AMBITIOUS they may be but interesting, very interesting and timely - must be the initial reaction to the draft proposals for revision of the primary school curriculum. The "new" curriculum, the one currently in place in the primary schools, is now 25 years old and the past 25 years have seen some of the most profound changes in Ireland and in society generally.
Those changes have been recognised by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment in the proposals they make in relation to the English, history, maths, science and physical education curricula. They follow closely on the proposals of the Quinlan report, the report of the Primary Curriculum Review Body.
Take English - only last week Joe Coy, an English teacher in Co Galway, lamented the fact that even good students could no longer write grammatically. Indeed, many pupils who complete second level cannot speak grammatically either. The emphasis which the proposed new syllabus puts on class libraries and on reading, the greater use of computers, word processors and CD ROMs as classroom tools is welcome.
Given the events of the past quarter of a century in Northern Ireland, the proposed thrust of the new teaching of history, as part of the social, environmental and scientific education programme, is particularly apposite. If reading historical novels gives pupils an enjoyment of history, they might well look at our own turbulent history in a new light and less as a kind of ledger of grievances, listing the rights and the wrongs on either side.
Careful and sensitive treatment of the events leading to the foundation of this State and of events in Northern Ireland since can only help develop understanding on the part of future generations.
Where the proposals may seem a little unrealistic right now is when they refer to the use of modern technology in the classroom - and the aspiration that physical education should include athletics, dance, gymnastics, games, outdoor and adventure activities and aquatics.
To describe the availability of computers, words processors or other bits of new technology in our primary schools as anything but abysmal would be an exaggeration. Senator Joe O'Toole of the INTO recently insisted that leaving children - without the skills to open a computer is as unacceptable as not allowing them to open a book and read. Yet many primary schools have no computers and, if there is one, it's not often used as a teaching aid.
Likewise, there is a dearth of games facilities in primary schools which needs to be addressed - before anything as ambitious as that proposed in the draft curriculum can be considered.
KEY factors in the success of the new curricula, which should be in place within three to four years, will be the provision of the necessary resources and the systematic in service training of teachers in areas such as information technology and science, so that they can implement the curricula in a practical rather than a theoretical way. And the INTO's view against a prescribed curriculum is worth further consideration - they believe that teachers should be able to select which elements of each curriculum it is feasible to teach, given resources and pupil numbers, on an individual basis.
