A progressive way of teaching history?

Michael Gove has apparently asked Niall Ferguson to re-write the history curriculum for schools. I’m not convinced this is a good idea. Apparently Ferguson plans to introduce more use of TV, and the use of war games to encourage learning (reported in The Guardian).

There has to be more to teaching history than war. Whilst wars have often been the turning points for change, history is also about our economic development, the story of how ordinary lives have changed, political development in other parts of the world, and so much more. I’m sure that there are more progressive ways to create stimulating learning activities, including using simulations, without the need to focus on war.

Most worrying, perhaps, is the fact that Ferguson is so positive about empire. He has always been a controversial figure, and claims that empire has had a positive impact on world history. This leads him to argue for more empire, for example for the US to impose democracy and capitalism forcefully on Iraq with long-term imperial rule (for example here).

He appears to believe that it is a good thing for the west to impose what it perceives to be the best forms of government on others, by military force if necessary. I’ve never really understood this sort of argument- how can you impose democracy on people if they don’t want it?

I hope that any new curriculum is balanced, and encourages students to be critical about what they see and hear. Ferguson’s willingness to argue against the tide of public and academic opinion would imply this may well be a possibility, so I hope it is this aspect of his work that is prominent in any review of the curriculum. And I like his view that teaching history should be about narrative- after all, history is ultimately a long story of how we got to where we are now.

Interestingly, Ferguson admits that whilst his sons like the war-games he has been developing for teaching history, his daughter is not so interested. Perhaps this is a sign that more work is needed to reach the stated aim of designing a curriculum that makes students want to learn.