History

Death. Destruction. Terror. War. Inflation. Plots. Sex scandals.

No, not a sample of this year’s news headlines, but some of the features of the French and Chinese revolutions our Unit three and four History students have examined this year. They have journeyed far. They have investigated, considered and hopefully made some sense of societies experiencing sudden and massive change. At senior level, De La Salle students are able to choose to study either Revolutions or Renaissance Italy. Our Year 11 course takes us from the civil rights struggle by African Americans to a study of the Vietnam War. Students have found themselves questioning a Vietnam veteran and researching protest movements. Year 10s learn about the rise of Adolf Hitler and the persecution and killing of European Jews. One essential component of this study is a visit to the Holocaust Museum in Elsternwick to meet with survivors and to hear their testimony. Year 9s study the history of race relations between black and white Australians. They also learn of the Australian experience of world war at Gallipoli and in the trenches of Europe. At junior levels we investigate medieval and ancient societies, learning to recognize how humans have both changed and yet stayed the same. Over the last couple of years, the way in which Australian students study history has been the topic of hot debate between politicians and media commentators. This discussion has been driven by a prevailing sense that young Australians lack an understanding of History, indicated by an inability to recall certain historical ‘facts’ about Australia. The ‘History Summit’ and subsequent Federal Government Inquiry into the formation of a national curriculum placed these issues in the spotlight. At De La Salle, History is compulsory for students in Years 7, 8 and 9. In Year 10, many boys choose to continue with their study of History. Despite the pressures placed on VCE students to choose purely vocational subjects, or to focus solely on maths and sciences, History remains one of the most popular subjects within the Humanities. One of the most positive outcomes of the public debate surrounding History in schools is that it serves to remind student, parent and teacher alike of the importance History has in helping us forge an understanding of the world, and our place in it. All our boys are taught many facts about the past. But most importantly they are required to question, to wonder, to argue, to think. It is these skills of analysis as well as the development of knowledge that help our students see more than just the headlines. Mr Chris Fleming SOSE Coordinator — Humanities