Cultural Contrasts

Werte Class 7 Families,

After a very successful camp at the end of term 2, Classes 7 & 8 have dived into term 3 re-visiting their camp journals with the intention of editing and publishing their adventures. The students are learning the importance of good journal keeping, objective and subjective observations, and the role journals have played in the recording of history.

We continue with our Geography Main Lesson which incorporates Cultural Contrasts:

A study of tribal societies introduces the 13-year-old to the spiritual/cultural relations of the human being and the environment. By studying the relationship between environment and the indigenous people who live there, the way in which natural processes and human beings interact and interrelate become clearer. In broad imaginative pictures, the students come to truly sense the environment in which a tribal society lives and the way in which it shapes their lives. Such a study supports the students’ capacity to recognise the earth’s surface as a unity in relation to human activity but with local considerations creating a distinctive character and diversity.

A study of new lands and indigenous people within the landscape lays the foundation for students to recognise the inter-relationships and interdependence of humankind and the natural world. Such a study leads the student outwards, away from self-centredness, to begin the process of awakening to our responsibility to the Earth, which sustains us. It also calls on human beings to develop a deeper sense of brotherhood and increasing sense of social responsibility. (Topic 7.2 Australian Steiner Curriculum Frameworks)

Our upcoming Camel Trek through the desert from Stuarts Well to Rainbow Valley will offer an insight into both the harmony and the harshness of the landscape. Imagine traditional people have walked this same landscape for tens of thousands of years, reading the land, singing the land, and being at one with the land. Then in more recent times, cameleers and explorers have also walked through this land, perhaps with different skills and intentions. How has the land changed with different laws and practices?

We are very privileged to be joined by some of the Traditional Owners of the Rainbow Valley area. They will take us around the area to explain sites of significance and what this land means to them, as well as how it is managed nowadays.

Another aspect of our Geography Main Lesson is developing mapping skills. After venturing out to Ormiston Gorge and walking the Pound, we have studied both linear and topographical maps of the area. The students are now re-creating a 3D model of Ormiston Gorge utilising their ability to read and interpret the topographical markings on the page.

Looking forward to it all!

Megan x

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