History Teaching in Schools

The standard of the teaching of History in English schools has degraded in the last few years, or at least so reports both the Guardian and the Daily Mail in March 2011. Even earlier than this, Simon Schama, noted TV personality and historian, suggested that history teaching in schools is not engaging pupils, and does not teach pupils events with which everyone should be familiar:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/nov/09/future-history-schools

Schama as ever, makes an empassioned argument. History should be extended beyond the 'academic' sphere, and more should be done to ensure that future generations be made aware of their collective heritage. This is seemingly supported by Ofsted findings that it had become 'marginalised,' or at least this is what the Daily Mail suggests. What the Ofsted report actually suggested was that history teaching at Key Stage 3 was being constrained by decisions over curriculum changes.

Furthermore, a report by the The Historical Association suggests that the amount of teaching by those 'unqualified' (ie.with a qualification of GCSE at most) is on the increase. Existing history teachers have expressed concern over the quality of teaching pupils receive, and 25% of teaching establishments have in fact amalgamated the teaching of history with others in order to provide a 'generic' teaching module. The Association are currently also conducting a survey of the status of history as a subject in schools:

http://www.history.org.uk/news/index.php?id=1063

As someone deeply engaged with the subject since I was sixteen, I can speak with some conviction of how lucky I was to have history teachers that were engaging and keen to pass on their knowledge. Concerns over the nature of historical teaching have always been up for discussion, and this debate is not new. I would also suggest that despite an apparent paucity in the teaching, the subject remains a popular subject to pursue at University level, and so it's popularity beyond school is not in question. Therefore, much like Schama suggests, our concern should now be to improve pupils education not just of 'modern' European history such as the World Wars and the Cold War, but earlier key events in their history remain a mystery to them. Thus, even if the student chooses not to carry on with the subject, they have a grounding in the events that define their history.