Stone Age" Clark, J. Desmond, "Ovens of the Middle Paleolithic/Middle Stone Age" Clark, "Ovens and Oven-carriers" J. Desmond and of course Clark "Why Oven-carriers Never Existed" - Clark.

It is sad to see such a successful academic cooperation break up so acrimoniously.

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

I would love to be able to reply in a suitably witty form, but I can't match this, so all I will say is :-D

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

...although I'm suddenly struck with the image of a poor Early Man being persuaded to buy 200 mugs from a doorstep Beaker Person, who smoothly assures him that they are just perfect for making raspberry and coconut microwave mug cakes and impressing the neighbours at dinner parties. How proud he feels, as the Beaker Person smarms away, leaving Stig to admire his beautiful, shiny purchases! How delighted Mrs Stig will be when she sees them!

But slowly, slowly, realisation dawns. Microwave ovens haven't been invented yet, and what on earth are coconuts? Oh, woe, woe, etc!