Humming Along: Teaching for the sake of humanity
Burt Bacharach’s iconic line, “What the world needs now,” has always struck me as a powerful prompt. If you tried to answer it today, what would come to mind?
Your answer is probably not better maths scores, a stronger phonics program or more explicit instruction? No, I think most educators in the world would like to see one thing: a greater sense of humanity.
In a decade dominated by literacy and numeracy headlines, and where STEM is frequently positioned as the future, I have felt a growing desire to make a bold, necessary intervention in the educational dialogue. In our current world climate, what could be more crucial than the subject that teaches students empathy, ethics, identity and global appreciation. It’s time for the Humanities to emerge from the shadows and be recognised and valued for how it shapes young Australians.
It doesn’t take much to fascinate young people in their world. For me it was just a Little Golden Book in pre-school that sparked a sense of wonder about people and places. The joy of learning about humanity brought a relentless curiosity which then shaped my entire career, inspiring my most recent milestone.
My new book, Humming Along: Achieving Excellence in Teaching Primary and Secondary Humanities, is a rallying cry for educators who believe that the heart of schooling lies in helping young people understand themselves, others, and the world. It is a response to a system that has long undervalued the very subject that teaches students to be human and yet should be prioritised as artificial intelligence and automation impact the next generation’s future.
Humanities has a unique structure where four diverse disciplines are taught within one subject. Over the years, I’ve watched the Humanities curriculum expand from a hand held umbrella into a gazebo with four pillars, while the time allocated to teach it has barely shifted.
Finding educators who can confidently teach History, Geography, Civics & Citizenship and Economics & Business often requires a generalist and specialist all in one. I’ve often wondered whether the idea of a ‘triple threat performer’ could be extended to a quadruple threat Humanities educator.
After years of humming along teaching my own Humanities classes, it was when I became a Head of Humanities that I discovered a confronting truth. At least half of the faculty felt they had been thrust into the subject out-of-field, anxious and underprepared. Yes the Humanities faculty is often a revolving door for staffing allocations, lacking a continuity or consistency of educators across subjects. Graduate teachers fear being assigned topics they had never studied while specialists fiercely protect their own discipline. I used to question if anyone was actually happy to be in the department. It was a culture that didn’t reflect what the subject is meant to champion, but a trend that seemed to occur at most schools.
Humming Along tackles the challenges for a Humanities faculty head on. With a deep empathy for teachers, I understand the exhaustion of juggling multiple disciplines and the frustration of vying for attention from leadership. In response, I offer practical, research informed strategies to help teams “hum” to the bliss of thriving collaboration. From curriculum design and authentic assessment to brand identity and wellbeing aware leadership, Humming Along nurtures a sense of wonder and awareness in the classroom to help young people navigate complexity with compassion. Precious traits that are uniquely human and hopefully felt on every page of my book.
A strong Humanities education delivered by a passionate teacher is the recipe for social cohesion and the antidote to division. If we want a socially connected future, schools must invest in staffing their Humanities faculty for the long term.
After all, Humanities teachers hold a huge responsibility, just as important as Maths, English or STEM. We are teaching the subject which ensures our students have a heart.
That the world’s future is humane. We are teaching for the sake of humanity.