Social Change Project

Marianne Hicks

Head of Learning: Humanities

On Friday 20 November, Year 9 Humanities were pleased to host four guests from our local community: 

• Diana Baker - an International Aid Development worker and BSC parent
• Alex English - Open Space Planner at Moreland City Council
• Peter Andrews - Manager at Baptcare Affordable Housing and Sanctuary for Asylum Seekers, and
• Dr. Tim Read - Member of Parliament representing Brunswick.

Our Year 9 students are currently working on a Social Change Project, where they identify an issue that they want to change within our community - be that local, national or international. Students then create a campaign to help them achieve their goal. 

The panelists shared their personal experiences - a hand-washing project in Timor-Leste, creating and planning green spaces as part of the A Park Close To Home project, and the recent State Government announcement to invest $5.3B into social housing.  Alongside these presentations, our guests were charged with answering student questions including those about why Victoria does not have a Carbon Neutral plan, how to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and Dr Read’s plans to get a separate bike lane on Sydney Rd. 

Engaging with these guests, all of whom have and/or are in the process of affecting change within communities really helped to inspire and guide our BSC students in their own attempts to change the world.  Students found our guests both engaging and insightful, and reflected on how the talks were “engaging and captivating” and many of the topics were “not something I think about often”.  The presentations revealed a great deal about how our communities function, and how we might go about changing them.  

Click on the gallery below to enlarge the images.

Many thanks to our esteeemed guests -  Diana, Alex, Peter and Tim - all of  whom so generously donated their time and shared their experience with our students. 

Opportunities for students to interact directly with those 'at the coalface' are truly invaluable. Such moments enrich and enhance the learning experience by transporting students out of the BSC classroom and into real-life scenarios, projects and outcomes.