HUMANITIES

TEACHING HISTORY AT MCKINNON

I have been a teacher for a long time, and I still enjoy it immensely. At a previous school I taught the Russian and Chinese Revolutions which was incredibly fascinating. I have been at McKinnon since 2015 and been teaching the French and Russian Revolutions since 2017. I absolutely love it, almost as much as my love for football and my beloved Arsenal.

Teaching History is challenging as I am constantly looking for ways to make the course as relevant as I can and to find links to everyday life. The French Revolution has it all, love, power, religion, war, violence, and ideologies. If you cannot find something interesting in that well you must be dead. The Russian Revolution is similar but different again. Tsar Nicholas II and his foreign-born wife Alexandra, similar to Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette. The Russian Revolution has Rasputin, war, religion, violence, Lenin and the Bolsheviks, civil war, famine to name just a few. My job is to teach them the content and how to write about it.

It would be remiss of me to not mention how well the students work. They contribute to discussion, they read, they challenge themselves and me. Sometimes I read or hear people knocking teenagers and their work ethic, but I see the complete opposite in S3.5. They are the glue that binds the narrative and their sharp insights on linking historical events to current events would soften even the most hardened cynic of the teenage mind. They engage, think critically and it inspires me as I know the world will be in safe hands once when my salt and pepper hair turns fully grey.

Before that happens, I hope to inspire students to learn more about the world and to see the links between past events to the present day. The students inspire me and I love when they see those links and make their own. History is all about interpretations and I want my students to have their own interpretations of these two seismic events. I learn so much from the students every year and while teaching is hard work, it is still fun. I hope my students feel the same way!

This year we have two Revolutions classes and I hope that the History team at McKinnon can continue to increase the number of students studying this wonderfully engaging but also complex and challenging subject. The ability to write well is paramount but more importantly the ability to analyse both visual and written sources in preparation for the end of year exam.

Teaching Revolutions has probably been the most challenging subject I have taught during my career, but it has easily been one of the most rewarding aspects of my career.

The story of both Revolutions is fascinating and intriguing and also allows me to find new ways to link in what it is I am trying to teach, even comparing Louis XVI to Taylor Swift!!

Louis XVI on a white horse 1778
Taylor Swift singing White Horse in 2008. Note her boots as well!

Thanks for reading and I hope I inspire you to learn more about the French and Russian Revolutions!

Jonathan Jhoomun

Senior History Teacher

UNIT 3, AREA OF STUDY 1 - GLOBAL ACTORS AND CHALLENGES TO STATE SOVEREIGNTY

Last week Year 12 Global Politics students had their first SAC which delved into the concept of state sovereignty, specifically the way in which regional groupings, contested borders and issues which require multilateral resolution challenge the power of the state. We closely studied the aspects of sovereignty which states have to surrender as members of the European Union, the way in which China’s actions on the South China Sea hinder the Philippines ability to control the region and the lability, or lack thereof of Paris Climate Agreement in limiting the US ability to peruse an independent energy policy.

It was interesting to consider where shared policy and international law holds states accountable and the circumstances in which they can circumvent it. Throughout the process, it became clear that states are the most powerful actors in global politics as they have sovereignty, and it was interesting to see the effect that reputational concerns have on states, although they often get disregarded when push comes to shove.

Hila Zaacks

Year 12 Student