| Abstract: | Summary So where are we? Primary teachers should be asked to do fewer things. If we as Curriculum Theorists keep piling on more things they will either, sensibly, ignore us or try to do them all-ineffectively. Everyone who bothers to look at the evidence will see the vast majority of primary teachers are conscientious but we are just providing a ridiculous ‘list’ of things for them to feel guilty at not doing. Curriculum theory must guide priorities, help reduce lists and demands. It must help teachers do less more fully. This is what the Curriculum Matters series is so signally failing to do. Its orientation is deeply Secondary and specialist not Primary and generalist. More importantly the same fault makes it too much about bits of being educated rather than providing perspectives on the whole enterprise. Even the whole curriculum one2 (THE CURRICULUM 5–16). Curriculum Matters Series No. 2 HMSO 1985) gives little guidance on simplifying. I have suggested three key purposes that could guide this simplification without demeaning the importance of quality and development in learning. Whilst I have called them Surviving, Cooperating and Celebrating I am somewhat encouraged by some similarities to the old trinity of Truth, technology ‘tests’ truth by seeing if it works), Goodness, (co-operating skills are essentially about working together, treating others as you would be treated yourself) and Beauty, (what better test of beauty can there be than the awe it inspires?). If these were the basics we could even ‘go back to the basics’ and progress. |
