‘Waste of time’: Glenunga International High teacher lashes out at ‘soft’ learning approach
A teacher at the state’s top-performing high school has lashed out at its “soft option” subjects teaching critical thinking and collaboration that are a “waste of time”.
Education
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A fixation on “soft-option” teaching that is a “waste of time” is hurting students at the state’s top-performing high school, according to a frustrated teacher.
The experienced teacher said stressed-out Years 7-11 students at Glenunga International High School were being forced to devote precious time to studying a “breathtakingly stupid” learning principle called the 5Cs – critical and creative thinking, character, citizenship, communication and collaboration – and that was diverting them from serious studies.
Year 12 students at the school were trialling another “faddish” principle called THRIVE capabilities, which also stole time that could be better spent on subjects needed to maximise their ATAR results and entry to university.
It’s understood the teacher’s frustrations are shared by senior state government staff.
Former Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority director of curriculum Dr Fiona Mueller also condemns the “globalist approach” adopted at schools all over the country, calling it “guff” and “make-work” for teachers with “no evidence to prove its value for teachers or students and a very high price paid in relation to academic rigor”.
The teacher, who wants to remain anonymous, said Glenunga students “think it’s the biggest joke … they mock it”.
“The vast majority think it’s a big waste of time,” the teacher said.
“It’s a massive burden for no net gain. We need to get back to our core business of direct instruction. We have kids who want to be doctors and lawyers but they’ve been told by the school that if they just concentrate on the content they will become second-class robots, but if they focus on the 5Cs they will become first-class humans.
“These are impressionable kids that are getting conflicting messages. It’s playing with their heads … I feel sorry for the kids.”
The school’s Ignite program for gifted and talented students attracts some of the best students in the state. But the teacher said students were forced to commit to two 50-minute mentor lessons a week concentrating on the 5Cs – billed as “21st Century skills” – and complete a heavy workload of projects that included a “mind map” and written reflections. The 5Cs were also integrated into every other subject, with teachers having to assess students’ classroom interactions in each area.
Students were then “arbitrarily” graded in the 5Cs by a panel of teachers, even though some had “never taught these kids”, the teacher said.
“It’s breathtakingly stupid,” the teacher said.
“These skills like creativity and critical thinking are organic, they don’t need to be quantified.”
The teacher said the school community was already under pressure after a tumultuous year so far. Armed police security officers remain stationed around the school perimeter after threatening emails were sent to its principal between November last year and February this year. An 18-year-old student has been charged in relation to the incident.
Education Department chief executive Martin Westwell said it supported Glenunga’s use of the 5Cs framework. which was endorsed by the University of Melbourne.
“The outdated notion that schools and teachers must choose between ‘back to basics’ and the development of so-called ‘soft skills’ is misguided and driven by ideology,” he said.
“Through our pragmatic approach we can do both – making our students successful at university and far more competitive in the labour market.
“It is ridiculous to think that it is not appropriate for schools to intentionally develop students’ Creative and Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, Citizenship and Character – we are failing our students otherwise. It does not replace the academic expectations in subjects, but instead provides students with the ability to show employers their capabilities and readiness for employment, giving them an edge over others.”
But Dr Mueller, director of research at the Page Research Centre, said principles such as the 5Cs came at the “detriment of rigorous academic programs”.
“It’s experimentation without evidence-based consideration of the impact on students and teachers. No wonder they’re flailing,” she said.
“Without a doubt we have sacrificed for decades a traditional emphasis on core subjects and a truly rigorous approach to teaching and assessment for some unproven approaches. We’ve got to get back to more traditional ways of teaching and assessing. It’s an absolute dilemma for practising teachers and school leaders.
“It’s guff, as a friend of mine likes to call it. It’s ‘make work’ stuff (for teachers).”
Professor Emeritus of Education at the University of South Australia Alan Reid defended the “so-called soft skills”, saying they were not “add-ons” but integral to a “contemporary education”.
“Far from lacking in academic rigour, capabilities are crucial for young people to make their way in the world today, and they give learning a hard and relevant edge,” he said.
“They don’t compete with learning areas but are taught through them and so enrich student learning. The question is not whether teachers or students have the time to deal with capabilities, but what support can be provided to make them a central part of academic programs.”
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