I'll teach these kids some damn History or die trying.

UK secondary school teacher, trying to change the world by teaching teenagers history. Ha.

[ruinedchildhood]

[itrytoteachhistory]

Teaching is so rewarding.

[itrytoteachhistory]

I genuinely feel some regret about not letting one of my students write his historical fiction about a crocodile in 14th Century Yorkshire catching the Black Death. 

[itrytoteachhistory]

I genuinely feel some regret about not letting one of my students write his historical fiction about a crocodile in 14th Century Yorkshire catching the Black Death. 

[itrytoteachhistory]

Why study the Slave Trade in History?

I have been teaching a top set Year 8 (ages 12 -13) a history unit on the transatlantic Slave Trade. After marking their books from the last few lessons, one student’s work in particular stood out.

In the lesson we had watched a video of a Slave Auction recreation done in New York. I had asked my students to respond to the question: ‘Why do you think this recreation was performed?’

The answer that I received from one student was along these lines: 

‘I don’t think that this would have had any impact. The only people who are still racist today are neo nazis and the KKK. This would have had no effect on normal people (basically left wing rubbish). These people are apparently stuck in the past.’

This was only one student out of a class of thirty, and whilst it saddened me to see this response from an intelligent child, it has revealed to me that that I had made the dangerous assumption that my students understood that racism is still a massive societal problem today.

I am going to talk to the student in question individually, however I now also plan to teach a lesson at the end of the unit focusing on why we have studied the Slave Trade.

I am white, as is the large majority of my class. I feel it is my responsibility as a teacher to make my students aware and critical of the problems facing our society and world today. I do not want to make any more assumptions about their understanding, nor do I want to make any assumptions in my teaching based on my perspective as a white female.

Does anyone have any suggestions about I might approach this topic in a fair and balanced light?

[itrytoteachhistory]

If King John is not careful, he will turn England into a cheesecake.

[itrytoteachhistory]

When your students are from Yorkshire. 

[itrytoteachhistory]

Despite my best Powerpoint efforts, Year 10 did not leave my lesson as enthused about Francis Walsingham as I am.