What every pupil should know...
Taken from today's Telegraph, reproduced in full with no permission whatsoever... (and yes, I am in a better mood) :)
What every pupil should know about Britain - By Toby Helm (Filed: 27/01/2005)
Children up to the age of 16 will be given compulsory history lessons about great British heroes such as Lord Nelson, Sir Francis Drake and Isambard Kingdom Brunel, under Conservative plans to restore respect for the nation's heritage.
In a speech today Tim Collins, the shadow education secretary, will describe the low level of historical knowledge among young Britons as a "farce" and an "outright scandal".
Mr Collins will claim that ignorance about those who fought for the country and shaped its democratic traditions down the centuries helps explain why so many people do not respect tradition or figures of authority and fail to vote in elections.
Mr Collins will cite a comprehensive knowledge of British history as being essential to the preservation of Britain as a nation state.
"Nothing is more important to the survival of the British nation than an understanding among its young of our shared heritage and the nature of the struggles, foreign and domestic, which have secured our freedoms," he will tell the National Catholic Heads conference. "A nation which loses sight of its past cannot long expect to enjoy its future."
Mr Collins has asked the historian Andrew Roberts to draw up a list of "key facts" about British history that all children must be taught, and have learned, by the time they leave school.
"What once 'every schoolboy knows' is now unknown by almost every schoolboy and schoolgirl in the land," Mr Collins will say.
"We cannot be surprised that some within the next generation do not value our parliamentary democracy if they know nothing of the English Civil War, do not vote if they are not taught about the struggles to widen the franchise, and do not value any authority figures if they are not told the inspiring tales of the national heroes of our past."
Mr Collins will admit that the Tory government made the initial mistake when it introduced the rule under which students can drop history at 14.
"It was a Conservative Government which permitted that change, although Labour has stood by it.
"The next Conservative Government will admit our error and restore history to the heart of the curriculum studied until the age of 16."
He will add: "When surveys show that nearly a third of all 11- to 18-year-olds think that Oliver Cromwell fought at the Battle of Hastings and when fewer than half know that Nelson's ship at Trafalgar was called HMS Victory, we have to take action."
Recent studies have revealed that 30 per cent of 11- to 18-year-olds do not know in which century the First World War took place while one in 10 Britons thinks that Hitler was not a real person.
What every pupil should know about Britain - By Toby Helm (Filed: 27/01/2005)
Children up to the age of 16 will be given compulsory history lessons about great British heroes such as Lord Nelson, Sir Francis Drake and Isambard Kingdom Brunel, under Conservative plans to restore respect for the nation's heritage.
In a speech today Tim Collins, the shadow education secretary, will describe the low level of historical knowledge among young Britons as a "farce" and an "outright scandal".
Mr Collins will claim that ignorance about those who fought for the country and shaped its democratic traditions down the centuries helps explain why so many people do not respect tradition or figures of authority and fail to vote in elections.
Mr Collins will cite a comprehensive knowledge of British history as being essential to the preservation of Britain as a nation state.
"Nothing is more important to the survival of the British nation than an understanding among its young of our shared heritage and the nature of the struggles, foreign and domestic, which have secured our freedoms," he will tell the National Catholic Heads conference. "A nation which loses sight of its past cannot long expect to enjoy its future."
Mr Collins has asked the historian Andrew Roberts to draw up a list of "key facts" about British history that all children must be taught, and have learned, by the time they leave school.
"What once 'every schoolboy knows' is now unknown by almost every schoolboy and schoolgirl in the land," Mr Collins will say.
"We cannot be surprised that some within the next generation do not value our parliamentary democracy if they know nothing of the English Civil War, do not vote if they are not taught about the struggles to widen the franchise, and do not value any authority figures if they are not told the inspiring tales of the national heroes of our past."
Mr Collins will admit that the Tory government made the initial mistake when it introduced the rule under which students can drop history at 14.
"It was a Conservative Government which permitted that change, although Labour has stood by it.
"The next Conservative Government will admit our error and restore history to the heart of the curriculum studied until the age of 16."
He will add: "When surveys show that nearly a third of all 11- to 18-year-olds think that Oliver Cromwell fought at the Battle of Hastings and when fewer than half know that Nelson's ship at Trafalgar was called HMS Victory, we have to take action."
Recent studies have revealed that 30 per cent of 11- to 18-year-olds do not know in which century the First World War took place while one in 10 Britons thinks that Hitler was not a real person.
posted by Kris | 9:49 pm
3 Comments:
Both Jonathan and I gave up history at 13, and the teaching of it was probably a factor in that, but we read loads of history now and it will certainly be a big part of our children's education, indeed, it is already.
I love history - this miraculously wasn't damaged by studying Modern World History at GCSE (although admittedly I'm worse on 20th century history, than the Roman occupation of Britain for instance - but still, it's bugger studying the Cold War whilst things are changing so rapidly - Berlin Wall coming down and all that.)
I'm coming up to Doncaster on Saturday afternoon, to drop the boys off and look at houses in Rossington - we put our house on the market this morning and within 2 hours already had 4 viewings booked - the estate agents haven't had a chance to take any photos or details yet!! So maybe I'll be around fairly soon (fingers crossed).
Ooh, looking forward to meeting you Nikki...
History. I have an O level. But most of the general history I know is through reading novels, watching various documentary channels and talking to Tim ;)
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