Section 78 of England's 2002 Education Act begins like this:
78 – General requirements in relation to curriculum
(1) The curriculum for a maintained school or maintained nursery school satisfies the requirements of this section if it is a balanced and broadly based curriculum which ...
(a) promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society, and
(b) prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.
Ahead of next year's election, England's ESD (cheer)leaders are trying to persuade political parties of every stripe (including, I trust, UKIP) to shift the 'and', and then add the following:
(c) instils an ethos and ability to care for oneself, others and the natural environment, now and in the future.
This will be difficult enough, as primary legislation is needed, but writing something that fits with what precedes it, would have been a good first step. So, it's a pity that pupils are not mentioned, and that the torturous ‘instils an ethos … to care’ sounds more like conditioning than education.
Surely something like:
“(c) helps pupils learn to care for the natural environment and for other people ” would have been simpler – and therefore better.
Committees, eh! I'm not putting much money on any of this (even my version of [c]) succeeding any time soon as no one in government or oppositions seem particularly interested.
Responses
Without emotional sustainability instilled and nurtured in our young people, there is little hope of a sustainable future.