That may sound like a bizarre thing for a business who writes history courses to ask. But we’ve all heard those certain buzzwords being thrown around in response to history planning. Curriculum reviews are done by people outside of our classrooms, and teachers are given lengthy documents to read with some rough, rather vague, directions which their history curriculum should go.
Pupils must learn about empire – the ‘glorious’ British Empire and all the wonderful achievements. Let’s leave out the bad points, if pupils learn about the big empires of history, and how Britain was a target of invasion but emerged as a world superpower (eventually), then that’s a job done, surely? Throw a few kings and queens in the mix too, tell them what tax means, that’s enough, no?
These ‘substantive concepts’ are fine, providing they are cooperated into a broader, more wholesome history curriculum. But so often, they are not. Primary school history can sometimes be so abstract and chaotic, travelling from the Roman Empire, next term back to the Ancient Egyptians, then fast forward to the Victorians. Then we’ll ask our little historians for some form of chronological recall.
History is so much more than key words…
We might assume pupils will naturally understand the chronology of our country, our continent, our planet. The reality, however, is that some will find this very difficult, which isn’t helped by going back and forth through the eras like a tennis ball on Centre Court. They want to understand, and they want to find out more and it’s our job to take the confusion out of learning history. Why not showcase some of the most interesting history topics for children?
Let’s reach out and grab their attention, what do children love? They love dinosaurs, fairies and elves, cowboys and Indians, the list goes on. So… why not teach them about these things, but in the chronological order that they happened? Adventure Through History starts at the Mesozoic era, teaches Norse folk law and even the Wild West (age appropriate, of course).
But why is it so important our pupils have a wholesome history curriculum?
Learning history is crucial for our children on so many levels.
- It helps with pupils understanding of how society has changed and developed. It’s important that pupils realise that societal changes have been fluid, and if they’ve changed once, they can change again. We must instil in them to stand up question things that they feel aren’t right. Society is continually evolving, and change can happen.
- It provides pupils with a sense of identity. Learning about heritage and culture gives pupils an understanding not only of their own past, but that of others. It encourages compassion and empathy, which is critical for humanity to move forward positively.
- Being taught a broader history curriculum means pupils can learn about global communities and civilisations throughout history, that they have never heard of, enhancing their morals and values. They can learn first-hand about the struggles of certain groups of people. In turn, this provides an opportunity to challenge preconceived ideas about cultures and society that may have been passed down to them, either inadvertently by friends or family, or subconsciously by society in general.
- Not only does learning about events through history help preserve stories and achievements of people and nations, but it also ensures we remember the dreadful mistakes and decisions that have hindered humanity. History isn’t always glorious; it’s littered with cruelty and selfishness. What we can do though, is learn from this and ensure these awful events through history are never repeated.
- Having a varied history curriculum also allows pupils to comprehend more. Exposing pupils to as many different cultures, heritages and civilisations naturally turns into a much better understanding of the world around us. This ability to comprehend is of utmost importance for little minds.
The importance of variety and chronology
Chronological teaching helps little historians’ to really get to grips with evolution of society through time, in a way that makes sense; if they see the natural progression of eras and periods through history, more abstract ideas will become a lot more natural and organic. Continually recapping historical timelines, we are reiterating important historical events and ideas. Exposure to a greater number of topics also ensures a deeper understanding of heritage and culture, which at the end of the day, is what we all want for the future generations isn’t it? A little more understanding? In a world that must at times seem very confusing for little minds, let’s do what we can to make it clearer.