This article first appeared in Queenwood News Weekly 25 October 2019

If you could only study one subject what would it be? Surely a serious consideration would have to be Geography. When discussing with parents what their daughters will be studying through their years in Geography at Queenwood, they are frequently surprised that we won’t be learning the capital cities of some of the 195 countries or learning to read maps most lessons! Instead, Geography plays a crucial role in understanding our world. It makes a vital contribution to our knowledge of the rapidly changing environmental and social challenges facing us and how we should tackle them. I am as passionate about the philosophy of Geography now as I was when I first studied the subject at school.

The world is changing fast and I really don’t know of another subject that can deliver such a comprehensive holistic view of it all. Geography today is more relevant to our students than it has ever been. Young people are seriously looking at the world that they are inheriting and questioning what is being done to tackle climate change? Why is there a growth in nationalism? What are the causes of mass migrations? Are human rights and civil liberties declining? What will the changes in global demographic structure mean for the global economy? These are amongst some of the questions we have addressed in the last academic year.

Sir Michael Palin, of Monty Python fame and former president of the Royal Geographical Society, expressed his pleasure at the significant increase in take-up of the subject in English schools. In an interview in 2018 he described Geography as a vital subject in the modern world, broadening minds and encouraging an understanding of different countries and cultures. He is not alone in his views. A recent article from the UK examined data from the UK’s Higher Education Statistics Agency demonstrating that Geography graduates are the least likely to be unemployed, with 90% finding work or proceeding to higher education after graduating. It also interestingly quotes a student who left Oxford University with First Class Geography degree saying “Geography has been a really useful degree. It’s more about the transferable skills than knowledge. Geography arms you with the skills that would be applicable in the workplace.”

Sometimes students are under the misconception that the subjects they study at HSC or IB define their career paths but students who have graduated frequently find that the career they now follow is not related to the content of their senior school studies or degree. The skills set Geography provides and the critical understanding it builds in our students are arguably some of the most important competencies we can learn at school.

The need to think critically is reinforced by having to navigate through the high volumes of information that they face on a daily basis with Google, Twitter and Facebook being preferred sources of information to the more traditional forms of media. Much of the information received is false, exaggerated or sponsored. Impartial reporting and reliable, quality current affairs are being squeezed by fake news and misinformation. We must develop in our students the ability to carefully select their sources of information and base their understanding on reliable, robust and well researched coverage. Geography helps students survive a complicated online world where issues such as the environment and politics can be highly emotive.

I feel lucky to enjoy my work as a teacher of Geography. My day could start with a Year 9 debate on vaccinations and then move to a Year 7 lesson where the girls plann a trip to climb Mt Everest, booking flights, buying equipment and making a booking with a climbing company. It could conclude with Year 11s looking at the national security implications of climate change and Year 12 International Baccalaureate girls looking at issues of facial recognition and surveillance in China.

I am optimistic about the future and importance of Geography for today’s students, although it may take a while longer to shake off the old stereotypes of map reading, capital cities and colouring in! Those students that study Geography will be better for it and can leave it to Google maps to do most of the navigating. Although don’t tell the Year 7s that – we still need to do some map reading!

Mr Tony Coutts
Geography Teacher