Author: Roger Childs
Publisher : Tross Publishing (RRP $35)
Rating : Very Good
Target Audience: All concerned New Zealanders
Reviewer: Rob Paterson, Retired Lawyer, Tauranga
I am more than happy to provide this review and it is fair to say that I looked forward to the release of this book on the proposed New Zealand History curriculum. The contents of the book do not disappoint and the author, Roger Childs, is well qualified to address the subject, having spent many years in the education system and particularly as a teacher of history, geography, and social studies for over 40 years.
In passing I would say that when I attended Auckland
University in 1960 (shortly before the author), I also studied New Zealand
History under Professor Keith Sinclair and I am well aware of the excellent
syllabus that prevailed at that time plus I am familiar with the publications
he refers to and, in fact, I still have them in my small library.
Let me make it clear at the outset that the name Aotearoa,
used throughout the new curriculum by the Ministry of Education , is a fake
name and that the official name of this country is New Zealand.
This example of either ignorance or bias is typical of the whole curriculum and if the Ministry can’t even get the name of our country right how can we have trust in anything they say?
BOOK CONTENTS
Introduction
The book itself is well set out and easy to read, being
divided into four parts: -
1 Pathway comprising 8 chapters( 1-8)
2 Features and learning comprising 7 chapters(9-15)
3 Omissions comprising 9 chapters(16-24)
4 Judgement containing 4 chapters(25-28)
Plus Appendices A B C D & E –Covering Years 1 to 10 Key Knowledge and Questions
The book addresses what the Ministry of Education is
proposing under the New Zealand History Curriculum for schools. The author
clearly has misgivings with what is proposed and deals with the criticisms
levelled at the current proposals by the likes of The Royal Society of New
Zealand and others suggesting amendments be made to the original
proposals. Some of these suggestions were taken on board but the final
proposals still fall far short of a proper and legitimate New Zealand History
Curriculum.
The author’s conclusion is that “the final curriculum
published in 2022 is a case of deliberate premeditated social engineering. The
developers of the curriculum clearly had their agenda and no doubt instructions
from the Ministry. By putting Maori history, identity ,culture and experience
at the heart of the syllabus, students will be taught to see Maori people as
special .The curriculum is more about Maori studies than New Zealand History”.
I endorse Roger Childs’ conclusions and would also point out
that Paul Moon ,a history professor at AUT, warned “ of course there are
risks that if done poorly, compulsory history in our schools could veer into
the realm of indoctrination, Well in my view those fears were well founded
.
There are full references in the book to glaring
inaccuracies. The Rangiowahia incident as well as the myths and mistruths that
have been told about this affair have been accepted by the powers that be as
gospel.
There are other instances in much the same category, referenced
in the book, and the fascination and fixation with all things Maori leave a lot
to be desired.
The omission of many important notable events in New Zealand
history is lamentable and what has been left out is inexcusable. Thus there is
no reasoned or balanced history provided.
A genuine New Zealand History curriculum for schools is to be lauded as long as it is fair, balanced, objective, truthful and factual but there is no place for the sort of propaganda that is being floated in the current curriculum.
The best outcome would be for the new school curriculum to
be shelved and a fresh start made on the project by people who are interested
in the genuine and truthful recording of New Zealand history.
Throughout the book, the author has endeavoured to outline
what the curriculum is, what the alternative options are and what the failings
are. He also addresses the criticisms levelled at the curriculum which he
concludes are justified and one can only feel in its present form that the
curriculum will have detrimental effects on the minds of young students who do
not have the ability or the resources to search the facts and the truth.
In addition, they will not have access to all the written
material.
As noted, Professor Paul Moon’s solution was that the new
curriculum needed to show the whole picture ‘warts and all ‘ which is the
correct approach but there is no attempt in the curriculum to do this.
For example, The Musket Wars with probably the most dreadful carnage in our history have been airbrushed out of existence while inordinate emphasis has been placed on the Waikato Wars of the 1860’s with a barely concealed bias against the settlers.
Using impressionable young school children as guinea pigs for this tainted offering is unacceptable. Promoting mistruths has no place in New Zealand history and yet the standard defence when the culprits are challenged, confronted and faced with the facts and truth is usually “that history is often contentious and debatable”. That is not correct, and the truth is not, and is never negotiable.
Every school library and all MPs should acquire a copy of
this very readable book to recognise what is happening and to be on their guard
against this sort of try-on and to recognise misinformation.
*Remember that denying the truth doesn't change the facts.
*Truth matters above all else .
*The great enemy of the truth is very often not only the
lies, deliberately contrived and dishonest as they may be, but the associated
myths which are persistent, pervasive and unrelenting.
*Everyone is entitled to there own opinion but not their own facts.
I urge all New Zealanders to read this very informative book
and to draw their own conclusions on the serious matters and shortcomings
raised and, if they agree with the conclusions reached, then they should
take matters up with their Members of Parliament and the schools their kids
attend, expressing their dissatisfaction and abhorrence about what is going on
with the curriculums.
Our children’s future depends on it and, if kids are not interested, they will not learn.
Perhaps we should let the back cover blurb on the book have
the last word “The 2019 announcement that a new history curriculum would
be introduced for year 1-10 students was greeted with enthusiasm. But
concerns were expressed by some historians that Maori history might
predominate. It was suggested by many that there should be a balanced approach
to cover both positives and negatives in our nation’s story”.
Well, that hope did not eventuate.………………..“ The
Ministry is engaging in social engineering aimed at indoctrinating our young
people, with a slanted Maori -dominated view of our history.
In doing so, they have lost sight of the recipients - lively impressionable Kiwi kids who want a balanced, honest, interesting syllabus. Sadly they are not getting it.”
‘Well done’ to the well-informed people such as Roger Childs and the other authors like him, who take the trouble and time to investigate, report and write on matters that seriously affect and are of concern to all New Zealanders. The failure of the Ministry to perform adversely impacts on what is already a very poor education system with truancy rates of up to 50% and currently ranking lowest in the OECD.
This book is available
from Tross Publishing through its Website : www trosspublishing.co.nz
Rob Paterson is a retired lawyer, who lives in Tauranga.
4 comments:
As I have urged before, all BV readers should enquire of the M o E how they can view the public submissions made. (Unlike other govt and Council submission process, there is no access, not even via the OIA. Incredibly the msm have not questined this. Waht are they hiding?) Perons as august as Professor Rata made submissions, always worthy of a read.
Yay kapi haka festival in Auckland. Lots of poi swinging and wrapped buses. All part of the clean green not mean be seen syllabus. Will there also be master classes in how to cook a Morori? How to kill prisoners with a blow to the side of the head? Best practices for storing tattooed heads ( alive until needed)? References for all activities are available . Not sure how much time there was for poi. Presumably to be found in the time management and commercial returns section of the history curriculum?
According to this curriculum NZ history begins about 1350, which Maori arrived. This is ample evidence to show there were others here long before Maori arrived. The Waipoua stone structures and the Hawkes Bay moa hunters to name just two examples. The Waipoua stone structures have been deliberately destroyed. Results of excavations at both of these sites have been kept under wraps. This, in order to preserve the falsity of Maori being indigenous. Successive governments have been gone with this cover-up. How can this be a history curriculum that leaves out inhabitants long before Maori? All ancient sites need to be excavated by honest archaeologists, and the results, including carbon, dating made public. The 75 year embargo on the Waipoua forest dating must be removed.
>Truth matters above all else .
Sorry, you're out of date. This is the era of postmodernism. The truth counts for nothing, only ideological correctness.
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