Well I couldn’t agree more Richard.
At the Fitzwilliam I worked for years to create teaching sessions in the
Egyptian and Greek galleries that encompassed topics such as mummification but placed
firmly in the context of the environment life and production of the whole ancient
culture and just as importantly in the larger comparative context of the
children’s own lives and beliefs. In this way it is possible to bring out
the real similarities between cultures rather than presenting practices as isolated
and odd. If children are questioned about what people believe today and how those
beliefs lead to actions, the violence and practices of ancient cultures don’t
seem strange at all , but just part of a long pattern of what people believe
and how people act.
Now more than ever, as the school
curriculum narrows and compartmentalizes knowledge, museum educators must
think deeply about their role in education. A trip to a museum can be a child’s
only chance to be exposed to a deeper vein of questioning.
But perhaps most importantly of all I have
always found that if this more complex teaching is delivered creatively, if the
questioning and knowledge gathering are held within story and activity and
experiment and drama, then children absolutely love it because they can feel
that tickle of real thinking.
All best to all
From: List for
discussion of issues in museum education in the UK. [mailto:
Sent: 21 July 2011 10:55
To:
Subject: Re: Violence/ Blood/ Gore
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
phone:
+44 (0)207 323 8689
email:
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From: List for
discussion of issues in museum education in the UK. [mailto:
Sent: 20 July 2011 13:46
To:
Subject: Violence/ Blood/ Gore
Another problem I am hoping GEM can resolve.
We offer Viking Days at
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
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