History Is Important
Iain Dale is chairing a discussion on “how we view history in this country, how it is taught in schools and how to engage people with the subject” so I thought I’d share a few of my thoughts on the subject.
History is very important. It defines who we are and how we view the world. We should celebrate our history, from as far back as we can determine with any accuracy, right up to modern times.
British history is our history. The history of our nation. What made us who we are. We played our role in making the world what it is, and we should ensure that we pass the knowledge on to our children. Of course not all of our history is great but I think that, overall, Britain’s role in world history has been positive.
The teaching of history - British and otherwise - should be taught not from our present-day perspectives, but in context. The world situation, beliefs, economy, perceptions, politics, and community all need to be explianed when teaching about an era in history. If we just cast our own, current, perceptions and prejudices back, we get a massively distorted picture - such as how many view the brief period when the British Empire took part in the slave trade.
Our education system should teach our history poperly in this way. Children should be encouraged to understand why things happened as much - if not more - than what happened. If you don’t ask “why?” when you study history, then you’re not really studying history at all. The teaching of history in schools is essential, and must be done with the understanding that what it is taught effects perceptions on the present. They shouldn’t be spoon-fed the perception that all british history is that of an evil nation - or that Britain has always been the guiding light of civilisation. Instead, both sides should be presented. Because history is alwaays multi-sided.
Of course, there is the famous quote that “history is written by the winners”. Yes, but historians have the responsibility to be as unbiased as they can when studying and writing about it. But no-one can ever be unbiased. If you read any history book/watch any history documentary, you are seeing it through the perspectives of the historian - who are always biased.
History has happened, and cannot be changed. The past has been and gone. But we must ensure it is not forgotten, or ignored.
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[...] course, slavery wasn’t exactly a high-point in British history. But, as I pointed out not long ago, history must be studied in context - the “why” is as important as the [...]