Transcript:

Most students at some point of their high school education will be faced with a choice of studying history or geography. For my part, I firmly believe they should both be compulsory. Given this is often not realistic, how do we best guide students in their choice? The guiding tenant should be what the student is interested in. Students’ natural leanings seem so often these days to be overlooked. For goodness sake, let them do what they want to do, not what they think will lead them to future economic success, or what their parents think they should study. If they aren’t sure, talk to them about their strengths and interests. History will clearly involve more essay writing, which may be limiting for some students. Geography, on the other hand, calls for practical skills, field work and a different style of writing.

Encourage students to talk to older students about their experiences, and if they were happy with the choices they made. Looking at the type of assessment tasks given for the various courses could also provide the uncertain student with a little more idea about what to expect.