“Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?”
(Winnie the Pooh)
(Winnie the Pooh)
I've been feeling a bit like that lately... Lots of thoughts buzzing in my head, but only resulting in writer's block.
One thing causing media discussions in Sweden lately (besides Brexit and other various international news) is some proposed changes in our common grade school curriculum, from the National Agency for Education. One such suggested change was to completely drop the whole period of history from Antiquity (Greece and Rome and all that) and all the way up to the 18th century. However, that suggestion has already been officially withdrawn; as it caused immediate massive media attention and protests - not only from historians and teachers, but from "ordinary people" as well.
Myself, I didn't believe my ears when I first heard it. (Had it been around April 1st, I would have taken it for an April Fool's joke.) Yes, I'm sure the way things are taught probably does need adjusting now and then. Of course a lot of things can easily be looked up when needed these days, rather than putting effort into memorizing them (and then forgetting them anyway). But in my experience, you do still need at least some basic idea of context in order to even know what to look up, and also to connect one fact to another...
I understand that similar (i.e. downright stupid) suggestions have also been made for other subjects, like geography and religion. I'm not sure where it will all end up, yet - so I'll keep to history for now (or else I will just get lost in my thoughts again).
Ironically, with these discussions still going on (in television, radio, papers, internet), Swedish television has been broadcasting some really interesting (British) documentaries about Antiquity and archaeology lately: Greek and Roman mythology, literature and architecture, and also Egyptian pyramids and other burial sites. I've enjoyed watching these. I've always been fascinated by this kind of stuff (even back in my school days) - without in any way being an expert or storing all the details in my memory.
Some of you reading this I'm sure will also be familiar with the British TV show Time Team - also a favourite of mine. Can you imagine Britain - Brexit or no Brexit! - erasing the whole Roman era from the history books? (And, for that matter, king Arthur and Shakespeare as well, if history was not to start until 1700...)
As it happens, I'm also currently listening to an Audible series of lectures about Ancient Civilizations of North America. (Not for any particular reason other than that I suppose I happened to find it at a reasonable price and thought it looked interesting.)
Now this is getting woven into my thoughts on history in general as well - because these lectures are making me realize, that when it comes to North America, my concept of its history really does not go back any further than the European colonization. Of course I've known from childhood that there were "Indians" living there before the Europeans arrived. But it strikes me now that the only ancient American "civilizations" I recall reading or hearing much about have been those in South/Central America (like the Inkas and Mayas). Yes, I also knew (since not-sure-when in my childhood) there were also various "Indian tribes" in North America, and I came across a few of those names through books and films. But my images of "Red Indians" are mostly from old 60s/70s movies and TV-series.
Of course I know that the historical perspective has changed over the decades since then, and one speaks of Native Americans now. But this series of lectures is still a real revelation to me. (I'm still only like half-way through.) I have to admit I had absolutely no concept of how many ancient civilizations there were in North America, even long before the European colonization. Not just nomads, but ancient cities with hundreds and even thousands of inhabitants; fishing and trading, digging canals and irrigation systems, growing corn, building burial mounds and ritual centers that can be compared to the Egyptian pyramids or Stonehenge (with perfect geometry and aligned to the sun and the moon etc), and... and... and all without me knowing, until now (when I'm 64)... ;)
So, out of curiosity, I have to ask my American friends: Did you know?? About pre-Columbian North American archaeological periods and cultures, going back many thousands of years??
Of course, if you live elsewhere in the world, your comments are welcome as well. Do you think history is important, or should we just forget about it and move on??
12 comments:
I am wondering just why they made this decision!! good thing it was reversed. I think this particular period is the most fascinating. Did you hear about the 30 plus well preserved coffins just found in Luxor? Included priests and babies. Men's hands on coffins were painted as fists, and women's hands were open.
I do think that full history should be taught of our world. Here in NZ there are many who are still 150 years later displeased with European colonization and want everything about this to be taught, I agree with this and hope it's done.
History is very important, I think. Context is King - in that area as in so many others. If we are not able to see what place we have in history, how our town, our country, our continent, our world has come to be what it is today, how shall we understand the present, and act towards a future that is worth reaching?
The lectures sound fascinating. I don't know much about pre-Columbian North America, either. Do you sometimes listen to BBC Radio 4? They have a great series "In Our Time", you can browse their archive sorted in history, religion, philosophy and many other subjects, and listen to previous episodes as podcasts. I sometimes do that when ironing.
I know some of the pre Columbian North America because I live in FL and we have a rich heritage of it here. but not much because I am not into history. I do remember wishing I did not have to take American History and World History in high school. we had to take it in 9th and 10th grades to graduate. I don't remember much about what the classes were though.
It is difficult to fit everything into the school day. Parents have been encouraged to leave the education of their children to 'the experts' meaning school. Thank goodness for documentaries on television. I studied a bit of anthropology when I was young and have found that knowing about others and knowing about different ways of life really helps a person interpret the world in a more tolerant way. At the same time, I have noticed that as I grow older I have a better understanding of other people. I believe that European people should learn about their cultural heritage and studying Greek and Roman civilisations helps with that, but probably it could be studied less so that other things could be included in the school curriculum. I also believe that parents should be encouraged to take a more active role in teaching their children again. A lot of parents lead lives that do not include real engagement with their children. A fine house is not as important as learning from your parents.
Ginny, I had not yet heard of the new find in Luxor when I read your comment, but shortly afterwards I came across a short news clip about it somewhere on the internet.
I think the proposal to skip the Antiquity (and more) from the school curriculum was to do with the total number of history lessons having been reduced as well; and at the same time there have been demands to increase focus on post-WWII history... Perhaps they were just testing the idea to see what the reactions would be - I don't really know! I'm afraid I'm not keeping up very well with all the changes in the school world in recent years.
Amy, I agree - I think we do need a grasp of history to understand how we got to where we are. Hopefully it might also help to avoid repeating some past mistakes (although sometimes one wonders...)!
Meike, I have never yet explored BBC Radio 4. Maybe I should!
Sandra, one of the things that struck me while listening to these lectures about the Ancient Civilizations of North America is that I can't recall having come across them in the Blogworld either. But I suppose that just goes to show that even though I feel that the internet and blogging has expanded my world, it still does not cover Everything! ;)
L, I think that at least here in Sweden, the main purpose of mandatory school attendance is to (try to) make sure that children get equal opportunity to learn, whatever their family background may be. Of course in reality that is still often hard to achieve, as obviously the home environment still matters. A lot of things will always be easier for those who come from a stable home and have parents who are able to support their children and spend time with them and help with homework etc. And harder for those whose parents cannot do that (maybe because they came here as refugees and are themselves still struggling to learn - or for whatever other reason). But that's where the schools should be able to help fill in the gaps, and give every child a chance to learn anyway - even things that perhaps their parents never got a chance to learn.
The idea of ignoring our past is something I find hard to comprehend and I certainly cannot find adequate words to express the poverty of thought and ideas that could engender. If we do not understand the building blocks of science in all its forms we cannot understand science. If we do not understand the building blocks of almost any subject then our ability to interpret and understand the present is weakened. Unfortunately that is happening in many countries. It's a very complicated matter but I was recently speaking to someone who said he was British (by which he meant English) and when I asked him what 'English' or 'British' was he was completely stumped by the question and had no concept of the fact that almost every Englishman (sic) is a mixture of conquerors and conquered who happen to have been left over the millennia on this little Island.
Apart from all of that no-one would be able to do crosswords if we knew nothing of ancient history.
Graham, I'm afraid it's much the same here - for example people are often talking about preserving "Swedish values", but I don't think anyone is able to define what exactly that is supposed to include.
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