Trafalgar day

[tonywiltshire]

Today I mentioned it was Trafalgar day and was asked "what is trafalgar" I said "the day Nelson won the battle of Trafalgar" and was asked "who is Nelson".

Am I the only person who remembers Trafalgar in 1805?

[sir.prize]

Yes.

[DTCwordfan]

Hardy an interesting thread.

[emmie]

well i wasn't there, but i know what it is.

[Frank97]

Yes I know of it, didn't know it was today though.

[Brenden]

This is a pet subject of mine tony, the children to-day are not being taught their history - why - they are being taught foreign history. Put it back on the curriculum and teach them, warts and all.

[tenrec]

Children today are taught history, just not the same as yours. I didn't learn about 20th century, but did learn about Trafalgar Day!

[emmie]

how many can remember their school history lessons, dates, places of battles, and so forth, not many i suspect. I am more than interested now, but it's taken a lot of intervening years to get to this point.

[Brenden]

You never stop learning em - I am happy to say. Ilove the history of my country (and others I hasten to add) - although brutal it has been in parts like most countries of the world.

[jake-the-peg]

This is also a pet subject of mine Brendan

What is the point of teaching kids "traditional British History" just to brainwash them into learning some collective myth of this "Island Nation"

To try to make the younger generation think the same was as a particular fairly reactionary segment of the older generation.

Rather teach them History skills - how to evaluate sources for reliability, how to analyse a proposition and show consideration of different points of view.

these are skills they can use in life

Knowing there was a bloke called Nelson who won a naval battle in October 1805 won't do them much good

[joko]

yes, of course, you are the ONLY person who remembers it...

[emmie]

what is worrying is that someone doesn't know who Nelson is, let alone Trafalgar.

[micmak]

Whilst I totally disagree was it not Henry Ford who said "History is bunk" I love history.

[DTCwordfan]

Agree micmak, Georgian, American Independence and Hundred Years War for me, increasingly back to 1000 as well......what about you?

[gollysailor]

It is thanks to Horatio Nelson and his best mate Cuthbert Collingwood that we are still conversing in English. Unfortunately, recent successive governments of all colours have forgotten our naval heritage and have gradually reduced our fleet to ridiculous proportions........ I'd better get of my soap box. Nobody cares anyway.

[DaisyNonna]

Love history, too young to remember Trafalgar Day but aware of it. History is precious. We should remember the dates that have shaped us.

Teaching history skills, evaluation, analysis and considering different viewpoints, is not as easy as it sounds. Many youngsters find it extremely difficult. It can can come across as mind-bendingly boring.

Social history is for young minds much more fun but they need the pegs of dates and personalities to structure it.

[boxtops]

How old were these people you were asking, tony?

I remember my sister being appalled that when I was about 14, I wasn't interested in Mahatma Ghandi - but I wasn't there when he was alive, it's the same sort of thing.

[Mosaic]

To learn to evaluate past events requires thought processes that don't develop until you are an adult. Kids respond to vivid images and stories, but making history lessons vivid and interesting has been frowned on by the national curriculum thought police.
Then remember, history has been squeezed out of modern school timetabling. By year 9 most kids get one lesson a week at most. Take ten minutes off that for getting in, settling down, winding down and packing to leave, and you'll understand why school-taught history is failing.

[jake-the-peg]

Which is why history from around the world is featured in the curriculum

What I take issue with is the concentration on British history

Those who want to concentrate solely on that are persuing an agenda and are trying to use history to instill a social cohesion.

History teaching should not be a method of social anipulation

[nungate]

I remember. My hero is Collingwood - he was the forgotten hero of Trafalgar and the man responsible for keeping the French at bay for such a long time after Trafalgar.

[DaisyNonna]

Mosaic, fully agree with you.