Hot Chocolate Friday 23/24 - History

The new academic year saw a welcome return for our Pupil Voice sessions - Hot Chocolate Friday (it was actually orange squash this week as it was too hot!). Friday afternoon saw Mr Feldman and 10 of our young archivists, archaeologists and researchers take a deep dive into what it means to be a historian.

Firstly we had an interesting discussion of what history actually is. Shayan put it so eloquently when he said it 'was how people develop over time', Moustafa M backed this point up by saying 'it's the study of people who make a difference'. When I probed a little further to ask whether history is just the study of men, Ali pointed it out that it's about learning from 'past mistakes' such as the way women were treated over time. 

What really impressed me was just how much knowledge has stuck over time (even more so because I forgot to ask the children to bring their books). I asked the children what some of the main themes were of their history curriculum last year - our Year 4's were quick to point out the role of invasion, Malyar was very keen on telling me how Victorian children experienced school differently and Arhan confidently relayed the story of Fu Hao from the Shang Dynasty. 

Finally, as the last cookie was consumed, we spoke about what makes a good historian, we managed to come up with the following points:

* Using prior knowledge - themes are repeated as time progresses.

* Learning from other people - how significant people can actually change the world.

* Chronology - Understanding when events occur around the world.

* Artefacts and sources - of course a stone age child couldn't use an Iphone!!!

Thank you to all my junior Simon Scharma's and Sister Wendy's! - Malyar, Mawaddah, Shayan, Ayana, Moustafa M, Rajbeer, Caidon, Ekram, Ali and Arham - Next week - Art!