Now more than ever, there is a need for our young people to study History.
It helps create a unified society by introducing youth to the ideas and experiences of people different to themselves as when young people study their past they learn about their connection, their commonality and thus gain a sense of belonging. History and Humanities education connect them to our nation and our global community. It supports their development as active citizens and by having the skills that History teaches they learn to make smart informed choices, making them less vulnerable to those people who don’t necessarily have their best interests at heart.
There has been a significant focus on STEM education, and although we acknowledge the significance and place of STEM in scientific, technological and environmental advance, we equally herald the role of History/Humanities education in generating understanding, empathy, and tolerance, all essential in generating, arguably now more than ever, a less divisive and more unified society.
We need to actively value Humanities education if we want to truly give our young people the skills to thrive in this world of increasing complexity. To do this we need to be vocal about the importance of History/ Humanities education.
There has been a national outcry over the atrocities at Bondi, and I am sure there will be further actions undertaken to reduce the chance of this occurring again. One of the most powerful, long term actions that can be taken is by increasing the value of our History/ Humanities education. It is hard to hate what you understand and see connection too. In Australia we have thousands of dedicated History educators, a well-developed curriculum and a community of History educators with HTAA and the state based affiliates all work towards a stronger History education.
The foundation for building tolerance and acceptance of difference exists, however what is needed is advocacy and fostering of the value of History/ Humanities education and educators. This isn’t expensive or hard; it just requires acknowledgement of the importance of Humanities. It can be as simple as encouraging the young people in your world to study History in senior school, to learn more about their community (and how the past has shaped the present) and development of critical analysis skills. By supporting History teachers to do what they do best and valuing the skills and knowledge they have we can create a long term positive shift in our cultural values, a more cohesive society as well as one that helps keep our young safe.
It is now, more important than ever to make long term, sustainable positive change.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact myself.
Yours sincerely
Catherine Baron
President of History Teacher Association Australia (HTAA)
A unified body representing the state based History Teacher Associations