#HASSchat Archive
A Twitter chat for K-12 teachers of the Humanities and Social Sciences, held on the last Thursday of every month at 7:00pm (Sydney, Australia).
Thursday August 25, 2016
5:00 AM EDT
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We're underway here for the first time ever on ! Tell us who you are, where you teach, and what you teach! https://t.co/qME5j21v3G
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Claire I teach stage 3 and supervise kindergarten
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My name is Marco. I am a 7-12 teacher from Sydney. I teach Geog, Commerce, Religion and have dabbled in History & Business Studies
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Alex in Central Queensland, from England.
I primarily teach SoR and English but have the occasional SOSE class over the years.
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Stuart from Auckland, New Zealand, DP and English teacher.
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Hi Claire! Great to have you on board!
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We'll be using the Q1 A1 format for .
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Q1 is coming up in a minute!
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Great to meet you, Alex! I love teaching SoR!
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Glad to have you on board, Stuart! You are a gentleman and a scholar!
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Maybe LOL. Happy to get stuck in. For me the are about seeing society in the classroom.
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In NSW HSIE has been replaced by History and Geography .. Do you think separating it or keeping it together is best?
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Hi, apologies but can't join tonight. Wishing your first great success.
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Very true! They give you a chance to bring the world to a 'captive audience' who may not otherwise experience it!
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A1 - Humanity subjects are just that - about humans. What drives us, our place in the world, our influence and history
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I agree but they only have merit if relevant to the students on hand.
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I think there's merit in keeping it together. Many times you can bring in elements of both subs. in one! Why keep apart?
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Trying going to a school 85% European back in the 80s!
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Nice Alex! They also lead us to see the future a lot easier.
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It means you're doing a good job though if they're that perceptive and inquisitive. That's the goal of education for me
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Hopefully to learn from our mistakes!
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You'd think so but then look at the US now!
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A2 English compulsory to our Year 12 year, SS necessary up to Year 11.
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A2: My school has a vibrant HSIE dept. and all Ts push the subjects in senior years. Hist. v. pop. Geo not as much!
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It is taught both specifically and also embedded into the other KLAS. Creative and critical thinking are key focuses for study.
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A2 Our students love GEO but struggle with Classics- not relevant to their lives.
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There needs to be more awareness towards current issues!
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No, it's completely left up to schools.
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I've worked in many schools and have friends in many others. Geo in senior years is always a hit and miss.
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A2 - It appears to be valued BUT if I'm being honest, there are times when the 'any teacher will do' attitude arises.
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Brilliant! Surely people have thought this through?
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Brilliant! Surely people have thought this through?
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Google Maps, Earth etc has changed everything!
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That's a real shame! It really does a disservice to the Ss if the T isn't passionate!
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I doubt it. I'm English remember. Over half of that little island just voted to the EU!
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As in all subjects, but I find it particularly vital in HASS
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Interesting times indeed! NZ people still can't believe what happened!
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Absolutely, Eng being a language and literature subject pretty safe but HASS ones have had to evolve to stay relevant
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Good HASS idea - imagine a world run by Trump, Farrage, Putin and Hanson!
May the odds be ever in your favour
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Thanks Alex for ensuring no sleep tonight!
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See! This is why I live in the middle of nowhere! :-)
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Q3 will be up in a minute!
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A3 If topics relevant to tbeir inidviduality and cutlure, hugely positive but if no relevance, no care.
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A3: My Ss love History, Business Studies, and Legal Studies, but once they hit senior school, fall out with Geography!
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A3 kids love it!!! This is frequently where their engagement is highest.
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A3 - Mixed. HASS seen as a waste of time until something really grabs their attentions & peaks their interest - then v.passionate!
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Which elements/subjects in particular?
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Exactly! As you mentioned earlier, technology has meant so much is now easier to do, so no need to learn it!
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True. They see them as a path to a future job... law, finance, etc.
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The junior syllabus isn't engaging sometimes, or not taught with 'gusto' to hook them in.
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I LOVED Geog at school, but then, we did a full field study in the Yorkshire Dales so what's not to love?!
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I loved it so much I majored in it. Sad that not all share my passion in schools!
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I tch HASS in grades 1-3 & the kids LOVE it! so many Qs about the world past & present they want answered https://t.co/izTNhIKLag
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I hated being in the stream class in Year 9 & 10, too serious, too much teaching!
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They are so full of wonder at that age as well!
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Thoughts on the impact of the push for STEM or STEAM in HASS?
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I think it's great! My Ss are currently coding an air quality detector!
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IMO The junior years have to be about ensuring optimism for learning over the content itself.
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IMO The junior years have to be about ensuring optimism for learning over the content itself.
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Such a great age! My daughter is 7 and ridiculously inquisitive! (some might say, nosy!)
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Which is why I'm trying to be as innovative and engaging as possible in the junior years!
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Nice stuff. Students turned off are very hard to get back on track!
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A4: This is where I get passionate... HASS IS THE WORLD!
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A4: I tell my Ss the air you are intaking now could be the same that Caesar could have taken.
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A5 - It is, and always will be, the MOST relevant of areas. HASS is about who we are as a species - our place in the world!
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A4- HASS is the future... Embedded into cross curricular units. Kids need to learn immersed in these subjects.
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Exactly. W/ History - looking at past mistakes to not make them again.
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A4 - SoR first for me, then HASS and Literature a tied second in the importance for young minds
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A4 The closer we become as a global connection, the more we need to know of each other.
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A4 - who we are, what we do, what we did, why we did it, why we continue to do it, what should we do now
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And the more we can learn about how to communicate and get along!
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This would make a great tag line or hook for a HASS program!
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I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm having a great time so far!
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Very close to the qs we ask in English!
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Precisely! That's what it's all about - stories - it's all about stories. We're immersed in them; we live them.
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A5: I try (hard) to make their learning practical and authentic! Real-world application is a must!
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A5 - You make it relevant by making it relevant!
A dumb answer, I know, but that's it - engage Ss in stories they can care about
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As an English teacher ( you too)... how do you use narrative in HASS?
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Work from their interests, make-up backwards and then adapt the desired learning to them. A5
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A5-flexible teaching strategies which enable the Ss to learn foundations and then research in a direction they are interested in
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Wait... did I accidentally fall into another chat? Haha!
and !
Sorry for intruding :-D
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Great question - life stories, biographies, eye-witness accounts, relatable people, historical fiction
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No way, it was my stuff=up!
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I love getting mine to write 'factual fiction' stories!
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I agree, I see Eng as a mirror on society, the past, the now and what's to come!
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Medieval Europe is always good for this one!
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Nice, needs to be about people more than anything else IMO.
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Q6, the last question of the inaugural is up soon!
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A6: The future is mixed... needs to keep up with the times and use new and innovative methods to draw Ss in!
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If embraced, then it becomes a vital learning area...
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Needs to be used meaningfully... not just for the sake of it!
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HASS is the future! Without reflection on the past we cannot succeed in the future! We teach those who will run the future.
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I agree, the more integrated it becomes with other subjects, the more powerful and essential for learning beyond.
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That's the thing, isn't it! The Ss don't realise how powerful HASS is for them!
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There's so many ways HASS can be integrated with other KLAs!
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I think the HASS are better placed for the future compared to mostly content subjects.
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The sad thing is that some Ts don't want tot embrace the shift towards a more tech. reliant HASS!
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Some of our Sci classes struggle for attention, content can come off net.
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The sad thing is that some Ts don't want to embrace the shift towards a more tech. reliant HASS!
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Exactly! It won't replace them. Perhaps fear of becoming useless?
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Then sadly their classrooms are about teaching over learning.
