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Year 10 subject selection: Modern History & Business Studies with David Alami

25 June 2020

David Alami has been a Teacher at Glenaeon for almost two years. He educates students enrolled in a number of subjects at the High School including Business Studies and Modern History.  His classes are always near full with these subjects attracting many pupils.

Business Studies

Have you ever wondered how the economy works? What the world of business, finance and marketing really is all about?

If you were thinking of studying human resources, marketing, commerce, accounting, finance, management or business at university then Business Studies is the subject for you. Even if you are not, chances are you are going to be working or be involved in business for a majority of your life, and the knowledge you need to succeed in these endeavours are taught in Year 11 and Year 12 Business Studies.

Business Studies is an interesting course in which the details of the nature of business, management and planning are covered in Year 11. With an emphasis on small and medium businesses, it is a course that many students (and parents) will have some reflections and ideas that will be relatable!

The HSC course looks at large businesses and we look at specific case studies to support the theory. At Glenaeon, we look at teach giant Apple and the national airline Qantas and how they put in practice the main areas of the HSC syllabus: operations, marketing, finance and human resources.

Take note, this is a popular subject and with the recent events affecting our economy, it is a subject choice that will benefit the student long after Year 12 is over.

 

Modern History

To understand where we are or where we are going, we must understand the past”. While variations of this statement have been quoted over the years, in times like today, it is of vital importance to really understand how the world we live in, came to be.  In Modern History, students learn to understand history through different perspectives. By presenting a well-rounded examination of certain events and personalities, the student in turn will build their own interpretation of the events. 

In Year 11, the course starts by looking at some interesting and controversial events in recent history; the assassination of JFK and the reasons behind the Pearl Harbor attacks. While these topics will definitely generate plenty of discussion, most students fall in love with “The Fall of the Romanovs”, where we analyse the fall of the Russian royal family leading up to the Russian Revolution. As well in Year 11, the students conduct a historical investigation in which they will select whatever modern history topic/event/personality/theme that interests them and then study it for their Main Lesson. This year, we round it off by looking at World War I and the effects of the battles on both the Eastern and Western front.

This is all leading to the HSC course, which undertakes a look at “Power and Authority in the Modern World” – How, after World War I most of Europe headed towards dictatorships, particularly Germany and Italy. This is followed by a continuation of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia concentrating on Stalin’s Soviet Union leading up to and including World War II. Finally, we look closer to home, to see how China evolved from Mao’s Cultural Revolution through to the reforms of Deng and Tiananmen Square.

If any of this sounds like it interests you, or your parents have an interest in the world (because history runs in the blood!), then Modern History is for you.