Save Creative Writing in TAFE

As a diploma graduate of Bendigo TAFE’s PWE course I would like to express how privileged I feel to have had the opportunity to undertake this wonderful program. Like so many others, the PWE course exposed me to new ideas and gave me the means of expressing my creativity in a way that has generated opportunities, both for my writing and in my life. Through the articulation agreement with La Trobe University I was able to undertake my honours degree, a benefit which may be closed to future students under the new curriculum.

I would like to make a couple of points on David Trembath’s comments, particularly in relation to specialisations, and express why I think the new curriculum would be a disadvantage to future students, TAFE institutions, and on a broader scale, Victoria’s cultural life.

Mr. Trembath states (in his entry titled, ‘Some facts’) that there is no editing unit in the diploma—this is because the core editing units are a part of the Certificate IV year (Develop Writing and Editing Skills, or Editing 1A & 1B). The course is structured in this way so that students can get a grounding in editing techniques in their first year, allowing them to focus on specialisations in the second.

In the old diploma curriculum there are a total of 34 modules included for specialisation, all of which are to be applied to the elements within the unit titled, ‘Refine Writing and Editing Techniques’(VVP 553). Under the new diploma the specialisations have been removed and Mr. Trembath is suggesting that teachers either integrate them into the unit titled ‘Refine Writing Skills’ (VU20277) which has been assigned 120 nominal hours (that’s 220 hours less than in the old course), or create their own electives. I wonder, considering the fee restructure that is set to come into the TAFE system soon, whether institutions will be willing to fund the writing, ratification, and running of electives that are not already part of the curriculum. It is highly unlikely.

Mr. Trembath says (‘Last Words Before Getting on with my Life’) in response to Sue King-Smith’s words about specialisations that the unit, ‘Refine writing and editing techniques’ has been broken down because, ‘it’s unfair to students’, and that ‘units are about assessment not about delivery.’ He is saying that, so long as the competencies are fulfilled, it doesn’t matter in what context this happens. In response I would say that writing is all about context, and that this general unit acknowledges this in its scope for holistic delivery. Furthermore, the performance criteria in this unit applies to each particular specialisation module, as outlined in the evidence guide which states: ‘Assessment of this unit requires assessment of the writing task in the nominated specialisations’. In order to fulfill competency each student must reflect on ‘The unique nature of the distinct writing styles depending on the purpose of the writing’ (Application of Unit). Short of being ‘unfair to students’, the inclusion of specialisations provides an opportunity for them to excel in a particular genre or to explore a variety, should they wish.

The removal of specialisations will deprive students of the well-rounded knowledge necessary to succeed in a highly competitive industry (where creative skills complement technical forms); the opportunity and support base to explore a particular creative form in depth, and the industry knowledge required to approach publication in the most opportune way. If this accreditation is passed it would represent a degeneration in the quality of TAFE programs, an affront to prospective students, and a setback to Victoria’s cultural life.