I have ranted and raved about this at length - I am still livid. What a ridiculous idea to start children off with a period which is hard to get to grips with (and be excited about) at an academic level. We will be left with either a generation of children who find history dull, or who spent lots of time borrowing fake fur to be 'cave men' in a very Just William way. Or possibly both.
I loved primary school history lessons - they showed me how wide and varied the world was. I particularly remember watching How We Used to Live which took us through from 1954 to 1970. There was a real flash of understanding as I realised how events affected each other, and I could ask my family about things, see newspapers and carry out easy primary research. It was really exciting.
By losing the more recent centuries from history lessons children are losing much of the history of ordinary people. Oral history? Gone. Working class history? Certainly harder to find. It affects museums too. So many face cuts from local authorities and desperately need the funds they receive from school visits. However, these they may not get because they many don't cover the sections of the curriculum primary schools need - pre 1066. Right, I'll jump off my horse.
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Date: 2014-10-09 01:29 pm (UTC)I loved primary school history lessons - they showed me how wide and varied the world was. I particularly remember watching How We Used to Live which took us through from 1954 to 1970. There was a real flash of understanding as I realised how events affected each other, and I could ask my family about things, see newspapers and carry out easy primary research. It was really exciting.
By losing the more recent centuries from history lessons children are losing much of the history of ordinary people. Oral history? Gone. Working class history? Certainly harder to find. It affects museums too. So many face cuts from local authorities and desperately need the funds they receive from school visits. However, these they may not get because they many don't cover the sections of the curriculum primary schools need - pre 1066. Right, I'll jump off my horse.
TL:DR Arrrgh.