British Schools

[porphyry]

"The researchers also warned that a lack of subject knowledge among teachers - particularly at primary level - was leading to history being taught in a 'shallow way leading to routine and superficial learning'.

Lessons in difficult topics were too often 'bland, simplistic and unproblematic' and bored pupils."


Does this surprise anyone?


If you want to become physically ill, read this this.

It details how schools teachers in Britain are beginning to skip the Holocaust so as not to offend the delicate sensabilities of their Moslem students who deny any Jews were murderd by the Nazis.

Comments

Re: Oh pass me a bucket.......

[petrusplancius.livejournal.com]

That seems to be the general pattern now. It annoys me exceedingly that if one goes into any bookshop (except in one or two university towns) and looks at the German history section, there are nothing but books on Hitler and the Nazis! I was educated sufficiently long ago to have had a very broad historical education, although I did not study the subject beyond O-level. Nothing, though, later than the First World War, and nothing about the Empire and Commonwealth. As a special subject I studied the Risorgimento; I remmember reading Trevelyan's life of Garibaldi, who was such a favourite of the Victorian liberals. I am suspicious about an undue concern with 'relevance' because I believe that the greatest benefit that young people can gain from the subject is to become acquainted with different worlds, i.e. to appreciate that people have thought and behaved in utterly different ages and places; only then can history become a real stimulus to the imagination. Not that I would deny, of course, that it is important for people to understand the historical roots of contemporary problems.

Re: Oh pass me a bucket.......

[petrusplancius.livejournal.com]

That of course was in response to benicek. As for those appalling experiences with the public education system, dear malkhos, I am sure that things are much the same here in Britain. They are better, though, in some parts of Europe where there is still some general respect for the inherent value of learning.

Re: Oh pass me a bucket.......

[benicek.livejournal.com]

I read that Tevelyan book! All three volumes of it. What a great character Garibaldi was. I was obsessed with him for a while. You must be only the second British person I've come across who has heard of him (and not just the biscuit). The other was monk at Buckfast Abbey, who despised him. Haha.

Funny thing going on with biscuits and the Risorgimento. Have you noticed? I emailed my findings to Radio 4 and they read them out on air during one of their lighter programmes. GARIBALDI was born in NICE and defeated the BOURBONS.

I agree with you about "different worlds". The Romans are a good example. Their effect on our culture was huge but it is perhaps not appreciated how unlike ours their culture was: how complicated and all encompassing their religious system was; how the client-patron relationship held the whole of society together; that they had no real concept of race in the modern sense....alien people in many ways.