The Official CUK The Apprentice 2011 thread

[Doggy Styles]

History isn't just about learning the dates and regurgitating them at exam time.

Some people won't learn about Tudors and other periods because you cannot learn about every period of History.

It's far easier for a teacher to teach about the periods that reflect the local area as children can see it around them.

Though some teachers are simply tulip which is one reason why you end up with kids who live in Crystal Palace not knowing about why it's called "Crystal Palace". *


Again Geography isn't just about memorising the capitals of countries.

*I didn't grow up in Crystal Palace but that's where my TV transmitters were and are so it was a place of interest.

We'll agree to disagree then, although dates are only part of it.

The mistakes made in this program were not knowing who the great people of history were and why they were memorable.

And back to dates. Of course they are important and should be taught. Dates form the framework of history, in which events and periods fit together. They show the progression of one thing to the next, often with cause and effect. At a superficial level, they stop people thinking that cavemen fought dinosaurs, Stalin defeated Napoleon or Shakespeare stole some of his material from Byron.

[d000hg]

If I wanted to check when Byron was around I'd look it up.

[Doggy Styles]

If I wanted to check when Byron was around I'd look it up.

In that case why learn anything then?

[PRC1964]

If I wanted to check when Byron was around I'd look it up.

The trouble with that is that you could easily wind up believing it was 1935. Some other bloke called Byron

[d000hg]

The trouble with that is that you could easily wind up believing it was 1935. Some other bloke called Byron

That's no worse than relying on childhood memories to be accurate.

[minestrone]

"Englishman Columbus discovered the potato when he was in America. "

[SueEllen]

We'll agree to disagree then, although dates are only part of it.

Do you really think it's possible for a child to learn about everything in History from 43 AD to 1990 at school?

Remember people have a different arguments on what's important.

And it's far easier to get a child do start researching stuff themselves if you introduce them to a topic with things that are around them.

The mistakes made in this program were not knowing who the great people of history were and why they were memorable.

That's General Knowledge.

Luckily for children in the UK they get programs like "Horrible Histories" to remain them of some great people in History, why they were great and what century they did their great things in.

Though I did houseshare years ago with someone who didn't know when and why World War II started. The excuse given was "I didn't do History". I didn't do Geography but was still interested enough to go and find out about Volcanoes, population etc.

And back to dates. Of course they are important and should be taught. Dates form the framework of history, in which events and periods fit together. They show the progression of one thing to the next, often with cause and effect. At a superficial level, they stop people thinking that cavemen fought dinosaurs, Stalin defeated Napoleon or Shakespeare stole some of his material from Byron.

Actually I've been reliably informed if you don't know your exact dates plus can present a good argument you fail your History A level.

Mind you the GCSE student I was also sitting with yesterday night was too busy laughing at the adults in the program for me to ask him if he had to remember dates in his exam.

[mudskipper]

The failure wasn't in not knowing Columbus wasn't British, but in not checking.

[amcdonald]

Well, I've learned something new:

• Englishman Columbus discovered the potato when he was in America.
• Byron was a contemporary of Shakespeare.
• Richard Drake was the famous sailor (did anyone else catch that?)

Schools now spend too much time teaching kids to be historians ("how to think for themselves" ha ha) and not enough time teaching them history.

And with 'Caracas' perhaps the same could be said of geography.

You could have learnt all that from watching Blackadder

[Doggy Styles]

You could have learnt all that from watching Blackadder

That's probably where they DID learn it!