Teach Secondary 13.7

teachwire.net/secondary punctuated with stories of exploitation, violence, corruption and rejection. It is also strewn with complex individuals, whose lives cannot be taken to exemplify a certain theme, idea or experience. People in the past did not exist simply to stand for one thing or another, and it does a disservice to these people’s lives (and to the discipline of history) if we reduce them to archetypes or caricatures. The best history is history that illuminates the complexity of the past. Shifting understanding History is an exciting, dynamic discipline; new evidence and interpretation can offer up perspectives that shift our understanding, or make us think about events, people or ideas in new ways. The same is true of history teaching. If our lessons can expose pupils to new histories – or even shed new light on histories with which young people have become familiar by the time they enter our classrooms – then we have gone some way towards exposing the complexity of history. This mission was summed up well in the Swann Report of 1985 (see bit.ly/ ts137-H3), which commented on the education of children fromminority ethnic backgrounds. The report concluded that education ought to represent “ Something more than the reinforcement of the beliefs, values and identity which each child brings to school .” History lessons can serve a vital role in challenging preconceived ideas about people in both the past and the present, equipping young people to combat deeper and more problematic misconceptions. Adecolonising project The events of 2020 and 2021 underlined the importance of challenging received histories of Empire, slavery, abolition and race, in particular. The murder of George Floyd by a police officer inMinneapolis, Minnesota inMay 2020 sparked global outrage and inspired a wave of activism. In the UK, a number of protestors tore down or defaced several statues dedicated to individuals who had links to the slave trade –most notably, a statue depicting the Bristol merchant and slave trader Edward Colston. In the wake of these activities, schools were urged to rethink the manner in which certain histories were delivered. The notion of decolonising the curriculum (already established as an area of focus within university and academic circles) was popularised, and Twitter became awash with initiatives and inspiration for rethinking the manner in which British schools delivered Black history. For me, the most important message to come out of these initiatives has been the importance of having lessons and activities be led by the stories or histories that are being introduced. It is not simply a case of inserting a Black abolitionist campaigner into a scheme of work on the abolitionmovement, or a female scientist into an enquiry on the development of modernmedicine; truly diverse, decolonised history is not built on tokenistic reference to marginalised individuals simply for the sake of it. Doing so would only underline the impression that certain identities are peripheral to the story of British life and society. Instead, the decolonising project has taught us that these histories – as well as our pupils – are best served by incorporating the experiences of overlooked individuals into the main narrative, and allowing these individuals’ stories to alter this narrative, if necessary. Quoting the work of Michael Rothberg, history teacher and school leader Nick Dennis has referred to this as ‘multidirectional’ history. Rather than viewing Black history as “ Separate, superficial and distracting from the real history that needs to be taught ”, the approach involves constant reappraisal, renegotiation and cross-referencing of the past, facilitating greater creativity and complexity when planning and re- planning schemes of work. Making roomfor stories The same is true of women’s history and histories of gender and sexuality; it is important to avoid creating the impression that the experiences of women, for example, were (or are) necessarily distinct simply because of their gender, or that it is only relevant to explore the lives of women through certain historical prisms (like social and domestic history, for example). If we want to lay claim to a truly diverse curriculum, we need to make room for stories that move beyond the traditional focus on heroes, conquerors and pioneers, exploring instead the real, lived experiences of a whole range of individuals. Fundamentally, we also need to emphasise the value of these kinds of stories, encouraging pupils to conceive of history in the broadest possible terms. By adopting such an approach, pupils will begin to recognise themselves in the people of the past – and this will prove invaluable in the process of identity construction in the present. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Elena Stevens is a secondary school history teacher; this article is based on an abridged extract from her book, 40 Ways to Diversify the History Curriculum (£16.99, Crown House Publishing) 63 H UM A N I T I E S