Despite the expense of school fees, neither my children nor their friends knew what famous battle was fought in 1815, and that included a few with A grades at GCSE in history. Try asking yours I hope that you get a better result.
The trouble is that history isn't taught chronologically. It's not their fault that there are yawning gaps in their knowledge-it's the fault of the curriculum. Children learn about the Tudors, the World Wars and the American Civil Rights Movement, but nothing in between. I can't see how they will have a sense of place if they aren't taught about the history of the place. This year, I'm going to attempt a basic history course at the breakfast table.
However, what they don't know about history, they do know about technology. If something goes wrong with a mobile phone, computer or television, they can fix it in a moment. Their wonder at my inability to record a television programme successfully mirrors mine over their lack of history. The trouble is that I expect that they will soon know what happened in 1485, 1588, 1688, 1715 and 1805, but I'll still be left cursing the remote control.
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Chelsea Flower Show 2025: What else to do in SW3 if you're coming to the world's greatest flower showThere's more to Chelsea than just the Flower Show so we've rounded up some of the best places to eat, stay and shop.
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Uniquely unique? The Yorkshire grain silos transformed into a home that's a symphony in glass, steel and curvesAmid the beautiful countryside of North Yorkshire, on the edge of the Castle Howard Estate, The Silos is a property for which the word 'house' simply doesn't cut it. And that's not the only way in which it's made us throw out the dictionary.
