August 06, 2004

Forgotten Heritage

Why am I a history teacher? I am the last bastion of hope - the last chance to turn the tide of darkness in this ignorant land. Okay there is me and the BBC.

The BBC conducted a poll of 1006 people over the age of 16 in the run up to a new series on BBC2 called "Battlefield Britain". The results were, well, sad.

A third of 16 to 34-year-olds did not know that William the Conqueror won the Battle of Hastings. This, despite the fact that every 11-year-old in this country learns about it. It is a key fact in world history, not just British history.

Move ahead in time to the question of who defeated the Spanish Armada. I am not joking when I tell you that 6% of 16 to 24-year-olds thought it was Gandalf. You know, the tall bloke with the pointy hat that looks a lot like Ian McKellen and seems to fancy short, hairy-footed companions. The blending of fact and fiction doesn't end there - 13% thought it was Horatio Hornblower. Christopher Columbus was also a popular choice.

Or advance up the timeline again to the Battle of the Boyne. How many knew it was Catholic King James II's troops who were defeated by Protestant William III in 1690? Only 18% of those 16 to 24-year-olds - the group most recently out of school. Over the Pond, you may not be as aware of this, but realise in this country it is celebrated every July 12 by Orangemen and is the highlight of the marching season in Northern Ireland, a time always marked with strife. And everyone studies the Stuarts in Year 8 (7th grade) here.

But how about something even more recent - within living memory of some? How many knew the Battle of Britain happened during the Second World War? Despite all the media coverage of the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings and that WWII is covered in both Year 9 and by most GCSE pupils, almost one-third of all age groups didn't know this.

Despite this, the Government wants to do away with the history GCSE and replace it with a "Making sense of the modern world" course, with watered down bits history, geography, and a good dose of citizenship. Of course when you have a Government that has systematically destroyed the historical institutions of this country, it is hardly surprising.

Posted by david at August 6, 2004 12:40 AM | TrackBack
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