“Set for Life”.
Our “Set for Life” or “Puberty Curriculum” for all 12,13 and14 years old secondary school students is the alternative model as they navigate the biggest physical, mental and emotional changes and challenges to their lives since their Early Childhood years. The nineteen modules will ensure all students are well equipped to take on the next three to four years of career preparation pathways, be they academic, vocational or entrepreneurial in thousands of ways.
If one was to present just the headings of the nineteen modules of the "Set for Life" Curriculum to a mixed group of adolescent youth and ask each one to fill in the details of what they would like to have included one would have a learning framework that would far exceed in scope any that is offered through the National Curriculum. If one was then to overlay the brainstormed outline with the details below one would hear gasps of surprise and delight when the students realised that the following three years would be stress free and individually tailored to meet their own needs. Their creativity and imagination would far surpass any that even the very best schools in the land can currently offer. The late John Marsden gave it a mighty try though.
There is an obvious problem immediately apparent with such a dramatic departure from the long standing focus on learning a subject to gain a rating; how would one ever structure such a multi disciplined curriculum requiring the diverse range of skills and interests so that it could be resourced and assessed? How will the kids know what to do and how to do it if we don’t first go through the subject based model with all of its text books to ensure they have all the skills they need to embark on such a wide ranging raft of enquiry and experiences? The answer is found in the mode of delivery. A multiage cohort of twelve, thirteen and fourteen year old students working as a cohesive group of twenty to twenty five can conquer the world if teachers would just let them. All the advantages of learning as a mixed age group of Copycats, Stickybeaks and Scallywags come to the fore, no IFFs (These are Inbuilt Failure Factors) to hinder them, and a new paradigm of learning and interaction would become possible.
The then following three to four year period of school with its intense "Learning to Learn with a real pur[ose"‘ would have depth and meaning for all and result in very close to a hundred percent success for everyone. The long term effect on society would be dramatic and the current thirty percent failure rate for first year university students would be close to zero. In effect the annual savings across the board would be many millions of dollars, increasing every year thereafter. Savings on prisons alone by these figures https://www.ceda.com.au/NewsAndResources/Opinion/Economy/Australia-pays-the-price-for-increasing-rates-of-i would be in the billions. Can we afford to carry on with education induced inequity any longer? Here are the nineteen modules for you and your students to get stuck into.
These are the nineteen modules of the "Set for Life" or Puberty Curriculum to be covered in the three years of development all young people experience as adolescence takes them from childhood to young adulthood. Like all great learning they are managed in non-graded thousand day continuums, supported by their Mentors, Knowledge Navigators, Teachers and community members.
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1. Only You, Your Body, Adolescence and Puberty.
Physical changes, diets, health, appearances, deportment, skin care, your brain, your anatomy, eating disorders, exercise, recreation, emotions, suicide, sexual orientation-LGBTQIA+, nutrition, depression, puberty, sex, pornography, substance abuse, alcohol, body adornment, illnesses, death, alternative medicines, first aid, gender issues, disabilities.
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2. Relationships and You.
Life long friendships, integrity, honesty, marriage, divorce, bereavement, maturity and old age, bullying, domestic violence, happiness and lifetime fulfilment, self discipline, racism, mateship, larrikins in the Australian context, personal success. What is it to be a good person?
3. Your Life Skills for Adulthood.
Parenting, partner relationships, choosing your soulmate, short circuiting the poverty cycle by ensuring all teenagers are aware of the obligations they have to their unborn children and to prepare for childbirth as the most important task they will ever partake in.
4. Your Love of Literature.
Read and be read to from the world’s best authors and discuss the relevance of story telling for all societies. Be a member of a book club. Write regularly for self and target audiences with real life purposes. Write, produce, perform dramatic events, concerts, plays and skits. Publish in the regular press, school magazine, read poetry and the rich legacy to our culture of the authors, poets and playwrights who have gone before.
5. Your Music, Dance and Drama.
Learn to play the keyboard and at least one other musical instrument, a study of music, dance and drama and their impact on their lives. Composing, performing, dancing and singing alone or in bands, choirs, Barbershop quartets, duets, organize flash mob events,
perform in at least two public performances. Record performances, develop presentation skills of sound and lighting. Organise discos, dances, concerts, performances - many will have been doing much of these since their third year at school and will have the freedom to put their skills to real purposes through performances and musical groups.
6. You and the Law.
Legal systems, your rights and responsibilities, your social obligations, crime and criminology, gaols, youth detention centres, freedoms, societal norms, rules to stay safe, road safety, citizenship, creating codes of behaviour.
7. Your Government, Democracy and Other Models.
Learn how the three levels of government work and their effects on everyone’s lives, the constitution, voting, protesting, parliamentarians, political parties, democracies and alternate government models, how to have your say, picketing, demonstrating, operate a practical school based working model, with real outcomes; Summerhill school example. Research capitalism, socialism, communism, dictatorships, collectives, co-operatives – their impacts on their societies.
8. Your Love of the Outdoors.
Bush craft, hiking, camping, hunting, tracking, fishing, canoeing, mountaineering, cooking, orienteering, excursions, survival skills, flora and fauna, conservation projects, Clean Up Australia type activities
9. Your Life’s Philosophy and Religion.
Spirituality, study of world religions, ethics, philosophy, the history and the beliefs of world cultures, cults, theocracies.
10. Your Crafts, Your Hobbies, Your Home.
Study and produce artistic works - master at least two of the following and practise many including wood turning, pottery, welding, cabinet making, spinning and weaving, knitting, sewing, dress making, candle making, soap and cosmetics making, painting, printing. screen printing, sculpture, basic cooking and following recipes, bread making, cheese making, robotics, drones, radio controlled cars planes and yachts, basic home management skills, and many more. The outcomes of these studies are to form the basis of setting up and operating a small business, managing the school canteen, attending Markets and Fairs to market goods, build real items eg Go-Karts, drones, clothing, etc.
11. Your Love of Sports.
Focus on life participation activities including sailing, rowing, self defence, surfing, swimming, dance, canoeing, tennis, golf, high ropes, mountain climbing, BMX, skate boarding, bush walking, car rallying (this is where driver education fits, utilising the Go-Kart skills from before.). Encourage the community sporting clubs and groups to foster and support team sports as they already do so well, after school and on weekends.
12. Your Financial Future.
History of money, earning it, work ethics, real estate, the stock market, borrowing, credit cards, budgeting, franchising, banking, loans, superannuation, trading, e-trading, gambling, scams, capitalism’s money model, and socialism’s, co-operatives, crypto currencies, capital management, pay day lenders, the magic of compound interest, the ten percent rule.
13. Your World to Live In.
Your place in the world as a person, your place in the universe, your contribution to humanity, the future of planet earth, sustainable energy systems, recycling, climate change, astronomy, space exploration, conservation and sustainability in a culturally diverse world. The study of a language, either to be continued or begun, is within this module. Also the study of an aboriginal language, or awareness thereof, can be pursued for cultural awareness.
14. Your knowledge of where you fit in History.
From the long distant past, the Dreamtime, the colonisation of Australia to the world of today, the significant milestones of our journey as a nation with the influence of the outside world on our culture and future, time lines, authentic research. Why we are who we are.
15. Your World at War and Peace.
A summary of the conflict and aggression of man throughout recorded history, the emergence of civilisations and nations, treaties and trade agreements, the League of Nations, the United Nations, embassies, arms dealing, sanctions, embargos, the armed forces, alliances, the ANZUS Treaty.
16. You and the Media.
Managing the internet and social media, its impact and influence on every aspect of your lives, all aspects of using and managing the social media platforms, taking control and responsibility for your own lives and decision making, propaganda, journalistic ethics, fake or real news, understanding the power of media and operate school based radio and TV stations and newspaper, link with community based radio and TV outlets.
17. You, Technology and the Internet.
Learning to use the new technologies, coding, programming, robotics, drones, iPhones, computers, using technology as a creative tool to advance your knowledge, gaming, virtual reality goggles. https://provohigh.provo.edu/teacher-pages/chris-eady/glossary-of-internet-terminology/,
18. Your Future Careers.
Throughout the years of the Puberty Curriculum a wide spectrum of professionals
and tradespersons, farmers to radio announcers, musicians to waiters, doctors to plumbers, fashion designers to carpet layers and so on, by invitation would share their life’s experiences and talk about their jobs and professions from a personal and practical perspective. Pupils should have the power to suggest those visitors. All visits would be videoed and filed for future reference, thus building up many hundreds of real life careers, present and future. As well as interview techniques, public speaking and fashion/dress sense, this module would also revisit topics from module one and reinforce socially acceptable norms including manners, deportment, body adornment, health care and more.
19. Your personal long term project.
Taken from each learners’ personal interests and needs this real life task would take two to three years and the learner would engage a wide range of skills and resources in its compilation and presentation. For some there may be two or more long term projects over the period for different reasons. The project should allow the passion of the presenter to burst forth, showing all the skills and talents that the "Set for Life" or Puberty Curriculum has provided. It would likely not begin until well into the first year of the curriculum, definitely not at the very start. Copies of every "Long Term Project" would be held by the school for future referencing by other students, other schools.
Essential strategies "Set for Life" could include:
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bringing the community elders into the teaching and learning networks
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caring for animals as integral to learning - puppies, horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, a school farm or one to visit and be involved with.
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gardening, aquaculture, aquaponics, hydroponics, horticulture - being both interactive learning and money making ventures, enterprise education being real, with profits distributed to the shareholders, the learners
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technology being real life and income producing
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a community craft village, to sell wares and to generate income from tourists and the general public, with master crafts persons as the central drivers.
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travel and adventure expeditions.
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close partnerships with a wide range of community and industry groups and their resources
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access and participation in real shop fronts, restaurants, accommodation houses and other commercial enterprises. An actual rented house to learn the life skills needed to run a household, change a lightbulb, check the fire alarms, test a safety switch. “Why do we need a safety switch?”
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outdoor education programs, camping, mountain climbing, trekking, water activities and challenging adventures
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And you can probably imagine a dozen or more challenging and exciting adventures for the kids of your own particular village, town or city. As John Marsden so strongly advocated - "Take Risks!"