|
These topics are being drafted
in preparation for the new national curriculum in 2014. They are
currently in outline form only, and are being given limited
testing. Otherwise we welcome all input and suggestions as we
design for the future...
For many years we had a sign up
at the History Teachcrs Association of Victoria conferences, that
just said "We do not do Australian history, Please
STOP asking".
In the last year however,
several different schools have told us that we are their only
chance to get something a bit more engaging and educational than a
swaggie storyteller or a bush dance band. (Or yet another trip to
Sovereign Hill... which I think is a great venue, but only once or
twice, not the four trips over 6 years one students recently
complained to me of).
We have therefore started to
develop a series of presentations specifically designed to
contextualise the bits and pieces of Australian history the
students have picked up through their primary and secondary
schooling.
Topics so far suggested
include:
Our Heritage - From Medieval to
Colonial:
Far too many students jump from
Medieval history in year 8, to something like
'To Kill a
Mockingbird' in year 9. Un-suprisingly they
have no idea of context.
This is class role play and
'trading game' topic using an Interactive White Board, that moves
from feudalism to early modern science and exploration. (It looks
rather like our Medieval Weapons and Armour topic which moves from
Rome to Renaissance with role plays.) Students investigate the
cultural, trading, political, religious, and military imperatives
that led to European Empires and
Colonies.
Waves of
Settlement:
This is a 'role play' topic
(also using a little video footage), from the perspective of what
each wave of Australian settlement did to challenge (and develope)
what went before. Aborigines and Convicts; Squatters and Miners;
Asian and Southern European (and back to
Asian).
It follows through the virtual
inevitability of hunter gatherers to farmers to industrialists to
refugees; but without pretending the experience has ever been less
than challenging to those living through
it.
Interacting with the Outside
World
Australia has played a hugely
disproportionate part in international affairs for much of it's
history. Both militarily, and in peace treaties and international
trade (or climate) disputes.
This session moves from the
paranoia of the nineteenth century invasion scares; to the
enthusiasm for 'other people's wars'; and from the reliance on
'mighty friends', to the regional forums and
agreements.
This is an Interactive
White-Board topic, with lots of student choices and votes driving
the debate.
Australian
Citizenship
This topic chases through the
many different roles that sex, race and religion have played in
developing the Australian citizen. We move from penal colonies to
settler colonies (with their different views on rights and
responsibilities); to federation and independence (Westminster);
and up to 1975 and a proposed
Republic.
This topic is based on how
students vote in response to a series of options (this topic
requires a data projector, or at least an overhead projector). In
practical terms they choose where they think the discussion should
go, but then have to justify why.
The Common
'Man'
Australia may well be one of the
world's 'lands of opportunities', but what has that really meant?
Basically this topic traces through the work experience of the
common Australian person: be they hunter-gatherer, settler farmer,
communist trade unionist, or modern knowledge
worker.
This is another 'trading game'
topic, where the class is divided into various interest groups to
pursue their preferred options.
Other topics are already under
development, and more are being looked at as schools request them.
Frankly, if you want it, we will try and devise it... (That is
really how we finished with so many medieval and ancient topics...
you know what you need, so we listen to whatever you
want!)
| 