Hilarie Stelfox takes history lessons from Secondborn

Jun 13 2009 by Hilarie Stelfox, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

IF I WAS a GCSE history examiner I would have included at least one question about the D Day landings in this year’s paper.

After all, this subject couldn’t be more topical – it being the 65th anniversary of what was a major turning point in the Second World War.

What’s more, the recent commemorations and coverage of trips by veterans to the beaches where the famous landings were made will have been excellent revision material for students.

Interviews with survivors have produced a wealth of primary source material of the kind that historians usually can only dream about. By the time of the next significant anniversary, the 70th, there will, sadly, be even fewer of the brave souls left and a dwindling pool of living history.

When Secondborn chose history as one of her GCSE subjects we discovered that the syllabus focussed on the two world wars of the 20th Century.

As she is the first person in the household to study history at school – I dropped the subject after being ‘taught’ by someone who thought that simply reading from a textbook was sufficient – I was concerned that she might find the subject matter heavy going and, shall we say, too recent to be considered ‘history’.

But I forgot that to a 16-year-old, anyone over 30 is positively ancient and the events of seven decades ago are almost prehistoric and, therefore, fascinating. I’ve hardly dared own up to the fact that rationing had not long been dispensed with when I was born.

She has embraced the subject with an interest and enthusiasm that has astonished me.

To help with revision for her exams this month, I agreed to listen to ‘lectures’ on everything from the causes of the First World War and Kristallnacht to the Treaty of Versailles and the Battle of the Bulge. This week I have been party to information on the American involvement in European affairs – from a time when we welcomed such a thing.

In the process I have learned something of 20th Century history and she has enjoyed being in the position of knowing more than a know-it-all parent. (NB to parents of reluctant revisers, this is a great way to encourage your children to learn).

What has become even clearer to me is that history does have lessons for all of us but, unfortunately, they seem to be difficult to learn. As a species we specialise in making the same mistakes in different settings. However, I think it’s hugely important that our children continue to be taught about the conflicts that involved their grandparents and great-grandparents. They need to know that they belong to a privileged generation that has never known war in our little corner of Europe or the sort of hardships endured by their forebears. And they need to understand how it was that the Nazi Party rose to power and the terrible human cost of intolerance and bigotry.

Secondborn will take history to A level if she gets the desired result at GCSE. The syllabus repeats the events of World War I and II but adds on the Cold War. I’ve told her that her grandma, an evacuee, is ready and waiting to be a primary source for any essays on the subject and I’m looking forward to extending my own knowledge with a new lecture series.

As they say, it’s never too late to learn.