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Dear All, I have been following the school geography thread with great interest. Andrew is right - the Action Plan is designed to address some of the issues raised. It will make a bit of a difference because it provides some capacity and opportunity to raise the profile of geography in schools, support teachers in that really demanding and creative work that we call 'curriculum making', provide fresh new ways of using/exploring/enjoying geography with students (from 5 -19 years).... (read more on www.geography.org.uk/apg ) It also provides the circumstances in which we can refresh conceptual frameworks for school geography - driven by a strong sense of purpose and educational goals. And a vision on how geography may develop from early years to A-level, rather than be the same dish served up in slightly different ways. All this is based on careful analysis on how we got here - it is complicated, but a key element is how geography has been marginalized in recent years - ever since the government of the day bureaucratised the curriculum and set out its 'contents' for teachers.. er, to 'deliver'. What we want is for geography teachers to get encouragement and support to re-engage with the subject and use it, brilliantly, to excite and engage young people in enjoyable, worthwhile and relevant enquiry. The USP for us is that geography is the school subject that tries to keep things whole (interdependence, connectedness...). It helps us see and understand the 'big picture' in real places. It helps us think about the future more intelligently. The GA is very keen to maintain and develop links of the kind being discussed - at meetings (many teachers cannot get out of school easily), in professional Journals etc. It is essential that teachers engage with Teaching, Learning and THE SUBJECT. It is he last of these that has fallen off the end, for the moment. But things are changing. I would be happy to share wider GA plans and activities if anyone is interested. Dr David Lambert Direct line: 07980951182 The GA supports teacher led curriculum development www.geography.org.uk <http://www.geography.org.uk> ________________________________ From: Andrew Lee [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 05 September 2006 17:47 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: School Geography For/From the Critical Geography Discussion Group There are moments of communication between academic geographers and geography heads of departments. The GA conference often has a number of academic geographers sharing ground and I know that the Geography Action Plan http://www.geography.org.uk/news/actionplanforgeography has intentions to create academic ambassadors to connect schools with academics, but there needs to be more of this. Often the richness of the subject fails to be driven into schools, which is a great pity. Still, new developments in the GCSE syllabus may be an improvement -- however, this is yet to be seen, but early indications are that there will be a push in increasing the 'relevance' profile of the subject, which has to be a good thing, and indeed something that informs the richness of much academic geography. The key is to get this kind of thinking into the classroom, whether it be through an engagement with climate change or through human/cultural geography etc. The RGS-IBG too is developing a standard chartered geographer (teacher) which is encouraging the engagement of teachers with broader professional development which must necessarily connect teachers with the growth areas of the discipline. I spoke just last week with the Head of Information Services and Resources at the RGS-IBG, Steven Brace, who expressed some interest in the creation of refresher courses which could bring educationalists into contact with academics for regular updates about what was happening at the tertiary end of the discipline. (This could also be a two-way vehicle). ============================= Dr Andrew Lee FRGS Head of Geography Westminster Under School Adrian House Vincent Square London SW1P 2NN T| +44 (0)20 7821 5788 F| +44 (0)20 7821 0458 On 5 Sep 2006, at 12:41PM, Steve Cummins wrote: Hi As I am completely ignorant about this issue I was wondering if there was a formal continuing professional development programme for geography teachers in schools. Do school teachers reconnect with academic geography regularly or is it an informal practice? If they don't maybe this could be key..helping teachers make geography 'public'. Steve PS Just reading Johnston's new piece on TIBG. Relevant for this debate I think! Andrew Lee wrote: I spoke, some time ago to David Lambert, CEO of the Geographical Association, who expressed the need to make geography compelling at GCSE level. Sadly, however, whilst many children can be 'turned on' to geography at this stage, many can also be turned off it in primary and prep school where it can also, sometimes, be poorly taught. Good material, both written and in terms of television broadcasts, under the rubric of geography, are needed to lift the profile of the discipline. Of course there are some good examples available, but we could do with more. It is not the time to look down the nose at colleagues appealing to the popular market, but rather to share our enthusiasm for our discipline. ============================= Dr Andrew Lee FRGS Head of Geography Westminster Under School Adrian House Vincent Square London SW1P 2NN -- Steven Cummins MSc PhD MRC Fellow Department of Geography Queen Mary, University of London Mile End Road London E1 4NS T: 44 020 7882 7653 F: 44 020 8981 6276 E: [log in to unmask] W: http://www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/staff/cummins.html