[Dave Musgrove]

Now this is interesting. According to this BBC news story http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tay ... 248036.stm the Scottish government is planning on subsidising school trips to historic sites in Scotland, such as Bannockburn, Culloden and Burns' birth place. The idea has been attacked for encouraging nationalist sentiment. What do you think? Should English/Welsh/Northern Irish children have the same sort of subsidies, and if so, where would they go?

[Reginald Dalton]

I'd say it's an excellent idea, getting the kids out of their stuffy classrooms is a good thing anyway, and this way they can really get in touch with their history, rather than just reading about it.. Hopefully it'll make them understand that history isn't just something you read about which happened, but something that is still alive and kicking, and all around them..

Reg.

[hiphophistorian]

i think it sounds like a complete waste of money and will brainwash children with an over inflated view of the importance of scottish history.

[iandevlin]

i think it sounds like a complete waste of money and will brainwash children with an over inflated view of the importance of scottish history.

That's a bit harsh. Surely all history is important in its own way? Plus, since it's in Scotland, they're entitled to have more or an emphasis on their own, local history, since those sites are the ones they'd have more access to.

I think it's a great idea and think that the British government should do the same for the other home countries. And then politely inform the Republic of Ireland's government to do that same!

[ravenna]

Brainwash?? Chance 'ud be a fine thing! You can take pupils to Ironbridge but you can't force them to think. Any activity that involves more than sitting in a classroom is fantastic for education. You can't fully control what they will learn....but they will definitely be learning. Many kids don't get taken on family trips anywhere but the shops and so anything that introduces them to a wider world that's part of their national / regional / local heritage has got to be a good idea.
The problem though is the English National Curriculum and league tables. The route-march classes are supposed to follow and pressure on fitting in the demands of the whoe curriculum has led to history teaching in England being squeezed out from primary schools onwards. Because it is not tested formally, it is not seen to contribute to attainment, and so can be safely sidelined by school managers. Most local authorities do not have a specialist history adviser (or geography for that matter), and without this level of championing the subject is done for.

Did I read wrong, or is there meant to be a forum for ranting about the state of history in English schools, as per p.37 of September's issue? BRING IT ON!!!!

[Dave Musgrove]

Did I read wrong, or is there meant to be a forum for ranting about the state of history in English schools, as per p.37 of September's issue? BRING IT ON!!!!

Yep, we've got that going here history-teaching-t48.html

[Rosalind]

I think it is a brilliant idea!

Get the children out of the classroom and out to the places where the history really happened.

We are soooooooooooooo lucky that we live in a country where we can travel more or less anywhere in a day with history at every turn.

[mckay1402]

I absolutely think this is superb. I wish we had been able to do something like this at school. good on the scottish government.

[gertrude616]

I absolutely think this is superb. I wish we had been able to do something like this at school. good on the scottish government.

fully agree, it would be very good thing for our schools