How schools turn children against their families

The history curriculum has also become a means of diverting children’s attitudes from those of their parents and the community. For more than fifty years, considerable effort has been made to shift the focus of the history curriculum from a chronological national narrative to an emphasis on the present. In 1972, the Schools History Project launched ‘a radical new content offering’, which included ‘topics strongly linked to current crises’, such as Northern Ireland and the Arab-Israeli conflict, but also ‘world themes through time, such as energy and medicine, and an emphasis on local history through the archeology of the built and natural environment’ (3). This was, at least in part, a response to shifts in the academy that focused on “black history, women’s history, and attention to Indigenous peoples that sought to transcend and critique colonial lenses.” This identitarian approach leaves history open to today’s critical, racial theory-inspired movements to “decolonize” the curriculum.

In 2010, the Conservative government attempted to overhaul a history curriculum that was seen as not only political but also anti-British. Then education secretary Michael Gove promised that ‘all pupils will learn our island story’ and went so far as to argue that ‘this destruction of our past must stop’. His announcement was criticized by teachers, academics, teaching unions, historians and the presidents of learned societies such as the Historical Society.

In 2021, research from the Universities of Oxford and Reading found that 87 percent of British secondary schools had made substantial changes to history teaching – not to highlight a national narrative, but to address issues of diversity. Reasons cited included “a sense of social justice, to better reflect the nature of history and the impetus of recent events,” a reference to the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. Seventy-two percent of teachers claimed that their lessons covered the history of migration, while 80 percent said they had involved students in a study of black and Asian British history. Most common was the focus on the post-war period, including the experiences of the ‘Windrush generation’, but many also reported teaching black Tudors. Meanwhile, Britain’s largest teaching union, the National Education Union, published a report calling for the decolonization of ‘every subject and stage of the school curriculum’. It argued that every aspect of school life, from the design of classrooms to the structure of their daily routines, has colonial roots.

Education is clearly used by schools and teachers to promote a particular set of values ​​that may conflict with the values ​​of a student’s parents. Some educators see education as a means to bring about social change. On issues like climate change or gender identity, children are expected to educate their parents and other adults, rather than the other way around.

At a Birmingham primary school, children are being co-opted to monitor their classrooms and playgrounds. When a teacher makes a mistake, students hold up brightly colored posters highlighting the specific speech crime that has been committed. They are being praised for shaming the teacher, forcing an apology and alerting fellow students to the incident. Every week, the two children who complete this task most enthusiastically are rewarded with a certificate. In 2021, St Paul’s Girls’ School in London replaced the title ‘head girl’ with the more gender-neutral title ‘head of school’. This sends the message to students and parents alike that the word “girl” is outdated and offensive.

Politicized education moves education away from the transmission of traditional knowledge that connects children to their intellectual heritage. Instead of education facilitating a conversation between generations, it now breaks with the legacy of the past. Rather than weaving a thread between children and their parents, grandparents, community and nation, it promotes political values ​​that are often in stark contrast to the values ​​of an older generation.

In addition to teaching students beliefs and values ​​that may conflict with their parents’ views, teachers are encroaching on what was once believed to be the family’s responsibility regarding the health and well-being of their children. Have a typical rite of passage, such as walking home from school alone. This is now actively discouraged by schools. Although traveling independently is not illegal, many primary schools now have policies to prevent children from leaving school alone or picking up younger siblings.

Kildwick Primary School in Yorkshire has a typical ‘walking home alone’ policy. It states: ‘We believe that students in groups 3, 4 and 5 should still be dropped off and collected from school and this is our school policy. Therefore, for Year 6 students, we believe that it is up to you as parents to decide whether your child is ready for the responsibility of walking to and from school alone.”

The school takes responsibility for children under the age of 10 and makes a clear decision that they are not allowed to walk home unaccompanied by a parent or other approved adult. For children over 10 years old, this responsibility lies with the parents. However, the school does not simply let parents decide for themselves what is in the best interest of their child. It tells parents to ‘assess all risks associated with the route’ and ‘work with your children to build their independence as they walk to school through route finding, road safety skills and general consciousness’.