Science Technology Engineering Mathematics History Thought Belief The Modern World
Students should finish high school with a good understanding of where humans came from,
and of our place in the universe, up to the present.
For the most part, what is taught in schools lags behind what we know/understand.
Of course the construction of detailed curricula, the methods use to
impart the information, the construction of lessons,
the use of visual aids and media to assist understanding, etc., etc., is
a matter for content experts and education experts in the various
fields. .
Also, the coverage in the modules outlined below is quite extensive, and there is certainly too much information overall to cover in the years of elementary-, middle- and high school, especially after factoring all the other material that needs to be covered. Consequently, some choices will need to be made about which content to include in each module, while still presenting the overall picture.
The content in the various pop-up boxes reflects my own non-specialist understanding of these topics, acquired mostly from Wikipedia,
and in any proper school curriculum will certainly need to be re-written by experts in the various fields.
After expanding any of the accordion tabs, click on any of the topic links to get a popup window with a brief description of the topic,
and a link to the Wikipedia page with a more detailed description of the topic.
Remark: At this time, this page (with its many popups and hover boxes) is not designed for viewing on mobile devices, although the popups and hover boxes
appear to work on android phones (and possibly other types of phone).
The reason for the accordions, popup, and tooltip boxes is to allow for rapid navigation between topics.
If you find a topic that you wish to read more about, it is strongly recommended that you follow the link (which may be found at the bottom of the popup- and tooltip boxes)
to the corresponding page on Wikipedia, where the article will be more legible and where there will be more live links.
The aim here should be to leave students with an understanding of the earth's place in space and time,
how it arose in terms of the processes that led to stellar and planetary formation,
how the earth and the solar system relate to the rest of the universe,
both in terms of the vastness of space and the history of the universe since the Big Bang.
Topics that should be covered include (click on a heading to open a popup window):
The aim here is to explain how the present physical earth (everything
apart from life forms) arose from the time when
the material in the earth coalesced from a dispersed cloud of gas and dust in space
into the primeval earth around 4.6 billion years ago (as outlined elsewhere, in another module).
This area of information should include explanations of the origin and development of all the major
features of the earth, the transitions they went through over time,
and how these processes causing these changes continue to shape the earth.
Topics covered should include:
Apoikozoa |
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950 mya |
One aim here is to present a picture, in so far as it is understood,
of the transition from the time (over 4 billion years) when the earth was completely devoid of life,
up to the present time (with its multitude of lifeforms). A second aim is to present an overall picture of the Earth's present lifecover
(its extent and its diversity). A third aim is to present a fairly detailed picture of structure, functioning and complexity of lifeform
bodies (particularly those of humans),
and of the history of the development of the various component structures and systems that allow the bodies of lifeforms to exist
and live.
This would also be a difficult topic to teach,
not least because once the origin and nature of life starts to be discussed, one almost immediately starts to
intersect with various (particularly religious- and philosophical-) concepts such the meaning and purpose of life
(or indeed if such concepts have any validity or meaning),
the nature of humans, the existence- or non-existence of a God (and the nature of such a being), etc., etc.
From the point of view of teaching this information,
there is much evidence and fairly wide acceptance (even amongst major religious groups that consider such questions)
of the idea that life evolved through slow change over billions of years.
What is more contentious is what might be the mechanism of the process of change,
in particular whether lifeforms first originated, and continue to evolve, solely through chemical processes.
Since this viewpoint (that the origin and evolution of lifeforms are
purely chemical processes) is not universally accepted, students
should be told that there is not universal agreement on the nature of
life and the mechanism of its evolution, and that what is being
discussed is the history.
Topics covered should include enough of the following to present the overall picture:
Apoikozoa |
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950 mya |
The aim here is to present the picture, again in so far as it is understood, of the transition from the time when the ancestors
of modern human were essentially indistinguishable from other primate ancestors alive at the time
(and human ancestors at the time had effected virtually no transformation of the environment)
and the present time (when humans have effected quite extensive transformations of the earth's surface
(towns and cities, farmland, transportation networks, etc., etc.).
This information imparted in this area should be framed in the context the picture presented in the areas that dealt with "The Origin and
Evolution of the Universe", "The Origin and History of the Earth" and "The Origin and Evolution of Life on Earth, the diversity of lifeforms
on Earth (past and present), the structure and functioning of lifeforms (with particular emphasis on humans)".
Topics should include:
- Common Ancestry with Chimpanzees and Bonobos,
- First Human Ancestors ~ 2.8 Million Years Ago
- Subsequent Physical Evolution
- Subsequent Spread over the Earth
- First Appearance Of Modern Humans ~ 200,000 Years Ago
- Behavioral Modernity ~ 70,000 Years Ago
- Extinct Species Related to Modern Humans
- Migration to South Asia ~ 50,000 Years Ago
- Migration to Australia and Europe ~ 40,000 Years Ago
- Accelerated Human Evolution in the Last 10,000 Years
The picture presented should not just cover the changes that happened over time,
but should also give some idea what life was like for humans at various times
and in various places in the past.
This could include, as far as can be determined, descriptions of life in:
- various hunter-gatherer communities
- various early settled farming/fishing communities
- various early city states
- various early extensive civilizations/empires
- various recent civilizations
Finally, the picture presented should explain the origin, essentially from nothing or almost nothing,
of all major aspects of the modern human world, including:
- The Changing Physical Appearance of Humans
- Hunting and Gathering
- Clothing
- Dwelling Places
- Plant Cultivation
- Animal Domestication
- Tools, Implements and Weapons
- Population Growth
- Speech and Language
- Writing
- Art
- Music and Musical Instruments
- Developments in Religious Beliefs
- Ideas, Thought and Philosophy
- Roads and Transport
- Sailing and Ships
- The Struggle for Survival
- War and Conflict
- Developments in Health Care
- Work and Professions
- Trading
- Technology and Machines
- Science and Knowledge
- Growth of Towns and Cities
- Development of Money
- Developments in Social and Political Structures.
year | 1400 | 1500 | 1600 | 1700 | 1800 | 1900 | 2000 | 2100 |
population (in billions) |
0.35–0.40 | 0.42–0.50 | 0.50–0.58 | 0.60–0.68 | 0.89–0.98 | 1.56–1.71 | 6.06–6.15 | c. 10–13 |
growth p.a. | <0% | <0.12% | 0.15–0.3% | 0.1–0.15% | 0.3–0.5% | 0.5–0.6% | 1.3–1.4% | 0.7–0.8% |