TEACHING OF HISTORY

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27990, 9 June 1956, Page 4

TEACHING OF HISTORY

“SCHOOL COURSE BUT * A PREPARATION”

HISTORICAL SOCIETY DISCUSSION

The uses of history in training children for citizenship, inculcating critical habits of reading and giving them a cultural background, were touched on when a panel discussed the aims and purpose of the teaching of history at a meeting of the Historical Association (Canterbury). The teaching of history in schools was but a preparation, for “history was made by men and women, and is not to be fully understood by children,” said Mr C. J. Colbert, of the Christchurch Boys’ High School. Pupils should be encouraged to think about the subject and discuss its problems. For American teachers generally, the acknowledged goal of history teaching was to produce good citizens, and history was thought to have that value, rather than a cultural value, said Mr B. Ferrand, of the West Christchurch High School. In the State of Maryland, where he had taught, he said, the -stress placed on the contributions of all peoples was related to the fact that Americans were, in their origins, widely diverse. The danger was that in using history as a training for citizenship,, the subject itself might be ignored. In English public schools the teaching of history was much more closely geared to the university than in New Zealand, said Mr D. K. Fieldhouse, lecturer at Canterbury University College. He agreed with Mr Colbert that school history was only a preparation for the real study, and felt that older children, if taught history at all, should be taught on the assumption that they would continue the study at the university—to which the school teaching should be much more closely related than in New Zealand. Mr H. R. Hornsby, headmaster of Christ’s College, said that from his experience of teaching history in Eng lish public and grammar schools, he had found it to be of great advantage to have the material of history close at hand—such as Roman remains, coins and pottery.* If any teacher used a diversity of textbooks he could lead hi® students to learn that there were no hard facts of history, but a. variety of interpretations. Even dull pupil? could grasp and profit from that. Af the same time the cultural and citizenship objectives were sound: