Dear All

Can’t resist getting my bit in here as it looks as if I may be a dissenting voice.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t have problems with kids learning about sex, death and toilets and admit that it is something that motivates them. I also don’t think that handling weapons and trying on armour turns children into serial killers.

However, the issue here is our choice in focusing on a specific aspect of, for example, Vikings – why should we just repeat what the children already get about Vikings no matter how motivating that is? I favour the notion that we have a duty to the children to stretch and deepen their understanding of a culture and a duty (yes, I mean it!) to the culture to give it some depth and texture so that the people who lived it are not stereotyped death-bots, but people who got hungry, struggled to make a living, produced beautiful objects, worried about their families etc etc.

So the question I’d ask, is not ‘What shall I do about these complaints?’, but ‘What is it that I really want children to learn about/from the Vikings (subtext – stuff that they’re not going to get already from Horrible Histories, TV shows, school and that therefore it’s worth their while coming to a museum to get) and who can I get/train who can best deliver it?’

I do sympathise - I’ve just been faced with a similar situation – all I could find at first were Viking warriors and combat re-enactors, which I didn’t want, so I’ve gone for a storyteller and some non-war-related first person interpreters. Feedback is supposed to encourage us to review our aims, even if we don’t alter them in the end.

Richard

Richard Woff

Head of Schools & Young Audiences Education

The British Museum

London WC1B 3DG

phone: +44 (0)207 323 8689

email: [log in to unmask]

From: List for discussion of issues in museum education in the UK. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sally Turner
Sent: 20 July 2011 13:46
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Violence/ Blood/ Gore

Another problem I am hoping GEM can resolve.

We offer Viking Days at Chertsey Museum where the children have an action packed day of a walk around the abbey sacked by the Vikings, making card swords and looking at our real Viking sword in the gallery, and then in the afternoon we have a Viking Warrior re-enactor come in who does an amazing interactive demonstration.

We have been doing the same session for around 4 years and have had excellent feedback, our re-enactor does this same session as a freelance at many other locations, he has his own insurance, was a teacher for 26 years, is an actor (and been in Harry Potter!) and is now doing a PHD on the topic. So we are quite happy that he knows his stuff.

However we had 2 complaints from 2 different schools in the same week saying that the session is un-suitable for Year 3s and even Primary aged children. One teacher even stopped the session half-way through and asked to do something else!

The session is aimed a Year 3-5 and the children are asked to do various tasks like hold the shield while the re-enactor places a spear into, to show how the spearhead gets stuck in the shield and comes off. He always stage manages the children well so he knows exactly where they are (and what they may be likely to do) so he is in control should the child not do as they are asked.

The teachers thought that children should not be handling weapons (especially sharp ones) at all, and also they do not like him telling the children about mercy killings on the gangrenous battle field and they believed their children would go home and slit other children's throats.

I know our sessions are rather violent and gory, and I have to admit the first time I watched it I was a bit on the edge of my seat, however for 4 years we have never had even a bad comment- never mind a complaint. It was my understanding that when learning about the Vikings they should learn the truth- death and all, and it seems that with horrible histories there is a lot of it out there.

Has anyone come across something similar? I am wondering whether to research what rating it would be if it was a film such as PG or 12A?

There have been knife killings in the news for the past few years- it isn't something that has just popped up- so I don't know why this is all happening all of a sudden?

Sally
Chertsey Museum

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