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Secondary Chemistry Educators New Zealand co-chairperson Murray Thompson said he read the document and was left asking where the science was. Photo / Peter McIntosh, Otago Daily Times, File
By John Gerritsen of RNZ
Science teachers are shocked that an advance version of the draft school science curriculum contains no mention of physics, chemistry or biology.
The so-called “fast draft” said science would be taught through four contexts – the Earth system, biodiversity, food, energy and water, and infectious diseases.
It was sent to just a few teachers for their feedback ahead of its release for consultation next month, but some were so worried by the content they leaked it to their peers.
Teachers who had seen the document told RNZ they had grave concerns about it. It was embarrassing, and would lead to “appalling” declines in student achievement, they said.
One said the focus on four specific topics was likely to leave pupils bored with science by the time they reached secondary school.
But another teacher told RNZ the document presented a “massive challenge” to teachers and the critics were overreacting.
“It’s the difference from what’s existed before and the lack of content is what’s scaring people. It’s fear of the unknown,” he said.
Association of Science Educators president Doug Walker said he was shocked when he saw a copy.
“Certainly, in its current state, I would be extremely concerned with that being our guiding document as educators in Aotearoa. The lack of physics, chemistry, Earth and space science, I was very surprised by that.”
New Zealand Institute of Physics education council chairman David Housden said physics teachers were not happy either.
“We were shocked. I think that physics and chemistry are fundamental sciences and we would expect to find a broad curriculum with elements of it from space all the way down to tiny particles.”
Institute president Joachim Brand said he was worried teenagers would finish school without learning fundamental knowledge about things like energy and matter.
He warned the draft was heavy on philosophy and light on actual science.
“There is too little science content. Science needs to be learned by actually doing it to some degree. You need to be exposed to the ideas of how maybe atoms work, how electricity works, how electric forces and if that is not specified and you’re only given these broad contexts, then I’m really worried there will be huge gaps,” he said.
Brand said if the draft went ahead, fewer students would specialise in science and universities might find themselves forced to teach basic science to new students.
Secondary Chemistry Educators New Zealand co-chairperson Murray Thompson said after he read the document he was left asking where the science was.
“The stuff in there is really interesting, but we have to teach basic science first. Where’s the physics and chemistry and why can’t we find words like force and motion and elements and particles, why aren’t those words in there?
“It’s the same mistake that they made with maths and literacy. They said ‘here’s the system, here’s the way’ and the maths was all about problem-solving and written problems and all that stuff without the basic skills,” Thompson said.
Michael Johnston from the New Zealand Initiative blew the whistle on the draft document after it was leaked to him.
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The Most Revolutionary Act 
Shocking. It’s like trying to learn how to read without knowing the alphabet. I avoided unrequired science courses until I decided to try for medical school, for which I had to take a number of pre-requisite science courses. I fell in love with basic science, especially physics and chemistry. To allow students to escape the opportunity to understand how matter fits together and works is to derive them of one of the most basic gifts of education.
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And the fact that they focus on “infectious diseases,” rather than immunity, means that students will be taught how to become totally dependent on Big Pharma instead of how to make their own bodies more resistant to disease.
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