精英高中新政争议: VCE人文学科必修, 机遇还是挑战？

Melbourne High School（以下简称MHS）是维州唯一一所精英男校。学校最近宣布，从明年开始，11年级学生将被要求必修一门VCE人文学科课程。必修的1/2单元课程包括历史、地理、政治、哲学、社会学、外语和音乐表演。

Melbourne High School (MHS) is the only selective boys' state school in Victoria. The school recently announced that starting next year, Year 11 students would be required to take a VCE humanities subject. The compulsory Unit 1/2 subjects include history, geography, politics, philosophy, sociology, external language, and music performance.

7月19日，MHS校长 Dr. Tony Mordini在ABC早间新闻节目“Melbourne Breakfast”中与主持人Sammy J讨论了这一决定。

OnJuly 19th, MHS Principal Dr. Tony Mordini discussed this decision with hostSammy J on ABC’s morning news program "Melbourne Breakfast." 

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/melbourne-breakfast/melbourne-high-pushes-for-compulsory-humanities-subjects/104117128

Dr. Tony Mordini校长表示，MHS的人文学科报名人数一直低于理科，是将人文学科变为11年级必修课的原因之一。但更重要的是，我们需要培养“well-rounded human beings (全面发展的人)”。

Dr. Tony Mordini校长指出，学生可以有各式各样的目标职业，比如记者、医生、工程师等，而这些职业都需要具备“understand the context of things”的能力——如何在记者、医生、工程师等领域中脱颖而出？需要学生对这些职业的历史、背景和人类学有深刻的理解。

Dr. Tony Mordini, who has a humanities background himself, noted that students might aspire to various careers such as journalists, doctors, or engineers, all of which require the ability to "contextualize things." To excel in these fields, students need an understanding of the history, context, and anthropology related to these professions.

一些争议在于，由于这些人文学科在VCE考试中普遍是“减分”科目，强制纳入必修课可能会影响一些学生的最终ATAR成绩。稍有加分的商科课程如经济学、法律研究和商业管理并未被包括在内。因此，根本上讨论的议题是学生应追求短期内的成绩，还是进行更广泛、更全面的教育培养和成长。

The controversy arises from the fact that humanities subjects are generally considered "score-deducting" in VCE exams, and making them compulsory could potentially affect some students' final ATAR scores. Higher-scoring business subjects like Economics, Legal Studies, and Business Management are not included in this requirement. Therefore, the dilemma is whether students should aim for the highest possible scores in the short term or pursue a broader, more comprehensive education for overall development and growth.

Dr. Tony Mordini表示，虽然ATAR确实是一个学习的重要推动力，也是MHS一直以来表现优异的领域，但这并不会削弱“强调人文学科教育”这一过程。毕竟，11年级课程是必修而不是12年级课程。因此，MHS只是提供了一种广度教育“breadth”，就像墨尔本大学的课程设置一样，这是未来的领导者和变革者所需要的。

Dr. Tony Mordini acknowledged that ATAR is indeed a driving force and an area where MHS has consistently excelled, but he emphasized that this does not diminish the educational process. Since the compulsory subjects are for Year 11 and not Year 12, MHS is simply providing breadth, similar to the curriculum structure at the University of Melbourne, which is what future leaders and changemakers need.

我们十分赞同MHS校长提倡的把目光放长远的教育理念。下周四晚7点，Qs School陈焱校长和资深英语老师Anthony做客“听Qs老师谈”系列线上讲座，共同探讨人文学科的重要性，以及疫情后的AI时代学生如何建立和培养更全面的心态应对未来挑战。欢迎学生和家长扫描海报二维码或点击阅读原文报名！

Next Thursday at 7 PM, Qs School Principal Ms. Chen Yan and senior English teacher Anthony will join the "Qs Teacher Talk" online seminar series to discuss the importance of humanities and how students can build a more well-rounded mindset to face future challenges in the AI era after the pandemic. Students and parents are welcome to scan the QR code on the poster or click the link to register!