The contemporary nature of Humanities subjects allows students to apply what they are learning to the world beyond the classroom. Although we are only in the fourth week of the school year, there has been plenty to talk about in Humanities classes. For example, since classes begun, we have had:
- Floods, while other places in Australia experience heatwaves, bushfires and ongoing drought
- Leadership spills in parliament and a new federal opposition leader
- Discussions in the media about the future of work
- Increased police powers to maintain social cohesion
- An interest rate rise
- Australia’s success in the Winter Olympics, despite its landscape and climate
- A court case about supermarket pricing strategies
Year 7 students are currently undertaking a new and exciting unit called ‘Electro-Life’. They have discussed what makes a place liveable and are now beginning to focus on liveability in an Australian electorate. Students are currently building a profile of their electorate. This profile includes researching the elected member of parliament, using Census data to describe the average person, learning mapping skills by creating overlay maps and examining climate data related to their electorate. This has generated vibrant class discussions and exposed students to incidental learning opportunities, such as questioning whether the location of a member’s seat within their party in the House of Representatives is significant. By the end of the semester, students will be evaluating the liveability of their electorate and proposing ways it could be more liveable. We are looking forward to seeing their ideas!