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| 'Old school and old-fashioned': historians turn their fire on Gove | 'Old school and old-fashioned': historians turn their fire on Gove |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Danny Boyle's much-feted opening ceremony to the London Olympics, spanning the industrial revolution, wartime Britain, a jolly nod to the Beatles and an appearance by Dizzee Rascal, was not to everyone's taste. "Multicultural crap", was the notorious tweet from one Tory MP, prompting an onslaught of vitriol. | Danny Boyle's much-feted opening ceremony to the London Olympics, spanning the industrial revolution, wartime Britain, a jolly nod to the Beatles and an appearance by Dizzee Rascal, was not to everyone's taste. "Multicultural crap", was the notorious tweet from one Tory MP, prompting an onslaught of vitriol. |
| Higher up the chain of command, however, another more prominent and powerful figure was said to have concerns. "Four out of 10," education secretary Michael Gove is said to have uttered after seeing a preview. The report was vehemently denied, but even usually supportive newspapers reported word of the cabinet minister's concerns. | Higher up the chain of command, however, another more prominent and powerful figure was said to have concerns. "Four out of 10," education secretary Michael Gove is said to have uttered after seeing a preview. The report was vehemently denied, but even usually supportive newspapers reported word of the cabinet minister's concerns. |
| Whatever the truth, this month Gove offered his own version of British and, to an extent, world history in his new history curriculum. Inevitably, given the subject matter, it has provoked a furious row. The Royal Historical Society, senior members of the British Academy, the higher education group History UK and the Historical Association have all made public their objections on the letters page of the Observer. | Whatever the truth, this month Gove offered his own version of British and, to an extent, world history in his new history curriculum. Inevitably, given the subject matter, it has provoked a furious row. The Royal Historical Society, senior members of the British Academy, the higher education group History UK and the Historical Association have all made public their objections on the letters page of the Observer. |
| Overly Anglocentric, highly prescriptive and quite dull is the thrust of their judgment. It fails, they say, to recognise that learning about the past of other cultures away from our shores is "as vital as knowledge of foreign languages to enable British citizens to understand the full variety and diversity of human life". Children will be deprived of knowledge of the "vast bulk" of the precious past by its narrow horizons, they say. | Overly Anglocentric, highly prescriptive and quite dull is the thrust of their judgment. It fails, they say, to recognise that learning about the past of other cultures away from our shores is "as vital as knowledge of foreign languages to enable British citizens to understand the full variety and diversity of human life". Children will be deprived of knowledge of the "vast bulk" of the precious past by its narrow horizons, they say. |
| But, perhaps more significantly, one of the cabinet minister's own advisers has also put his head above the parapet to express his amazement and disappointment to the Observer at what has emerged from Gove's department two years after the idea of a new history curriculum was raised. | But, perhaps more significantly, one of the cabinet minister's own advisers has also put his head above the parapet to express his amazement and disappointment to the Observer at what has emerged from Gove's department two years after the idea of a new history curriculum was raised. |
| Stephen Mastin, head of history at a Cambridge school, who worked alongside historian Simon Schama as an adviser to Gove on the curriculum, said the end product bore "no resemblance" to drafts he worked on as late as last month. Mastin, a fan of Gove's aim for greater rigour, said the proposed version that emerged from the education department tragically failed to offer children the broad and balanced education the education secretary had promised. Something had gone terribly wrong. | Stephen Mastin, head of history at a Cambridge school, who worked alongside historian Simon Schama as an adviser to Gove on the curriculum, said the end product bore "no resemblance" to drafts he worked on as late as last month. Mastin, a fan of Gove's aim for greater rigour, said the proposed version that emerged from the education department tragically failed to offer children the broad and balanced education the education secretary had promised. Something had gone terribly wrong. |
| "Between January and the publication of this document – which no one involved in the consultation had seen – someone has typed it up and I have no idea who that is," said Mastin, who stood for the Tories at the last general election. "As far as I am aware, we will be the only jurisdiction in the western world that won't teach world history." | "Between January and the publication of this document – which no one involved in the consultation had seen – someone has typed it up and I have no idea who that is," said Mastin, who stood for the Tories at the last general election. "As far as I am aware, we will be the only jurisdiction in the western world that won't teach world history." |
| Of course, criticisms from within and without the Gove camp aside, in the multicultural Britain of 2013, it is no easy task to set a history curriculum that will please everyone. Hector, the much-loved teacher in Alan Bennett's play The History Boys, says of his subject: "Pass the parcel. That's sometimes all you can do. Take it, feel it and pass it on. Not for me, not for you, but for someone, somewhere, one day." But what to pass on? | Of course, criticisms from within and without the Gove camp aside, in the multicultural Britain of 2013, it is no easy task to set a history curriculum that will please everyone. Hector, the much-loved teacher in Alan Bennett's play The History Boys, says of his subject: "Pass the parcel. That's sometimes all you can do. Take it, feel it and pass it on. Not for me, not for you, but for someone, somewhere, one day." But what to pass on? |
| "If we are talking about cultural literacy, let's ask what an appropriate cultural literacy is for the 21st century," said Professor Peter Mandler, president of the Royal Historical Society. "I would say it is not the same as the knowledge you needed to pass O-levels in 1956." | "If we are talking about cultural literacy, let's ask what an appropriate cultural literacy is for the 21st century," said Professor Peter Mandler, president of the Royal Historical Society. "I would say it is not the same as the knowledge you needed to pass O-levels in 1956." |
| Mastin added: "There is no world history in there at all except when Britain bumps into these places. And age-appropriateness is something else to worry about. Children are expected to understand the complex problems of democracy, nation and civilisation by the age of six. The idea that they will understand the concept of civilisation by the age of six just doesn't work. I don't think this is a teachable document." | Mastin added: "There is no world history in there at all except when Britain bumps into these places. And age-appropriateness is something else to worry about. Children are expected to understand the complex problems of democracy, nation and civilisation by the age of six. The idea that they will understand the concept of civilisation by the age of six just doesn't work. I don't think this is a teachable document." |
| Gove's new curriculum offers children in primary and secondary schools a sweep of history, starting with stone age settlers in Britain, to be taught in the first years of primary school and, ending at the age of 18, with a look at the fall of empire, the rise of the Commonwealth and the country's relations with the "wider world", along with the fall of the Berlin Wall. | Gove's new curriculum offers children in primary and secondary schools a sweep of history, starting with stone age settlers in Britain, to be taught in the first years of primary school and, ending at the age of 18, with a look at the fall of empire, the rise of the Commonwealth and the country's relations with the "wider world", along with the fall of the Berlin Wall. |
| In between, children at secondary schools can look forward to a romp through the life and times of Disraeli and Gladstone, Clive of India, the abolition of the corn laws, tales of gunboat diplomacy and the scramble for Africa. | In between, children at secondary schools can look forward to a romp through the life and times of Disraeli and Gladstone, Clive of India, the abolition of the corn laws, tales of gunboat diplomacy and the scramble for Africa. |
| On an internet forum one bewildered history teacher wrote: "I would like to see Gove try to get year 7 [11 to 12-year-olds] interested in 'the Enlightenment in England' – on a windy day sometimes even the Black Death doesn't grab their attention!" | On an internet forum one bewildered history teacher wrote: "I would like to see Gove try to get year 7 [11 to 12-year-olds] interested in 'the Enlightenment in England' – on a windy day sometimes even the Black Death doesn't grab their attention!" |
| Much of the curriculum has an old-style emphasis on the life and times of the great and the good. Rumour has it that, in a first draft, since modified, even the industrial revolution was found worthy of only half a sentence. | Much of the curriculum has an old-style emphasis on the life and times of the great and the good. Rumour has it that, in a first draft, since modified, even the industrial revolution was found worthy of only half a sentence. |
| Mary Seacole, a Jamaican-born woman of Scottish and Creole descent who set up a "British Hotel" behind the lines during the Crimean War where she nursed the injured and dying, has kept her place as an object of study, but only after an outcry at the prospect of her removal. | Mary Seacole, a Jamaican-born woman of Scottish and Creole descent who set up a "British Hotel" behind the lines during the Crimean War where she nursed the injured and dying, has kept her place as an object of study, but only after an outcry at the prospect of her removal. |
| Mandler, a professor of modern cultural history at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, said he felt Gove's curriculum had erroneously reduced the study of history to learning about the great men and events, kings and queens. He said: "I think we have a different idea of history now that takes in a much wider range of actors, a much wider range of human experiences. | Mandler, a professor of modern cultural history at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, said he felt Gove's curriculum had erroneously reduced the study of history to learning about the great men and events, kings and queens. He said: "I think we have a different idea of history now that takes in a much wider range of actors, a much wider range of human experiences. |
| "We need to know the history of family life, economic development, class formation. Not just a list of prime ministers, admirals and treaties. And when the curriculum talks about the rise and fall of empires it still only means the Roman empire. Today, I think that people need to know about the Mongol and Ottoman empires. | "We need to know the history of family life, economic development, class formation. Not just a list of prime ministers, admirals and treaties. And when the curriculum talks about the rise and fall of empires it still only means the Roman empire. Today, I think that people need to know about the Mongol and Ottoman empires. |
| "Politicians of all parties would like the history curriculum to make people feel more proud of their political institutions so there is this temptation to make it more about how important the British political institutions are to British people. I think the present secretary of state has another motivation, which is an oft-expressed nostalgia for the good old days when everyone knew what counted and learned it in a regimented way." | "Politicians of all parties would like the history curriculum to make people feel more proud of their political institutions so there is this temptation to make it more about how important the British political institutions are to British people. I think the present secretary of state has another motivation, which is an oft-expressed nostalgia for the good old days when everyone knew what counted and learned it in a regimented way." |
| Mastin is equally scathing: "Michael Gove talks about the heroes and heroines of Britain's past. Clive of India is in there. To whom is Clive of India a hero? Certainly not to India. This is a curriculum for Britain and British citizens? Well this is a curriculum for white British citizens, people like me." | Mastin is equally scathing: "Michael Gove talks about the heroes and heroines of Britain's past. Clive of India is in there. To whom is Clive of India a hero? Certainly not to India. This is a curriculum for Britain and British citizens? Well this is a curriculum for white British citizens, people like me." |
| The teaching of history in Britain's school has changed over the past century but a new book by Professor David Cannadine, Dr Jenny Keating and Dr Nicola Sheldon, entitled The Right Kind of History: Teaching the Past in Twentieth-Century England, suggests the trend in recent decades has been towards giving teachers more freedom rather than less and that the opportunity to be creative has been behind the subject's appeal to its students. | The teaching of history in Britain's school has changed over the past century but a new book by Professor David Cannadine, Dr Jenny Keating and Dr Nicola Sheldon, entitled The Right Kind of History: Teaching the Past in Twentieth-Century England, suggests the trend in recent decades has been towards giving teachers more freedom rather than less and that the opportunity to be creative has been behind the subject's appeal to its students. |
| In the 1950s and 60s, the grammar school curriculum dominated with its history through British eyes, although secondary modern schools offered a more varied package, including visits to archaeological digs, because of the reduction of emphasis on taking public examinations. | In the 1950s and 60s, the grammar school curriculum dominated with its history through British eyes, although secondary modern schools offered a more varied package, including visits to archaeological digs, because of the reduction of emphasis on taking public examinations. |
| The arrival of the comprehensive school brought a huge change. With classes now needing to draw the interest of children of all abilities, interaction and relevance became the order of the day. By the 1970s, groups of schools were collaborating to offer their children a varied history course which might take in the modern world, the Arab-Israeli conflict and medicine through time. Pupils had the opportunity to learn about the real American west, rather than the version seen in the cinemas. | The arrival of the comprehensive school brought a huge change. With classes now needing to draw the interest of children of all abilities, interaction and relevance became the order of the day. By the 1970s, groups of schools were collaborating to offer their children a varied history course which might take in the modern world, the Arab-Israeli conflict and medicine through time. Pupils had the opportunity to learn about the real American west, rather than the version seen in the cinemas. |
| Creativity did at times lead to "mistakes", says Sheldon, co-author of the book. One school in Kent spent a term solely learning about the assassination of President Kennedy. But there were also some tremendous improvements which Kenneth Baker's national curriculum in the late 1980s attempted to incorporate, according to the authors. | Creativity did at times lead to "mistakes", says Sheldon, co-author of the book. One school in Kent spent a term solely learning about the assassination of President Kennedy. But there were also some tremendous improvements which Kenneth Baker's national curriculum in the late 1980s attempted to incorporate, according to the authors. |
| The Baker curriculum had a core of British history but also a counterbalance, with the opportunity to learn about pre-Columbus America, the Aztecs and the life and times of black people in America. That trend has now come to an end, critics say. | The Baker curriculum had a core of British history but also a counterbalance, with the opportunity to learn about pre-Columbus America, the Aztecs and the life and times of black people in America. That trend has now come to an end, critics say. |
| Gove's highly prescriptive curriculum has been brought in to instil more rigour. Too few students, it is felt, have a basic understanding of the history of the country they live in. Chronology is important, the Department for Education says. "Teaching the subject chronologically – rather than as a series of disjointed topics – will mean pupils understand how key events and people link to and follow one another," a spokesman said. | Gove's highly prescriptive curriculum has been brought in to instil more rigour. Too few students, it is felt, have a basic understanding of the history of the country they live in. Chronology is important, the Department for Education says. "Teaching the subject chronologically – rather than as a series of disjointed topics – will mean pupils understand how key events and people link to and follow one another," a spokesman said. |
| "As well as the increased rigour, there will be far less focus on the teaching of abstract concepts and processes in history," he added. | "As well as the increased rigour, there will be far less focus on the teaching of abstract concepts and processes in history," he added. |
| The eminent historian Niall Ferguson, professor of history at Harvard University and a senior research fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, has jumped to Gove's defence, attacking the "pomposity" of the curriculum's detractors. | The eminent historian Niall Ferguson, professor of history at Harvard University and a senior research fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, has jumped to Gove's defence, attacking the "pomposity" of the curriculum's detractors. |
| But without standing back from the detail of history – trying to understand the changes across countries, learning to discriminate between reliable and unreliable sources – critics say children may be left with a superficial understanding of the dates they have learned. | But without standing back from the detail of history – trying to understand the changes across countries, learning to discriminate between reliable and unreliable sources – critics say children may be left with a superficial understanding of the dates they have learned. |
| Professor Jackie Eales, president of the Historical Association, said her greatest concern was that the new curriculum, which she likens to the tongue-in-cheek reworking of English history in the 1930s book, 1066 and All That, will lead to children turning their backs on the subject in their droves. | Professor Jackie Eales, president of the Historical Association, said her greatest concern was that the new curriculum, which she likens to the tongue-in-cheek reworking of English history in the 1930s book, 1066 and All That, will lead to children turning their backs on the subject in their droves. |
| "Intellectually, it is exactly what 1066 and All That was designed to lampoon," said Eales. | "Intellectually, it is exactly what 1066 and All That was designed to lampoon," said Eales. |
| "It is a trawl through history, one damn thing after another, in a very superficial way. It's a very old-fashioned curriculum. It doesn't take into account the cutting-edge research being taken in our universities. It is very political and nods in the direction of local history but it doesn't draw on the development of history in recent years. | "It is a trawl through history, one damn thing after another, in a very superficial way. It's a very old-fashioned curriculum. It doesn't take into account the cutting-edge research being taken in our universities. It is very political and nods in the direction of local history but it doesn't draw on the development of history in recent years. |
| "The history of women, for example, has moved on dramatically in the last 20 or 30 years. There is, again, a nod in the direction of women, there are a few names, but they seem rather randomly chosen. The poet Christina Rossetti is a creative genius but I think you could go for other people. And because it is such an old fashioned-looking content it could affect young people's enthusiasm for history." | "The history of women, for example, has moved on dramatically in the last 20 or 30 years. There is, again, a nod in the direction of women, there are a few names, but they seem rather randomly chosen. The poet Christina Rossetti is a creative genius but I think you could go for other people. And because it is such an old fashioned-looking content it could affect young people's enthusiasm for history." |
| Gove's critics have laid down their challenge to leave a lasting and valuable legacy. How history treats him is still in the balance. | Gove's critics have laid down their challenge to leave a lasting and valuable legacy. How history treats him is still in the balance. |
| How the History Boys saw it | |
| "History is just one fucking thing after another," says Rudge, one of the Oxbridge class in Alan Bennett's The History Boys. | |
| While undoubtedly true, the different styles in which those events can be told inspired Bennett to write his hugely successful play, which became a much-loved hit film. The relaxed, raconteur style of Hector, the old schoolteacher, was adored by the boys. Mrs Lintott's more direct and systematic approach got results in the exam room. | |
| At the heart of Bennett's play is the battle between a teaching style which specialises in narrative panache, and a thematic approach that, in Mrs Lintott's case, seeks to bring to light issues and connections that may have been suppressed in the telling of that story. "History" she says, "is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men." | |
| The History Boys doesn't offer up easy answers as to the superiority of one approach over the other. The audience's sympathies may lie more with Hector's style, but Bennett maintains he doesn't know what the solution is. | |
| However, the playwright said in an interview in 2006 that he felt intuitively a less prescriptive curriculum was a good starting point. "Teachers need to feel they are trusted," said Bennett. "They must be allowed some leeway to use their imagination; otherwise, teaching loses all sense of wonder and excitement." |