| Topic: | Re:Are our State schools allowed to teach history? | |
| Posted by: | Philippa Bond | |
| Date/Time: | 26/06/20 12:14:00 |
| A friend of Indian origin of my son's when questioning India being referred to as British India asked - "Well where were we then?" I expect Bristol now regrets not having put an additional explanatory notice on Colston's statue. It is a history that can't and shouldn't be hidden but would it just create more tension? I think we should all also think about all the public buildings that those benefactors built for their home towns or cities - schools, libraries, museums, concert halls - and all the buildings that citizens paid for by voluntary subscriptions. How many of today's millionaires or billionaires do the same? I think the history curriculum can be very restricted and it is greatly enhanced by the programmes like the one on the story of the house - which is something that more children could be encouraged to do. The history projects where each person on a war memorial has been researched and personal memories from visitors to schools who experienced wars is much more memorable than just reading a text book. It so often depends on an inspirational teacher. Researching your family tree can be very enlightening as well as the programme 'Who do you think you are?' because you may not be as English or British as you think. It is also fascinating to find out what relatives did for a living and why they moved around - usually for good economic and family and employment reasons rather than travel for the fun of it. I also don't think there are as many school trips as there used to be or visitors who come into school presumably because of costs. Unfortunately history can become another teaching to the test subject rather than something that creates a growing lifetime interest. I find Southall's Havelock Road Sikh Temple situation curious. And where are the anti-racism memorials that appear to have been stolen from the Town Hall? |