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| Curriculum for 'changing society' | Curriculum for 'changing society' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| An updated secondary school curriculum, offering skills and languages relevant to modern learners, has been announced. | An updated secondary school curriculum, offering skills and languages relevant to modern learners, has been announced. |
| It will give pupils "social and cultural flexibility" and a "feeling for justice and fairness", says the QCA curriculum watchdog. | It will give pupils "social and cultural flexibility" and a "feeling for justice and fairness", says the QCA curriculum watchdog. |
| The proposed changes for 11 to 14-year-olds in England encourage languages like Mandarin and topics such as global warming and the slave trade. | The proposed changes for 11 to 14-year-olds in England encourage languages like Mandarin and topics such as global warming and the slave trade. |
| Meera Syal, comedian and author, is among a new list of approved writers. | Meera Syal, comedian and author, is among a new list of approved writers. |
| The proposals, published on Monday by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, are also designed to provide a more flexible timetable - giving schools more choice over how they cover subjects. | The proposals, published on Monday by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, are also designed to provide a more flexible timetable - giving schools more choice over how they cover subjects. |
| Classic texts | Classic texts |
| This updating of the curriculum, which if approved would be implemented between 2008 and 2010, will cover the school years between starting secondary and beginning exam courses, such as GCSEs. | This updating of the curriculum, which if approved would be implemented between 2008 and 2010, will cover the school years between starting secondary and beginning exam courses, such as GCSEs. |
| CLASSIC AUTHORS Jane Austen, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William Blake, Charlotte Brönte, Robert Burns, Geoffrey Chaucer, Kate Chopin, John Clare, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, George Eliot, Thomas Gray, Thomas Hardy, John Keats, John Masefield, Alexander Pope, Christina Rossetti, William Shakespeare (sonnets), Mary Shelley, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jonathan Swift, Alfred Lord Tennyson, HG Wells, Oscar Wilde, Dorothy Wordsworth and William Wordsworth | CLASSIC AUTHORS Jane Austen, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William Blake, Charlotte Brönte, Robert Burns, Geoffrey Chaucer, Kate Chopin, John Clare, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, George Eliot, Thomas Gray, Thomas Hardy, John Keats, John Masefield, Alexander Pope, Christina Rossetti, William Shakespeare (sonnets), Mary Shelley, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jonathan Swift, Alfred Lord Tennyson, HG Wells, Oscar Wilde, Dorothy Wordsworth and William Wordsworth |
| Among the proposed changes for the 12 subject areas is an encouragement for a more diverse range of languages - particularly economically-important languages such as Mandarin and Arabic. | Among the proposed changes for the 12 subject areas is an encouragement for a more diverse range of languages - particularly economically-important languages such as Mandarin and Arabic. |
| "We need to raise our game in languages in schools if we are to compete in an increasingly globalised economy," says Education Secretary Alan Johnson. | "We need to raise our game in languages in schools if we are to compete in an increasingly globalised economy," says Education Secretary Alan Johnson. |
| Mr Johnson also promised that the "classic canon of literature" would be protected. | Mr Johnson also promised that the "classic canon of literature" would be protected. |
| William Shakespeare remains as an approved author for this age group - alongside novelists such as Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. | William Shakespeare remains as an approved author for this age group - alongside novelists such as Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. |
| While writers such as Joseph Conrad, Anthony Trollope and WB Yeats no longer appear on the recommended lists - Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and the 19th-Century United States novelist Kate Chopin are now included. | |
| There is also a category of authors from "different cultures and traditions" which includes writers including Maya Angelou, Anita Desai, Benjamin Zephaniah and Meera Syal. | There is also a category of authors from "different cultures and traditions" which includes writers including Maya Angelou, Anita Desai, Benjamin Zephaniah and Meera Syal. |
| HAVE YOUR SAY My son has just started learning Mandarin. I don't have a problem with it, I just can't help him if he gets stuck! Amanda Barrett, Send us your comments | HAVE YOUR SAY My son has just started learning Mandarin. I don't have a problem with it, I just can't help him if he gets stuck! Amanda Barrett, Send us your comments |
| The list of contemporary authors for these younger teenagers includes Alan Bennett, Roger McGough, Michelle Magorian, Michael Morpurgo and Willy Russell. | The list of contemporary authors for these younger teenagers includes Alan Bennett, Roger McGough, Michelle Magorian, Michael Morpurgo and Willy Russell. |
| Among the recommended modern classics are Graham Greene, Seamus Heaney, Wilfred Owen, DH Lawrence and Dylan Thomas. | Among the recommended modern classics are Graham Greene, Seamus Heaney, Wilfred Owen, DH Lawrence and Dylan Thomas. |
| 'Tolerate difference' | 'Tolerate difference' |
| In history, the QCA says there will now be a specific requirement to cover the slave trade as part of an expanded study of the British Empire and a greater emphasis on chronology. | In history, the QCA says there will now be a specific requirement to cover the slave trade as part of an expanded study of the British Empire and a greater emphasis on chronology. |
| As part of the drive towards healthier eating, the proposed curriculum will include an increased emphasis on practical cooking skills and nutrition. | As part of the drive towards healthier eating, the proposed curriculum will include an increased emphasis on practical cooking skills and nutrition. |
| Financial literacy will also be promoted as part of personal, social and health education. | Financial literacy will also be promoted as part of personal, social and health education. |
| The QCA's curriculum director, Mick Waters, writing for the BBC News website, highlighted the need for the curriculum to promote such citizenship skills as "an ability to tolerate difference" and "the capacity to cope with change". | The QCA's curriculum director, Mick Waters, writing for the BBC News website, highlighted the need for the curriculum to promote such citizenship skills as "an ability to tolerate difference" and "the capacity to cope with change". |
| The National Union of Teachers warned that the key issue was not to add further complications to an already overloaded curriculum. | The National Union of Teachers warned that the key issue was not to add further complications to an already overloaded curriculum. |
| "Only one thing matters. Does the curriculum help maintain youngsters' enthusiasm for learning? Cooking, Shakespeare and Mandarin are all important but at the moment they look like ministers' bright ideas rather than part of a coherent curriculum that will enthuse teachers and youngsters alike," said the union's general secretary, Steve Sinnott. | "Only one thing matters. Does the curriculum help maintain youngsters' enthusiasm for learning? Cooking, Shakespeare and Mandarin are all important but at the moment they look like ministers' bright ideas rather than part of a coherent curriculum that will enthuse teachers and youngsters alike," said the union's general secretary, Steve Sinnott. |