I suppose that in the ‘great scheme’ of modern life the teaching of those skills that can be used to make money is far more important than teaching children subjects that do not have a monetary value.
I have read the opinions of some here who denigrate those who study history. I have been told, in no uncertain terms, that I only studied history because I was incapable of doing a ‘real’ degree in science. Bunkum!
It would seem that the UK agrees with those who think learning about the past has no value in modern Britain. I read with horror this article in the Daily Mail.
There are many reasons why I believe that the teaching of history is necessary. The most important reason, in my opinion, is that what unites any community is its shared history. Cutting people off from their roots (their history) leaves them unable to relate to their culture, their country and their own personal identity.
Boadicea's Chariot 
Boadicea.
Well, it will come as no surprise to you that I agree with you wholeheartedly on this matter, but I must take issue with your statement that the UK would seem to agree that learning about the past has no value.
It appears to me, that those who tinkered with the education system may believe so, but then they didn’t appear to attach much value to reading, writing or arithmetic either!
I remember it was argued by some Elsewhere that one did not need any formal instruction to understand history, so a history degree was useless. Use the internet they screeched loudly.
Hmm, my betting is that none of them had every set foot in a university!
As the man said, those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it!
Although of an entirely scientific education myself, I quite agree with you. The problem is not the teaching of history, but the teaching of vocations and pseudo-sciences as academic degree subjects. Meeja studies etc. should be outlawed.
The word ‘bunkum’ is far too mild, Boadicea, although, as a lady, you can not be expected to use the term ‘bullshit’. I could not agree with you more.
Confucius once said “when terms lose their meaning, the land will fall into disarray”.
I won’t wish to sound like a tin-foil-hat-wearing-conspiracy-theorist, but it seems as if
the powers that be seem content in discouraging people from seriously studying history
in order to prevent people from recognising patterns of precedent.
After all, to be a historian one must be able to read, write, and think. If one can do that,
one can also speak and formulate cogent arguments — persuasive arguments — that
what is happening is ultimately destructive and give a number of examples why.
That is also one reason why Chinese society has traditionally valued people with a deep
understanding of history, literature, and philosophy far more than mathematicians and scientists.
That only really began to change after 1949, though young Chinese are still vastly more able to
converse on topics ranging from ancient poetry to contemporary pop culture than most of their
Western counterparts.
It just seems as if the push to force people into fields such as the sciences, maths, healthcare,
and business/finance (while all necessary and worthwhile) is to create and entrench an anti-intellectual
climate, one in which the only concern is to get enough money to scrape by.
Got no history, got no roots. That is the base problem for modern, feral yoof and it’s not necessarily their fault.
OZ
OZ: it also makes them easier to control. Everyone from the First Emperor of China to Stalin simply changed, or broke away from, history in order to get their way with their people.
So, history is a pretty dangerous thing then.
OZ
“He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.”
Yes, it is pretty dangerous to re-write history as the Communists did, OZ.
Christopher summed it up, I think. To study history it is necessary to read, write and think. In other words history is elitist. This is why many more pupils from private schools get to Oxbridge, because they have been taught and encouraged to learn facts and analyse them. This is what Blair’s “education, education, education” mantra has done. It has widened the gulf between those doing meeja studies and those studying academic subjects.
If you have no historical roots you don’t actually know who to ‘hate’ and why!
Surely no educated British person would have/could have/should have voted for the EU?
After the last 1000years it was like turkeys voting for Christmas.
Had there been adequate history teaching in Britain we would never have ended up with the multicultural cock up we have.
I still want to go back to pre 1833!
Yes, I’m afraid the Daily Mail culture represents true cynicism – which knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. It is not a coincidence that Oxbridge graduates in History, both ancient and modern, were long regarded as the best pool of talent for senior civil service careers. As Sheon says, they could read, write and think – and spot the fallacies in what their political masters asked them to do!
Janus.
Until I joined cyberspace, I was totally unaware that a history degree was something I should be ashamed of!
You certainly should not be ashamed of your history degree, Araminta. I get very annoyed when people tell me that there’s no point in learning other languages because “they all speak English”.
Thank you, Sheona.
The teaching of other languages also seems to have been deemed to be unnecessary; very retrograde step, in my opinion.
One wonders what exactly they do teach in schools these days!
According to recent reports they certainly do not teach the three Rs to any great extent. Too many children leave primary school unable to read the text books in secondary school. This accounts for many of the problems in classrooms and for truancy. So how can any teacher expect to be able to convey historical facts or the grammar of another language to quasi-illiterates. These poor children have had their futures ruined at a very early age.
I don’t know if you remember the last scene of “The Queen”, where HM is walking with Blair in the palace gardens? As he burbles on about “education, education, education”, one of the corgis lifts its leg and expresses its opinion of Blair’s policy – spent piss. And so it has proved to be.
Historians may enjoy this quiz. I confess that I have had to use Google extensively, so far.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/8955854/Take-the-England-history-quiz-to-win-a-short-break.html