AES Humanities Department
Learning of Humanities in AES is Real and Relevant.
Programmes
ASEAN Symposium 2022
Over the course of 3 months, 10 of our Secondary 3 students conducted extensive research on issues and challenges facing ASEAN.
The team chose to explore the environmental challenges faced by ASEAN as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and came up with solutions to tackle them.
They presented their findings in the form of a newscasting video with students from other schools in Singapore as well as other ASEAN countries.
NUS Geography Challenge
A team of our Secondary 3 students participated in the National University of Singapore Geography Challenge (NUS GC) with the theme for the 2022 edition: Eco-Utopia: Blueprints for our Green Futures.
Leveraging on the Singapore Green Plan 2030 and United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the team was empowered and inspired to thinking critically of the larger picture and do their part to create an environment that is beneficial to both the current and future generations.
They explored the potential solutions and opportunities to promote active citizenry as they envisioned their Eco-Utopia, creating the Blueprints for our Green Futures.
Humanities Experience - West Spring Primary School
Our Secondary 2 students hosted P6 students from West Spring Primary School, introducing them to the Humanities subjects through the exploration the Past, Present and Future of Housing in Singapore.
Through the experience, the P6 students discovered the history and development of public housing in Singapore (History) and observe the characteristics of modern day HDB flats (Geography), before envisioning what their future homes would look like in view of current day challenges.
Geography
• Student Artefacts •
Sec 2 Geographical Investigation
Inquiry Question: How do different features in the neighbourhood impact residents’ quality of life?
Student Reflection
Through this geographical investigation, I learned how to craft questions that are related to my hypothesis, as well as how to use google forms to collect data.
To improve our investigation, my group could do an in-person observation of the elderly to collect data. For example, I could stand at a supermarket and see areas in which the elderly needed help and also ask them what can be improved so that my data would be more focused on the elderly.
Kayla Woon (2TG5, 2022)
History
• Student Artefacts •
Sec 3 Historical Investigation
Inquiry Question: To what extent, if at all, did Hitler’s rule benefit the people in Germany?
Informative Boards >>>
Students took on the persona of a musician during Hitler's rule. They documented the types of suffering the musician had to go through, and shed light on the kind of entertainment that was available to express their emotions.
<<< Diary Entries
Students took on the persona of a Jew in the concentration camp, journalling the types of suffering they faced, as well as the ignorance of the rest of the population.
<<< Website
Some students chose to create a website to demonstrate their knowledge of the experiences of Jews during the Holocaust, as well as the social, economic and political impacts of Hitler's rule.
Social Studies
• Student Artefacts •
Sec 3 Issue Investigation
Inquiry Question: Are there sufficient support given to meet the needs of people with disabilities in Singapore?
Student Reflection
I learned more about the struggles people with physical disabilities face, be it financially, physically or emotionally. Before I did this project, I did not know much about them and could even say I was a part of the problem as well - I was stereotyping and labeling them, which was not nice of me.
Through this project and through all the SLS videos and articles about people with physical disabilities, I finally understand how difficult it really is to live life normally with such disabilities, and that even with the help the government provides for them, it isn't enough until the whole of society finally understands and accepts them, until stigma goes away.
I learned to keep an open mind and to be empathetic. The next time I meet someone as such, I will know what to say and how to act.