Despite the expense of school fees, neither my children nor their friends knew what famous battle was fought in 1815, and that included a few with A grades at GCSE in history. Try asking yours I hope that you get a better result.
The trouble is that history isn't taught chronologically. It's not their fault that there are yawning gaps in their knowledge-it's the fault of the curriculum. Children learn about the Tudors, the World Wars and the American Civil Rights Movement, but nothing in between. I can't see how they will have a sense of place if they aren't taught about the history of the place. This year, I'm going to attempt a basic history course at the breakfast table.
However, what they don't know about history, they do know about technology. If something goes wrong with a mobile phone, computer or television, they can fix it in a moment. Their wonder at my inability to record a television programme successfully mirrors mine over their lack of history. The trouble is that I expect that they will soon know what happened in 1485, 1588, 1688, 1715 and 1805, but I'll still be left cursing the remote control.
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If the future of Ferrari is electric vehicles, then it is our future tooIt's widely believed that Ferrari will unveil its first electric car this year. It's the signal that the internal combustion era is coming to an end.
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Gaze over Cap Ferrat in this four-bedroom French villaIgnore the wind and the rain. Imagine yourself in this hillside home with some of the best views the Mediterranean can offer.
