Breaking news at end of this blog-post!
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As I write this, it’s the afternoon on the day that the Year 12 students in Western Australia do the first Philosophy and Ethics end-of-year exam.
I’m hoping to get a copy of that exam after it has been completed by students today and will blog a general overview of the content. I think it will be of interest to all of those who are wanting to know about the teaching of the course and how it’s being examined in this state.
I recall how Australian blogger Naontiotami did a rather popular YouTube report on his practice exam that he did in Victoria, about skeptically-minded content on a paper (GAT Question Booklet (PDF – 954KB – page 8 from the paper) that he did:
Skepticism in the GAT? – One of my mid-year exams in high-school contained a question that was decidedly skeptical, pertaining to cold reading. This is a video about that question.
I’ll endeavour to either do a video myself, or perhaps just give an outline. I’m looking forward to seeing what our state has to offer this year and how it might indicate how future years might progress with the subject.
I should point out that it is not unusual to have Philosophy taught as a subject to high-school students in Australia. The Sydney Morning Herald, outlined what exists in an interview with Peter Ellerton (who will be speaking at the forthcoming Australian Skeptics convention in a fortnight’s time): Just think: it’s important’ in the Sydney Morning Herald
The teaching of philosophy in Queensland high schools is not new. The subject has been taught, in one form or another, for 50 years.
Other states have been quick to catch up, with Western Australia introducing a philosophy high-school program in the last year, and Victoria in the past five years. But in NSW the situation remains uncertain. The NSW Board of Studies offers philosophy as a distinction course only to students who have already sat the HSC exams….the Board of Studies data shows only 54 students enrolled in the philosophy distinction course last year. The Board of Studies also endorses school-developed courses in general philosophy, but only a handful of high schools in NSW that have taken up this offer.
I have had discussions with people whose first response is not ‘great, there’s a course!’ but ‘is it only for private schools?’ Such a concern is raised by the likes of Stephen Law, who was interviewed on SBS about the themes and issues raised in his book “The War for Children’s Minds.”
I’m very pleased to respond that the course is indeed open to all schools and the recent Hale School Philosothon reflected how a range of schools are, if not adopting, are interested in incorporating Philosophy as a student activity. You can listen to an interview with one of the coordinators, featured on Skeptic Zone podcast (episode #45).
However, finding qualified teachers is difficult. Yes, training is offered by groups like the West Australian Association for Philosophy in Schools and I know of some universities that can offer subjects to help train teachers too. There are more and more schools interested in taking on Philosophy and Ethics – but it’s problematic when Philosophy is still somewhat seen as a ’soft Arts subject’ and teachers entering the profession usually are urged to study more ‘traditional’ subject areas to become teachers in. If a course is only a final year one (Years 11 and 12), it may be seen as limiting to only qualify to teach those two years – which is a pity when there are programs to teach Philosophy, such as the Community of Inquiry model, from K-12.
Those who are qualified to teach Philosophy and Ethics in this state are more than likely coming from a Theology/Philosophy background, which is not unusual. In my opinion, it’d be wonderful to have a range of teachers with a variety of backgrounds too – such as Science, Maths, Arts, Humanities and the like, who can all draw upon their Philosophy training to contribute to the teaching of the course. Perhaps time will change that.
Let me know if you have any questions – and I hope to discuss this futher with conference attendees at events like the Australian Skeptics convention and the forthcoming Global Atheist Australian conference.
BREAKING NEWS – the examination featured a discussion of the podcast Skepticality! Whilst texts like podcasts have been used in transcript form in exams before, I suspect that this is the first skeptic podcast that has been used. “I was listening to a podcast the other day, called ‘Skepticality’…” – the topic was the Discovery Institute and what constitutes free, fair and open debate on the topic of creationism.
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Fascinating. Does this mean we’re winning, slowly?
Every bit helps, I’d say.
I’ve met skeptics who frown on “philosophy” for not being practical. I point out that the philosophy of ethics is very practical, and they sometimes still scoff. Without mystical forces guiding and punishing us for our acts, the “philosophy of ethics” is the most accurate phrase to describe how skeptics determine their moral code. I think they just don’t like the word “philosophy.”
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