The Importance of Including Humanities, Languages and RE in the Primary School Curriculum

History is the study of past events particularly in human affairs. It is important to teach history in key stage 1 and 2 because children need to understand where they came from and what shaped them to be the people that they are today. History allows children and pupils to explore the word but also to question why the world looks like this, why did WW1 and 2 happen. This is important as they learn to understand the past and its impact on today’s life. History teaches us how to learn from other’s mistakes and I think that this is really important as children will learn and know what they can do and can’t do e.g.WW1 this is a good example to use for preventing bullying in school or outside school and to show that you have to be kind and respectful to everyone. That you have to appreciate the differences because if you don’t respect each other you might fall out and that might not lead to something well. Another important aspect of history is that it shows us models of good and responsible citizenship. When I was on placement with Year 3, the teacher taught them what roman numbers are and where we still saw them. The children had to write down the roman numbers and try and remember it. Then they had to draw a clock with the roman numbers on. This was a perfect way for the children to learn their roman numbers. This also fitted in when they were learning about the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain.

“As a man without memory and self-knowledge is a man adrift, so a society without memory (or more correctly, without recollection) and self-knowledge would be a society adrift.” Said by: Arthur Marwick, The Nature of History, 1970, p 13. I find this quote very important because it explains the importance of why we need to teach History. Because how can you live in present without having any knowledge of the past. Knowing History makes sure you can answer questions better because you have the knowledge that you need in order to answer the question e.g. ‘Why did WW1 happen?’ It is important for the children to know how the past has influenced the present and how it shaped the society. History helps children with accepting differentiation of yourself and everyone else. It will also help them making personal choices and decisions, values and attitudes. By teaching children history it will be easier for them to make conclusions by researching about history and find evidence but also by getting taught the subject. This will benefit the children when they get into adulthood because it will make them criticize other people’s point of views of an argument but also their own choices.

Languages is a method of communication that we humans use. Teaching a language in primary school is very important as it isn’t just learning a new language. There is a whole cultural world behind the words we use to communicate e.g. hello or goodbye. Articles have been saying that the younger you’re the quicker you will process the language and the easier it will be for that individual to learn a different ancient language when they grow up. Learning a foreign language can also give you an opportunity to develop or work on vital skills such as problem solving, ability to switch tasks but also for when you want to travel the world at least you will be able to know what to say. As Andrew Muir, Animator said “I think it's hugely important to be able to speak another language. It unlocks areas of the world you may have never seen yourself before and gives you the chance to meet and learn from people across the globe.' I think that that this is a very important quote as it explains the benefit of learning an additional language which is that you can communicate with people that have a different cultural background towards you, and it will also benefit for later as languages can take you all over the world so when you’re looking for a new job at your favourite country e.g. France.

Studying a foreign language encourages and builds mental flexibility and having the ability to understand differences. It will increase your intelligence as you will be learning all these different vocabularies but also it shows that you can remember a lot as well since learning a new language can be quite difficult. In addition, it will give you better understanding of the world and its history. Learning a new language can increase a student’s critical thinking skills which is important because we use it every day as it helps us make good decisions. In addition, it helps us understand our actions that we take and the consequences of it but also on how to solve problems. This will benefit the children so they know what is right and wrong therefore they can reach their goals in a better way.

Learning a new language is also very useful for when the children go on a holiday. As they know the basics of the language and can have that simple conversation with other people in that country that do not speak English but French instead. Therefore, by learning a new language it brings the children one step ahead. When I was on placement in the Year 3 class the teacher taught them French by playing French songs about colours.

R.E. is the teaching of religion and its varied aspects. R.E. is important as it develops pupils understanding and knowledge of religion and traditions and their influence on individuals, communities, societies and cultures. It provides students with a direction to life whether they want to believe that there is a god or not. R.E. enables young people to question fundamentals of human existence. I think that R.E. provides equality as different books tell us that we have to respect each other and accept everyone e.g. The Quran states “O people, we created you from the same male and female, and rendered you distinct peoples and tribes that you may recognize one another.” The bible states ‘Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

RE helps us understand why the world keeps changing whether that is religion taking over the world or the beliefs that we each as an individual have. Teaching RE in primary schools can be very useful in respecting diversity because now-a-days there is so much going around that could be because not many people teach RE or RE is an option in school that you could choose to do. This could have an impact on people’s point of views towards people that have their own beliefs and religion. It also helps children understand their spiritual, moral, social and cultural question that happens in their lives e.g. who created the universe? How do we exist? Etc. It helps us answer some of the questions that we have because some people say that god made the universe and some people said the earth existed from an explosion depends on what you belief. Also, RE can help children making the right decisions about life because some religions say that you have to act well and be kind to everyone in order to get into heaven and likewise having a better life.

When I was on placement with the Year 3 class the teacher taught the children RE. The children were learning on how to love your neighbour as you love yourself. This was very interesting as she showed a video of people with different religions respecting each other. I think that it is important to teach children RE as they learn so much about other people’s beliefs and religion. RE teaches the children on how to be respectful to others and be kind and know that everyone is the same as were all human but different because each one of us have our unique differences. If we didn’t teach RE in primary schools then children might be more eager to others because they don’t know about their differences.

Geography is the study of the physical features of the earth and its atmosphere. It is important to educate children about geography as it enables them to make sense of their world and to develop a connection and understanding of the world and their place within. With geography it can develop skills and values that will improve the world through social and environmental action. It will also help children make better decisions on how to live their lives now and in the future. Geography helps children understand the country that their living in and the continent. When it comes to teaching the children about their country they can expect to learn about citizenship e.g. what are the policies that can help the student make better decisions. Economics is another factor that will learn in class because it tells them about transportation networks and natural resources. The most important factor is the environment as it covers the relationship between the environment and human beings. Such as population growth and technological upbringings that affect the environment.

Geography helps children to understand the world as they get taught how to read maps and understand global information. Which is vital for when you go on holiday or when you want to travel. When I did my placement in Year 3 the children were trying to read maps. Then they got a similar map without the countries on it and there were dots on the map that the children had to work out what countries they were. They had to do this by using the map that had the countries on and state them on the map that had nothing on other than dots. This was useful as it helped the children’s reading skills, searching skills (this is when the teacher asked the children to find France, so they had to search for it in order to find the country), spellings. Therefore, we need to teach Geography in primary school because it’s not only about knowing where different countries and continents are but it also helps with literacy and life skills that the children will need in the future.