Saturday, September 22, 2007
So, are they teaching anything?
Pop quiz: name five major figures of the twentieth century. If I were asked that, I would probably say Joseph Stalin, John F Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Adolf Hitler, and Winston Churchill. All pretty major people, right? Then would it surprise you to learn that three of them have just been removed from the list of key historical figures recommended for teaching in secondary schools in the UK? Since two of the people on my list are American presidents, you can guess it's not them. Yep, that's right; high school teachers in the UK are no longer being recommended to teach Stalin, Hitler, or Churchill.
The History Curriculum Association says the move "promotes ignorance".
One person who remains on the list of key British historical figures is William Wilberforce. "Who?" you ask? Apparently, he was one of the lawmakers instrumental in ending the slave trade. I guess leaders in the fight for freedom are only important if they lived before 1900. Martin Luther King Jr has also been removed from the list.
It's hardly confined to the UK. I already seem to be the only person in the College of Education who's ever heard of the Cambodian Killing Fields. Ten years from now, I shouldn't wonder if half of American high school graduates have never heard of World War Two. Heck, if you take "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader" as evidence, they already think New York to Chicago is a transatlantic flight.
Ever feel like you're standing on the Titanic bailing water out the porthole with a dixie cup? That's my feeling as a teacher.
The History Curriculum Association says the move "promotes ignorance".
One person who remains on the list of key British historical figures is William Wilberforce. "Who?" you ask? Apparently, he was one of the lawmakers instrumental in ending the slave trade. I guess leaders in the fight for freedom are only important if they lived before 1900. Martin Luther King Jr has also been removed from the list.
It's hardly confined to the UK. I already seem to be the only person in the College of Education who's ever heard of the Cambodian Killing Fields. Ten years from now, I shouldn't wonder if half of American high school graduates have never heard of World War Two. Heck, if you take "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader" as evidence, they already think New York to Chicago is a transatlantic flight.
Ever feel like you're standing on the Titanic bailing water out the porthole with a dixie cup? That's my feeling as a teacher.
subscribe
