LETTERS English history
Sir: Michael Trend's examination of the assumptions behind the new way of teaching history (Past caring', 4 April) was enlightening and disturbing. To encourage the young to sharpen their critical faculties is right and proper, but to encourage them to sit in judgment on our ancestors is to fall into the error so eloquently condemned by C. S. Lewis in The Abolition of Man in which he showed that the conditioners, the `Men without Chests', under the guise of teaching their subjects were in fact subtly destroying moral values, and bringing into being a generation who could apparently see through everything, and thus end up seeing nothing at all.
On the other hand, in the opinion of some modern educators, a multi-racial society renders it impossible to teach the history of a single-race society at all, even though it was that society's forerunner, as the 'ethnic minorities' would regard it as either irrelevant or embarrassing — bring- ing back as it would unhappy memories of that period in their history when they were under British rule(!). I happen to head a preparatory school in Nairobi which, dur- ing the colonial period, catered solely for British pupils. Since independence the school has taken in an increasing number of pupils of non-British stock until now we are a predominantly Asian and African school. However, the curriculum is exactly as it was 40 years ago, and these 'ethnic' minorities revel in English history and the Christian gospel, and would bitterly resent being arbitrarily excluded from our herit- age. However jingoistic it may sound, a large part of our history is a story of courage and sacrifice, and if taught by teachers proud of their country's past achievements, and grateful for their inheri- tance, we would rear a generation who do not feel that the world owes them a living but might rather follow John F. Kennedy's advice and ask not what their country can do for them, but rather what they can do for their country.
R. A. Massie-Blomfield
Cavina School, PO Box 43090, Nairobi
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