[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR, — In the admirable article
in your issue of November 19th on the question of compulsory Greek you allude incidentally to the teaching of history in our schools. You rightly lament the very inadequate position which is assigned to the teaching of general modern history, more particularly the history of the last hundred years. There is but one kind of remedy. Let the Universities, in their examinations for entrance scholarships in history, attach importance to some acquaint- ance with European and American history during the past two centuries. And let the Oxford and Cambridge Certificate Board, which exercises so great an influence on the curriculum of our secondary schools, allow English and European history from, say, 1756 to 1878 to be an optional subject every year (much as Greek history in its entirety is an optional subject every year). These measures would quickly revolutionise the whole teaching of history in our schools, because secondary education in this country is entirely dependent on the
exigencies of examinations.—I am, Sir, &c., SIGMA.
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