Did anyone realise that from this month the study of the European enslavement of African people for 11-14 year olds will become a compulsory part of the history curriculum?
It appears few do. Some teachers, museum educators, community workers are unaware. But alarmingly one former teacher told me the teaching of this part of history has always been a compulsory part of the curriculum. And that this so-called new move is just a government ruse.
According to the former teacher, at present, African enslavement is taught in a way that doesn't allow respect for fellow human beings or room for empowerment.
On the contrary, it reinforces the widespread misinformation that Africans achieved nothing and instead had things done to them. By presenting it as new, the government is safe from criticism about content; instead it is seen as making positive steps.
I see the point. What really needs to occur is for African achievement in its fullest sense to be on the curriculum and taught before schoolchildren get to the story of enslavement.
The complacency among museum educators is also worrying. There is still the belief that if you don't have collections to support the teaching of enslavement you can't do it. And these excuses are not going away.
But with resources such as the Understanding Slavery Initiative, educators have never been better equipped to develop material and carry out programming.
One museum educator's (based in a predominantly white region) first reaction was to point me in a direction away from her own institution and to Bristol (the nearest obvious region to tackle the subject). The reasoning being that if there isn't a demand for it then there is no need for it to be addressed.
It would be healthy to move beyond the Bristols, the Londons, the Liverpools, the Plymouths and the Hulls and find the Devons, the Worcestershires, the Kendals providing resources that draw on this history - all our history.
Respecting our diverse identities and each other's culture is one of the most pressing necessities for the wellbeing of societies. Knowing and acknowledging our history is part of this. And what better place to start doing it properly than in school.
It appears few do. Some teachers, museum educators, community workers are unaware. But alarmingly one former teacher told me the teaching of this part of history has always been a compulsory part of the curriculum. And that this so-called new move is just a government ruse.
According to the former teacher, at present, African enslavement is taught in a way that doesn't allow respect for fellow human beings or room for empowerment.
On the contrary, it reinforces the widespread misinformation that Africans achieved nothing and instead had things done to them. By presenting it as new, the government is safe from criticism about content; instead it is seen as making positive steps.
I see the point. What really needs to occur is for African achievement in its fullest sense to be on the curriculum and taught before schoolchildren get to the story of enslavement.
The complacency among museum educators is also worrying. There is still the belief that if you don't have collections to support the teaching of enslavement you can't do it. And these excuses are not going away.
But with resources such as the Understanding Slavery Initiative, educators have never been better equipped to develop material and carry out programming.
One museum educator's (based in a predominantly white region) first reaction was to point me in a direction away from her own institution and to Bristol (the nearest obvious region to tackle the subject). The reasoning being that if there isn't a demand for it then there is no need for it to be addressed.
It would be healthy to move beyond the Bristols, the Londons, the Liverpools, the Plymouths and the Hulls and find the Devons, the Worcestershires, the Kendals providing resources that draw on this history - all our history.
Respecting our diverse identities and each other's culture is one of the most pressing necessities for the wellbeing of societies. Knowing and acknowledging our history is part of this. And what better place to start doing it properly than in school.
