Social Science
History
Knowledge is Power
Faculty
H
istory at St
Bernard’s has been
changing over the
past three years to
reflecting the intent of the
New Curriculum, namely that
content selection should
connect with the experience
of New Zealand and New
Zealander’s in so far as
possible. This is not difficult;
given our geographical
isolation and cultural
diversity, almost anything
does.
The main challenge for a history
teacher in this new environment
is to design a program over three
years that tells a coherent story.
There never was such a thing
under the old curriculum, but it is
necessary now because the task
has been formally localized.
So the story is now fully up in
lights and it features some
interesting characters. Those
from last year are still there, but
there have been some additions.
The huge up side of this is that
a history teacher now takes
full responsibility for what gets
taught; and to do that effectively
one has to have something to
teach! Cribbing from a redundant
textbook no longer cuts it.
The historical story has to be
grounded in some over-arching
concepts, and here are the
great theorists who shape the
explanation at all three levels.
This is the reason for the
selection of topics taught in
history at St Bernard’s and the
assessments that support them.
The assumption is that this will
permit an ability to ‘join the dots’
that will enable a coherent story.
“
Sun Tzu
The greatest of all commentators
on the nature of strategy and
warfare in his book “The Art of
War”.
‘Know your enemy and know
yourself, and you can fight
a hundred battles without
disaster.’
‘The supreme art of war is to
subdue the enemy without
fighting.’
Know your enemy
and know yourself
”
Carl von Clausewitz
George Kennan
General Kurt Student
Robert Oppenheimer
The next
greatest
commentator. A
prophet deeply
misunderstood
in his homeland,
but not by
George Kennan,
the mastermind
of the underlying Western strategy
in the Cold War
Never
underestimate
the ability of
the Americans
to craft a global
strategy. A
thumbnail of
Kennan’s analysis :
This man was
highlighted by
a pupil, and
he’s probably
better
matched
with General
Freyberg
than Prime
Minister Peter
Fraser in the Battle for Crete
topic. He perfectly exemplifies
Liddell Hart’s contention that
The man who
did the most
to turn a series
of equations
into a working
nuclear
weapon
eventually
turned against
the whole thing, had his security
clearance revoked, and became a
figure of suspicion.
‘War is an act of force
to compel our enemy
to do our will.’
‘If we consistently contain
any aggressive pressure from
the Soviet Union – which
essentially is a latter day
variant of Tsarist policies –
then eventually the USSR
will implode through selfcontradiction.’
‘battles are won or lost in
the minds of the opposing
commanders.’
Some of those who feature in
history at St Bernard’s. A mixed
bag, but part of a common
thread.
Mr Michael Fowler, TiC History
68
St Bernard’s College 2013