Is a well-rounded education to be History?

If, unlike me, History is not your degree subject, then cast your mind back a few years to the school days of old when your tweed-clad teacher would foam at the mouth as he lamented emphatically tales of Kings, Queens, wars, courtly love, duels, conquering and chivalry. There is no doubt that History was far from boring, conjuring up the most magical images and familiarising us with times gone by. History has also recently ceased to be ‘un-cool’ with programmes such as Time Team and Who Do You Think You Are? re-igniting a passion for the past amongst the British public. Why is it then that many schools have decided to dramatically reduce History lessons for younger students with some going so far as to abandon the subject entirely? Surely there can be no justification for depriving the students of today of a solid historical knowledge?

Apparently, the reasoning behind this ‘curriculum cleansing’ is that History is too difficult a subject for students of an average ability or lower to grasp. Even worse is the claim that the subject is now redundant and that it should be replaced by subjects more ‘relevant’ to the young people of today such as development studies, or citizenship. This is just some of the bobbins being spouted by critics of the subject and so it befalls me, the worthy defender of History to explain exactly why losing History from the curriculum would be nothing short of a tragedy.

Anyone who claims History to be irrelevant is quite frankly, ridiculous. It is no cliché to claim that knowledge of the past is essential so that we can make sense of the world around us, understand the complexities of its workings, and to appreciate how exactly we got here. It is also paramount to our approach to the future; without learning from past mistakes future generations will merely repeat them.

Learning History also makes us aware of the concept of identity. The people we study in History are not strangers; they are our ancestors and learning about them can allow us to know more about ourselves. This is especially resonant in today’s diverse society where knowledge of traditional cultures, lifestyles and beliefs can help to overcome social problems such as racism, homophobia and xenophobia.

I am not saying that attending a few History lessons will suddenly make everyone join together and recite Kumbayah, but learning about the history of other races, ethnicities and genders can certainly help ease tensions often caused by simple ignorance.

As for History being too difficult for many students to grasp it begs the question why is the subject considered any more difficult than any other on the curriculum? History can easily be made accessible to students of all ages and abilities; it ignites enthusiasm, sparks debate and opens minds. History teachers are notoriously good at bringing the subject to life and making it exciting. Plus, there are all the field trips.

Young people will also miss out on gaining all the valuable skills that History instils such as power of communication, interpretation and debate. Which other subjects allow you to have a good old juicy argument like History does? A lack of ‘correct’ answers means there is always room for debate.

I am not alone in my defence of History; I have a few key players on my side. Firstly there is the National Trust who are mounting a campaign called ‘History Matters’ to try and make people aware of the importance of History. Also on my side is the delightful Stephen Fry who has thrown his (now considerably diminished) weight behind the campaign with gusto, proclaiming proudly that History is ‘thrilling, endlessly absorbing, fascinating, delightful and infuriating’. These words speak volumes; History is not only vital for our understanding of ourselves and others, not only does it instil young people with essential skills, not only does it allow us to understand the complex world we live in, but its also just bloody amazing.

It is essential to do everything we can to prevent History from being lost under the weight of bureaucracy, as Otto Frank correctly said ‘In order to build a future, we must have a past’. Indeed we must, so let’s unite together and charge to the defence of History, just like in the olden days.