Myth busting the History Curriculum and promoting Citizenship

The island of Zanzibar where I was born was famous and infamous on two accounts; clove plantations and slavery. From 17th century until 1909, spice plantations were worked by Black Africans sold into slavery by Black African tribal Chiefs to Arab Traders, Zanzibar, East Africa's slave hub held slaves on Prison Island before transportation to other destinations. The history of Black slavery is nuanced ; 17 million East Africans were sold into slavery by Arab traders to Europeans - much higher than those sold into transatlantic slavery. This is a little known fact.

Following the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the challenge and opportunity we face as educators is having a radical rethink of our curriculum and what is taught. Teaching History through source evidence is not a binary choice of ‘good versus evil’. Who chooses the 'source evidence' will decide the narrative we want all our students to learn. History must present a balanced view of colonisation, the British Empire and its impact on peoples from Africa, Asia and nearer home, Ireland. The Windrush scandal report concluded that in part, it happened because of society’s poor understanding of Britain’s colonial history( Williams, 2018).

Generations of young people are taught Britain was an intrinsic force for ‘good’ against Nazi tyranny and ‘saved the world’ from the forces of evil in both World Wars. But how many children learn that Churchill, whilst applauded for his WW2 victory, also contributed to atrocities in the Empire. During the great Bengal famine (1943), millions died as rice was exported to elsewhere in the Empire (Tharoor, 2018). Churchill however, attributed the famine to the fact Indians were “breeding like rabbits”.

Our children need to be taught of the multi-faceted prism of history as a prime influencer on our present lives. Our students must learn in Citizenship, history and geography of the importance of the unity of the European nations in fighting tyranny and fascism, alongside the role of the ANZAC, African and Asian troops, and what finally led to setting up the EU, including its relevance today to the continuing Brexit debates and to migration.

Following the Brexit vote in 2016, I met with a class of predominantly White British students; 13 year olds jubilant about ‘leaving Europe’, taunting some students to ‘go back home to Poland’. Their reasoning was that their grandparents had fought to free Britain from the Europeans and now, they wanted their freedom from Europe! A mish mash of ignorance and distorted history viewed through their families’ lens influenced these young students and sadly, resulted in the racism they meted out on fellow East European students.

If knowledge is power, then we must enable all our children to become more knowledgeable citizens and to learn of the myriad facets of their heritage; joining up the dots from yesteryear to present day.

This means respecting Heritage Matters through the curriculum. We cannot simply continue ‘celebrating diversity’, through famous iconic figures such as Mandela and Gandhi, or scheduling well intentioned activities during Black History Month. In July it is South Asian Heritage Month. A collection of digital resources for use in the National Curriculum, South Asian Britain, 1830s–present showcases the contributions of South Asian migrants to the UK in the last two hundred years. These diverse histories range from the first Indian MP in 1892 Dadabhai Naorji in the constituency of Finsbury, to a Punjabi Princess Sophia Duleep Singh( god daughter Queen Victoria) and pioneering suffragette to Noor Inayat Khan a British Indian spy during WW2, serving as Special Operations Executive. She died in Dachau Concentration Camp because she would not reveal the secrets she held.

Opening all students’ horizons through global cultural influences is best threaded through a school curriculum that showcases prominent achievements in the UK from different heritages in every subject. We must empower a nation of young people to be truly proud of their individual and collective heritages.

No statutory requirement exists in the National Curriculum to teach British Imperial history. Schools may be reluctant to choose exam boards that offer History modules on Migration and Empire, owing in part, to the complexity of the perspectives. Moving forward, it is imperative for teachers to be professionally trained in addressing these topics confidently and with non- political bias.

For lasting impact, teachers must reflect this through a balanced and nuanced curriculum. Perpetuating a polarised view of British history risks creating schisms in our society and a rise in xenophobia towards migrants. These are counter to young people developing global citizenship in 2026. Young people must acquire critical literacy and thinking skills, questioning what they read and inspiring curiosity to research further. Lets learn from the Finnish education model of critical thinking across its curriculum for all ages How do Finnish teachers assess critical thinking abilities? - VisitEDUfinn.

Only as critical readers, can British children understand for themselves the multi-faceted legacy of the British Empire’s legacy- a force for both good and repression. This is how we can hope to create future generations, who are knowledgeable and can change society for the better.

References

Tharoor, S. (2017) Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India, London: C. Hurst & Co Publishers.

Williams, W. (2018) Windrush Lessons Learned, Independent Review, Published 19 July 2018, ISBN 978-1-5286-1779-6, HC 93 2020-21

‘Remaking Britain: South Asian Connections and Networks’ A collaboration between the University of Bristol, Queen Mary’s University and the British Library