History Wars hit the front page
August 17, 2006 by warrick
I might write later about some of the zany things that the new Education Minister has to say about History in the AGE today, and on the front page too! Rodney Knight, teacher at Caulfield Grammar, gets it right though when he says:
But the Caulfield Grammar School teacher is worried about thedirection the debate is taking, and fears any move to impose a singular narrative of Australia’s past.
Referring to claims that children are not being taught enough basic details of history, he says: “Is it really important that you know what years the Depression was in? What’s more important for me is for kids to have an understanding of what a severe economic contraction can do to families.
“If there is a list of dates, issues and people, then I think they will lose the richness and diversity that I currently see engaging the 25 kids in my history class.”
According to some of those students, Mr Knight manages his job well enough without the need for a new set of instructions from the nation’s politicians..
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