| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Are our State shools allowed to teach history? | |
| Posted by: | Paul Green | |
| Date/Time: | 24/06/20 11:11:00 |
| A good starting pouint would be for those on the right to stop using the word 'woke'. its just part of the culture war that is already underway in the US and Cummings and the right wing press seem keen to start here. As for comments like 'did WW1 and WWII not happen', how pathetic and ridiculous. So when some oaf says are we not allowed to teach history, my response should be absolutely. But who chooses which bits and from what perspective? Gove's rewriting of the GCSE curriculum, as well as massively increasing pressure on pupils, removed some key American literature that gave some insight into different perspectives and exposure to slavery and racism. This was to favour British authors, but did narrow the viewpoint. I got as far as University and a non-history subject before I learnt anything of colonialism, specifically in this case the carve up of Africa. I knew basically nothing of the partition of India until reading Midnight's Children, an appalling event that still dominates politics in the region today. Similarly the darker side of the Empire. The fact is most of the Empire was established and run by private companies, purely and simply for profit, such as the East India Company, with little proactive role for the Crown. This was no great benevolent exercise. Episodes such as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of unarmed civilians are certainly not taught, an event that the India govnt still wants a formal apologoy for. Churchill did condemn this, but others in govnt at the time celebrated it and the commanding officer suffered no punishment. So please, lets teach history, warts and all. |