Short Practicum Story

One particularly interesting story during my short practicum is when I observed a social studies class. It was a grade 10 enriched social studies class, otherwise known as pre-IB. A group of three students was presenting on an international political issue, that of the nuclear program development in Iran. The students discussed the issue from the perspective of multiple international stakeholders, including the USA, NATO, and the UN. It was interesting to see the nascent stages of their insight into international relations and history. However, I found that their presentation to be severely lacking in that they missed multiple key players in the discussion (most notably the EU). I also observed the interaction of the teacher with the students and his effectiveness in guiding critical thinking. Based on these topics however I find it interesting to explore the possibility of integrating topics that would otherwise be considered a humanities topic in a mathematical context (for example, the mathematical fairness of the selection process for the UN security council).