Welcome to IN THE KNOW ⚡️⚡️ 

We recognise that as Tweens, you're engaging with the world in a bigger waythan you used to. And that's great, because there's a lot of PRETTY interesting + important things happening.

As Oscar Wilde famously said, "you can never be overdressed or over-educated". Right?!
So 'In the Know' was devised. Not a news channel - but rather more like table chat with the fam covering a very small smattering of the latest world events for your info.

Hopefully we'll inspire you to seek more facts and actively find your voice on these and other news topics of interest to you.  

Here's a selection from Q3 2019 for your radar:

 

GLOBAL CURRENT AFFAIRS 

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS TOPIC 1 : HONG KONG POLITICS 

On June 9 Nearly 1.03 million people took to the streets to protest against a proposed new lawthat would allow Hong Kong residents, including foreign nationals, to beextradited tomainland China to stand trial. 

Protests have continued in the hope that the bill will be withdrawn completely.

On September 2, thousands of secondary school and university students chose not to show up for the first day of classes – boycotting school to add to the protests that have remained ongoing throughout the last few months.  

As a response, on September 4, the leader of Hong Kong announced that she would withdraw the extradition bill. The situation is ongoing at time of this article’s publication.

Why is this of interest to Tweens? 

This issue raises a number of topics, any of which you may find interesting and worth pursuing your knowledge on. Here are a few (in no particular order). But you may find more in your investigative travels!

• What is colonialization?
• What was the Handover of Hong Kong in 1997?
• What is extradition?
• Why do so many Hong Kong people care about this issue?
• Human Rights. What these are. And which countries’ feature well/worse

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS TOPIC 2 : UK POLITICS

On June 7 after nearly three years of serving as the U.K. prime minister, Theresa May formally quit as the leader of the ruling Conservative Party over failed Brexit negotiations.

A new PM, Boris Johnson was sworn in vowing to pass the Brexit deal. The situation is ongoing at time of this article’s publication.





FYI Tweens: In no particular order, here are a few topics associated with this News Event that you may find worthy of pursuit to expand your knowledge.

• What is Democracy?
• How does a referendum work?
• Are there ethical + investment rules for advertising in democratic elections?
• What is the EU?
• Why did Britain originally join the EU?
• What is Brexit?
• What do Economists say about the UK leaving Brexit?

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS TOPIC 3: THE AMAZON BURNS

Forest Fires are common in the Amazon during the dry season, which runs from July to October. They can be caused by naturally occurring events, such as lightning strikes, but according to the BBC and other Global News reports, this year most are believed to have been started by farmers and loggers clearing land for crops or grazing. The National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) says its satellite data shows an 76% increase on the same period in 2018.

 

Photo by Ryk Porras c/o Unsplash

 

FYI Tweens. A few topics associated with this News Event to inspire your further news research investigations:

• What is the Amazon and which countries contain parts of the Amazon within their borders?
• Some Country Leaders who live nowhere near the Amazon have had a lot to say on the subject. Why would that be?
• What role does the Amazon play in Climate Stability/ Climate Change?
• Is Climate Change the only issue in question? Is animal habitat and species population at stake? Could pollutants be emitted in the fires that harm humans? Are there any other factors worth considering?
• Are there similar events happening elsewhere in the world or closer to home?
  
  

SOCIAL HISTORY

TOPIC 1 : 30^th ANNIVERSARY : FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL

 

On 9 November 1989, Berlin was reunited. The Berlin Wall fell – the end of the massive border complex that left Berlin divided into East and West for 28 years, tearing apart families, friends and neighbours.
Today, Berlin is known as a place of freedom, opportunity and individuality. But that was not always the case. On 13 August 1961, work began on constructing the Berlin Wall. It stood as a symbol of a divided city and country, of terror and the Cold War. Overnight, it changed an entire nation.
This year will mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the city (+ nation) have big celebrations and commemorations in store…


FYI Tweens. A few topics associated with this News Event to inspire your further news research investigations:

• What was the Cold War?
• What was the reason for the Wall?
• Why do people outside of Germany feel so strongly about this anniversary?
• Have a think and chat with your family and teachers about how stories in history might be relevant to stories happening in the world today

 

 

 

TOPIC 2 :  NASA'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MOON LANDING

This year was the 50^th Anniversary of Human landing on the Moon. On July 16, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins lifted off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a journey to the Moon and into history. Four days later, while Collins orbited the Moon in the command module, Armstrong and Aldrin landed Apollo 11’s lunar module, Eagle, on the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility, becoming the first humans to set foot on the lunar surface.

 



Photos Authors' own: Moon model Questacon | National Science + Technology Centre | Canberra, ACT.

Head to the next News item for a few topics associated with this News Event to inspire your further news research investigations. 👇 👇 👇

 

THE ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE + TECHNOLOGY :

 

TOPIC 1: SPACE RANGERS

 

On August 3, researchers announced that the Milky Way galaxy may actually be warped and twisted rather than flat like once thought. The brightest stars do not align the way our textbooks portray them

And did you know that your parents once thought we had an extra planet in our Solar System called Pluto? That’s right. It was taught in school and was in all the text books. Only later, Scientists discovered that Pluto is in fact, not a Planet at all but actually a Dwarf Planet.

FYI Tweens. A few topics associated with this News Event to inspire your further news research investigations:

• Why do we study Space?
• What other discoveries have occurred this year (hint: it’s Black)
• Which countries invest the most in Space exploration?
• What is NASA?
• In the future could YOU get to go into Space?
• How are Scientific facts decided? What is the process? And can the things we think are currently ‘True’ as determined by Science, later be explained in a different way?

 

TOPIC 2: GRETA GETS TO NYC

 

Photo credit Greta Thunberg Instagram


Swedish 16 y/o Greta Thunberg, sailed across the Atlantic on an emissions-free yacht to speak at the U.N. Climate Action Summit. Her protests on Fridays demanding action on climate change have inspired children to demonstrate in some 100 cities. Her admonitions to grown-ups to “tell it like it is” have won her an invitation to speak at the United Nations, swiftly followed by a September school strike for climate outside The White House in Washington D.C.

On a personal note, Greta suffers from Aspergers Syndrome.
Unfortunately, as a side effect to her swift ascent in the media,  she’s received many verbal attacks. In response to this form of bullying Greta recently posted this message to her social media page:

“When haters go after your looks and differences, it means they have nowhere left to go. And then you know you’re winning!
I have Asperger’s syndrome and that means I’m sometimes a bit different from the norm. And - given the right circumstances - being different is a superpower.
I'm not public about my diagnosis to "hide" behind it, but because I know many ignorant people still see it as an "illness", or something negative. And believe me, my diagnosis has limited me before. Before I started school striking I had no energy, no friends and I didn’t speak to anyone. I just sat alone at home, with an eating disorder. All of that is gone now, since I have found a meaning, in a world that sometimes seems meaningless to so many people."

FYI Tweens. This issue raises a number of topics, any of which you may find interesting and worth pursuing your knowledge on. Here are a few (in no particular order).

 

• What is Climate Change?

• Is there a School Strikes for Climate Change in your city? Is it ok to leave school to attend a Climate Change strike?

• Why would Adults AND Children identify with the same issue?

• Is Climate Change something everyone believes in? If so why/ why not?

• What is it about Greta’s story that’s inspirational to so many?

• Is Greta trying to be someone she’s not or is she unapologetically who she is?

• Does she let age, gender, culture, other factors deter her mission, or fuel her mission? Does having a mission or purpose help that – if so why?

  

CULTURE, THE ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

NAIDOC YOUTH WINNER

Congratulations to 18-year-old Mi-Kaisha Masella, 2019 NAIDOC Youth of the Year !

Mi-Kaisha is a proud Murri girl, with Tongan roots, who is part of the Darumbal community in Queensland. Born and raised in Sydney, she frequently performs gigs around the Redfern area. She grew up surrounded by music: her dad was a presenter for community Koori radio station and her Grandmother took her to gospel church every Sunday.

She is inspired by hip-hop, reggae, RnB and Islander tunes, with a love of pop music, which allows her to enlighten, educate and start conversations about the concerns and experiences of Indigenous groups; and she receives this latest award for melding advocacy + creativity into a voice for young people across Australia.
 

FYI Tweens. A few topics associated with this News Event to inspire your further news research investigations:

• What is NAIDOC ?
• For those outside of Australia : Does my country have an equivalent celebration?
• How can I expand my knowledge and understanding of my country’s indigenous people’s history + culture?
• How do their stories relate to my stories?

SPORT

WORLD CUP GREATS

June 18: Marta becomes top goal scorer in soccer World Cup history

With her goal against Italy during a FIFA Women's World Cup match in Valenciennes, France, Brazilian striker Marta (#10) overtook German star Miroslav Klose as the leading goal scorer in women's or men's World Cup tournaments. This was her 17th goal at the World Cup.

FYI Tweens. A few topics associated with this News Event to inspire your further news research investigations:

• What is The World Cup + how does it work?

• Learn about the lives of famous sporting heros in Soccer or other Sports of your choice

• Do some Sports get more coverage on TV than other Sports? Why?

• Women in sport are getting more coverage on TV than they used to. Why is this and why is it topical?

 

 

SOURCES:

https://www.abc.net.au/btn/
https://www.economist.com/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world
https://www.theguardian.com/au
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/
https://www.aljazeera.com/
https://www.ted.com/#/
https://www.nasa.gov/
https://ethics.org.au/
https://www.businessoffashion.com/
https://www.wgsn.com/en/
https://trendwatching.com/