TIMES VIEW It’s a good move
The British government is considering a proposal to overhaul the country’s primary school curriculum. The new curriculum proposes to give schools more flexibility in what they teach while emphasising traditional areas of learning. At the same time, the curriculum will teach kids to use social networking websites like Twitter and Wikipedia as sources of information. Children will also be expected to become familiar with social networking sites as forms of communication. These proposals have drawn criticism from some quarters, which claim that an emphasis on social media skills is unnecessary in school.
But these measures, if implemented, will bring primary school curriculums into the 21st century. The suggestions to include social media in the curriculum are only a small part of the larger project to improve primary education. This would help kids to develop the necessary social skills they need to conduct themselves on the internet. As more of our communications move online, it is important that children have to follow some rules of comportment on cyberspace. The argument that they would pick it up anyway doesn’t hold — today’s adults also had to be taught how to write letters.
The internet is a wonderful digital aid for education, but it can also pose a danger to children. Paedophiles lurk on the many social networking sites on the Net, amongst other threats. And young kids, particularly in networked societies like the UK, do access the internet, with or without supervision. According to Ofcom, regulator of the UK’s communications industries, 59 per cent of five- to seven-year-olds access the internet at home. What better way for schools to fulfil their duty of care to young people than to teach them how to use the internet safely? Children do, after all, need computer skills to enable them to operate safely and effectively in order to capitalise on the wealth of knowledge and opportunities offered by the online world.
COUNTER VIEW It’s not a school’s business Sindhu Manjesh
Primary schools in England are set to adopt a radical new syllabus, which among other things, aims to equip students with skills to negotiate the world of social networking. The makeover is ostensibly in keeping with the times. But really, is the art of setting up social network homepages what primary schoolchildren should be taught in school? A primary school is where the foundation of conceptual thinking is laid.
Quality education during these years should focus on helping a student in understanding and applying concepts. This calls for a flexible syllabus and creative teaching methods, in keeping with the different needs of young students. To that end, the idea of replacing stand-alone subjects with six core learning areas — as the new curriculum proposes to — is a great idea.
But mastering Wikipedia, Twitter, blogs and social networking sites? Isn’t that taking creativity and flexibility too far? What’s more, students are reportedly going to be graded on assignments in this brave new project. Which means that they will be expected to not just be familiar with these areas but also devote time to excelling in them. Given how addictive the internet is, one can imagine just how many hours students can now fritter away, with licence. Get ready to welcome more mouse potatoes. You cannot complain, because they are busy doing homework.
Sure, one must adapt to a changing world. But virtual networks can only add to, not substitute, real social networks — of friends, colleagues and family — that form our support system. Replace the latter with the former and the result is a breakdown of social relationships, which leave people poorly equipped to navigate through the real world they are a part of. Poorly socialised people often end up being social misfits. Schools are the first place outside of home where children pick up social skills. Let schools focus on aiding students to get along with people around them and becoming confident individuals. Mastering the virtual world is something students are doing anyway.
The British government is considering a proposal to overhaul the country’s primary school curriculum. The new curriculum proposes to give schools more flexibility in what they teach while emphasising traditional areas of learning. At the same time, the curriculum will teach kids to use social networking websites like Twitter and Wikipedia as sources of information. Children will also be expected to become familiar with social networking sites as forms of communication. These proposals have drawn criticism from some quarters, which claim that an emphasis on social media skills is unnecessary in school.
But these measures, if implemented, will bring primary school curriculums into the 21st century. The suggestions to include social media in the curriculum are only a small part of the larger project to improve primary education. This would help kids to develop the necessary social skills they need to conduct themselves on the internet. As more of our communications move online, it is important that children have to follow some rules of comportment on cyberspace. The argument that they would pick it up anyway doesn’t hold — today’s adults also had to be taught how to write letters.
The internet is a wonderful digital aid for education, but it can also pose a danger to children. Paedophiles lurk on the many social networking sites on the Net, amongst other threats. And young kids, particularly in networked societies like the UK, do access the internet, with or without supervision. According to Ofcom, regulator of the UK’s communications industries, 59 per cent of five- to seven-year-olds access the internet at home. What better way for schools to fulfil their duty of care to young people than to teach them how to use the internet safely? Children do, after all, need computer skills to enable them to operate safely and effectively in order to capitalise on the wealth of knowledge and opportunities offered by the online world.
COUNTER VIEW It’s not a school’s business Sindhu Manjesh
Primary schools in England are set to adopt a radical new syllabus, which among other things, aims to equip students with skills to negotiate the world of social networking. The makeover is ostensibly in keeping with the times. But really, is the art of setting up social network homepages what primary schoolchildren should be taught in school? A primary school is where the foundation of conceptual thinking is laid.
Quality education during these years should focus on helping a student in understanding and applying concepts. This calls for a flexible syllabus and creative teaching methods, in keeping with the different needs of young students. To that end, the idea of replacing stand-alone subjects with six core learning areas — as the new curriculum proposes to — is a great idea.
But mastering Wikipedia, Twitter, blogs and social networking sites? Isn’t that taking creativity and flexibility too far? What’s more, students are reportedly going to be graded on assignments in this brave new project. Which means that they will be expected to not just be familiar with these areas but also devote time to excelling in them. Given how addictive the internet is, one can imagine just how many hours students can now fritter away, with licence. Get ready to welcome more mouse potatoes. You cannot complain, because they are busy doing homework.
Sure, one must adapt to a changing world. But virtual networks can only add to, not substitute, real social networks — of friends, colleagues and family — that form our support system. Replace the latter with the former and the result is a breakdown of social relationships, which leave people poorly equipped to navigate through the real world they are a part of. Poorly socialised people often end up being social misfits. Schools are the first place outside of home where children pick up social skills. Let schools focus on aiding students to get along with people around them and becoming confident individuals. Mastering the virtual world is something students are doing anyway.
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