ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

OK.... Subject Change.

Question for David Campbell...

David, when I went to High School we had English as a compulsory subject every year. In final year it was English Expression and English Literature. Not once in that six years was the name of Lawson, Paterson or Dennis mentioned in English classes. Not once. (I can only recall reading "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner")

Mind you, it may be different these days, and you may enlighten me on that....

I hope it is different.

In fact, parts of a novel that was compulsory reading in Form 6 had juicy parts that even today might make one blush... let alone stir up the hormones of sixteen year olds! Literature. Wish I still had that book!

So.... I would appreciate it if, from your own teaching experience, you could shed some light on why were Australia's great poets rigorously excluded from the Victorian school curriculum.. ? What is the policy today?

It has bugged me for years.... Is it all different now, and I am behind the times?

Cheers, Gary

G'day Gary, let me slip in on this one.
As 'Resident poet' at two Brisbane local Primary Schools and one Brisbane High School (as well as a number of far Western Queensland schools) , regarding their 'curriculum', yes it is, and maybe you are ...

being an ex Victorian and what you say is true but the book which you may be referring to was LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER which was several years after I had left school but I know it was read in some schools

bill Williams

I don't know the answer. The vast majority of my teaching was in senior mathematics, not English. Although I trained as an English teacher, my last direct involvement with the curriculum was 40 years ago.

Don't know how reliable this information is but on Australia All Over yesterday Macca's guest, a lady named Mandy who apparently tours schools promoting poetry said that there is (will be?) a new nation wide school curriculum that will contain studies in literature and poetry as mandatory subjects. The poetry is (will be?) required to be Australian, some of which will have to be written by "an aborigine," and some of which will have to emphasize our connection with Asia.
As I say I don't how accurate Mandy's statements were but that pretty well sums up what she said!

Well that will be a fabulous step in the right direction if it comes to pass - this group seem to have something going in that area but it is predominantly taking place in NSW - http://redroomcompany.org/projects/who-are-poets/

Vic Jefferies wrote:Don't know how reliable this information is but on Australia All Over yesterday Macca's guest, a lady named Mandy who apparently tours schools promoting poetry said that there is (will be?) a new nation wide school curriculum that will contain studies in literature and poetry as mandatory subjects. The poetry is (will be?) required to be Australian, some of which will have to be written by "an aborigine," and some of which will have to emphasize our connection with Asia.
As I say I don't how accurate Mandy's statements were but that pretty well sums up what she said!

There does seem to be, from my limited knowledge, an over-emphasis on relating every aspect of the curriculum to the Aboriginal and Asian perspective.

Maureen K Clifford wrote:Well that will be a fabulous step in the right direction if it comes to pass - this group seem to have something going in that area but it is predominantly taking place in NSW - http://redroomcompany.org/projects/who-are-poets/

Looks like some groups of mostly young, non-wrinkly even, are excited and fair dinkum about expanding their craft into the classrooms ...

G'day all,

I have approached a local High School re offering some input on current Australia Poetry. I was told that the official curriculum allows only 8% of the English subject to cover all poetry. So if you are to include W. Shakespeare and some other noteworthy non-Australian writers.. where can we stand. I would guess our time allotted is one minute at three thirty on the last day of the year. They still accepted the books I offered them for their library and spoke kindly of me in their next bulletin. (NO not my books - a couple different years of the 'Bronze Swagman Anthology')

Do you think there's more chance of getting Australian poetry onto the syllabus in the US and the UK, Zondrae?