Some people believe that it is more
important to teach children the literature and history of their own country,
rather than the literature and history of other countries. To what extent do
you agree or disagree?
People
have different views about the teaching of national versus global literature
and history in schools. Personally, I support the idea that children should
study first and foremost the great books and historical events of their own
countries.
There
are several reasons why I believe that schools should focus on teaching
national literature and history. Firstly, children enjoy learning about where
they live, and by studying the ideas, culture and history of their own
countries they begin to develop a sense of identity. At the same time, this
approach is appealing to parents, who studied the same books and historical
events and can therefore help their children with school work. English
children, for example, read Shakespeare and learn about the Battle of Hastings
just as their parents did, and there is educational continuity across the
generations. Finally, an emphasis on national literature and history gives
educators a narrower teaching scope, making curriculum design an easier task.
By
contrast, the study of global events and foreign novels could cause unnecessary
difficulty and confusion for school pupils. For example, I do not see the point
in presenting Russian or Chinese history to a British child who has not yet
studied the history of his or her own country in detail. Surely the child would
be more able to comprehend historical events that took place in London than
those that happened in Moscow or Beijing. Similarly, any exposure to
international literature is likely to require the teaching of a foreign
language or the use of translations. Young people at primary or secondary
school age are simply not ready for such complications.
In
conclusion, I would argue that it is undesirable for schools to cover aspects
of foreign history and literature; they should ground their pupils in the local
culture instead.
No comments:
Post a Comment