Why Christopher Columbus is history (and why many would-be teachers know nothing about him)
Friday, 6 July 2007
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Only one out of 20 would-be teachers on a Cambridge University history and education course knew anything about Christopher Columbus, a conference was told yesterday.
The figure was revealed by Kate Pretty, pro-vice chancellor of Homerton College, as evidence of the decline in history in primary and secondary schools. Later this month, a report by Ofsted, the education standards watchdog, will reveal that seven out of ten pupils have ditched the subject by the time they are 14. Only 30 per cent go on to study it to GCSE level.
The report will also reveal that time allocated for history is now being swallowed up by the new compulsory lessons in citizenship - which aim to instil in UK children the concept of "Britishness".
Dr Pretty said history was being squeezed in both primary and secondary schools, with the result that bits of it are being left out altogether. "Columbus came before the Henrys (the Tudor period) and so therefore it wasn't covered in secondary schools," she added. "In primary schools, the subject has been squeezed as a result of the concentration on maths, English and ICT - the core curriculum."
Dr Pretty was speaking at the annual summer conference of the Prince of Wales' Teaching Institute - held at her college in Cambridge to discuss issues covering the teaching of English, history and science.
"It is quite difficult to teach people who have no knowledge of a historical period because of what has happened," she said.
"In one of my classes of 20 (a bachelor of education course on history and education), only one knew about Christopher Columbus. There is therefore some difficulty at university level of knowing how to build on what has been studied before."
Paul Armitage, a senior history inspector at Ofsted, said that while only 30 per cent of pupils took history at GCSE, even fewer went on to take the subject at A-level or university. He added: "If we say it is being taught well in secondary schools, it is also taught to a minority."
Many teachers at the conference were worried that the shake-up of the national curriculum - due to be announced next week - would put a further squeeze on history. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, the Government's exams watchdog, is expected to call for more topic-related lessons - on themes such as global warming, creativeness and culture - rather than sticking to the traditional subject-based timetable.
Dr Pretty warned that many teachers were not adequately trained to teach subjects such as global awareness. "We'll have to dumb the curriculum down so far that we will not be teaching what is worthwhile," she said.
Ralph Tabberer, director general of schools at the new Department for Children, Schools and Families, said topics such as global warming would help to get youngsters "engaged" in lessons. "I think there is plenty of evidence over the past few years that the Government is prepared to interfere less [in the curriculum]," he added.
However, he acknowledged there was danger that "trivial" topics could be introduced. "The theme of chocolate, for instance, does not have a deep understanding," he said.
The man who 'found' America
* Exact date of birth debated, but thought to be about 1451 in the Italian city of Genoa.
* At the age of 14, he attended the University of Pavia and learned Latin, navigation, geography and astronomy.
* He made Portugal his base and in 1475, he married Doña Felipa Moniz.
* His "Enterprise of the Indies" expedition was sponsored by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. Columbus had failed to win backing for it in Portugal, France and England.
* On 3 August 1492, Columbus and his three ships, the Santa Maria, Pinta and Niña, set sail across the Atlantic and "discovered" the West Indies. He made three more transatlantic voyages but never actually set foot in North America.
* He died on 20 May 1506.
