To think this was an inappropriate school task

[Lalalabrador]

My year 8 daughter was asked to write an essay today on the question How did India benefit from colonialism and how was it harmed by it? I’m pretty gobsmacked. I’m a professional historian and sad that something so intellectually bankrupt is being taught to young people.

I agree Morred. Exactly as you explain it

That'd be a loaded way of putting it though, as it's already telling kids the 'right way to think' even before they start a consideration of it.

It also pre-supposes that the colonialists believed that they were bringing benefits to India, rather than merely pursuing their own self interest.

A better approach would be to ask students to consider the impact of British colonial rule in India.

Of course there were benefits. We're in danger of going too far the other way, after decades of one sided history. There must be balance.

I like Morred's post.

Another way to think about it:
Would we ask "how did Germany benefit from the Nazi regime and was it harmed by it?" .
I suppose we could. But we would raise eyebrows by the mention of benefit first.
We would react more strongly to the suggestion that Nazi Germany / holocaust etc had 'benefits' because it's an emotionally charged part of our history. We don't react the same way for colonialism as it is still sometimes portrayed as a good thing. Colonialism was not a good thing at all.

Year 8 is fine. I also think it's good for the children to know how Churchill’s policies contributed to 1943 Bengal famine.

Yes its a pretty outdated way to look at and I would expect that history lessons had moved on a bit

@roarfeckingroarr

Of course there were benefits. We're in danger of going too far the other way, after decades of one sided history. There must be balance.

Do you actually learn about this stuff in History in the UK though? (not being smart I genuinely don't know). The reason I ask is I saw online earlier shocked reactions to some TV Show (Victoria i think it was) because apparently people in Britain were unaware of Britain's part in so many Irish people dying during the "potato famine"

@Crumpetsandhoney

Yes its a pretty outdated way to look at and I would expect that history lessons had moved on a bit

Is it outdated? I might have thought it was very modern- ie, we all know nowadays that India was harmed by colonisation, but can a case by made that it actually had some benefits?

I might have thought it was very modern- ie, we all know nowadays that India was harmed by colonisation, but can a case by made that it actually had some benefits?

The trouble with that way of thinking is that we will never have any way of knowing how India would have developed if we had not stolen its wealth and exploited its people. How can we possibly assess "the benefits" when we don't know how it would have played out otherwise?

Cateyloggs I do mean Uganda. Sorry.

And yes benefits for Nazi Germany.. He gave them pride.. he gave hope.. he gave a scapegoat. (Therefore absolving others of responsability.) See not hard. 9Totally against Nazism by the way.)

@AryaStarkWolf I think this is a very valid point in many ways. British history is so long and varied that even the most enthusiastic and erudite historian is by necessity going to have huge gaps in their knowledge.

The study of history has been undermined and politicised in schools. Black history month for example why??? Do we have Irish history month?

What needs to be taught is HOW to study history, its importance in shaping society. It is not possible for schools to cover every aspect of British, let alone world history.

But history seems to have become a hotbed of political agendas, anachronisms and weaponary for certain groups.

History should be studied without judgement, it is what’s happened nothing will change it. Historical events were by their very nature shaped in the economic, social, political and religious context in which they took place. Yes from a human point of view we can be horrified at something that happened but that won’t change it. We might be driven to make sure it doesn’t happen again. We can then look at it in the context of today to see if any lessons can be learned to shape today and tomorrow for the better.

@FunkBus

"It means we have a long way to go in teaching people not think at all and just to regurgitate whatever they are told."

Which side is it that you think are doing the regurgitating? Because I see a lot of thoughtful replies, honestly.

I mean if someone thinks the question should not be asked at all, in my eyes they don’t want people to learn to think.

I was taught to think about the questions and question those, also.

By that age, children have the ability to say “Hey! Wait! There’s nothing good about slavery” in response to being asked the pros and cons.

Instead of teaching them to think critically about everything including their teachers and the content of the lessons, some people want the questions to reflect the “appropriate” answer.

That’s not okay because it creates a populace that believes whatever it is told and follows whoever is leading them. Nazi Germany being a great example of that.

It scares the hell out of me that so many would create a society where anyone not agreeing or asking questions is called names and denigrated.

(And I totally agree this thread contains many thoughtful replies.)

Of course there were benefits. We're in danger of going too far the other way, after decades of one sided history. There must be balance.

Interesting question- must there always be balance? Would we say the same about Stalinism? About Nazism?

Wouldn’t have been that hard to phrase the question differently that invited critical thinking but didn’t “both sides” the argument?

Eg: “Describe how colonialism impacted India and whether these impacts were beneficial or harmful”

But history seems to have become a hotbed of political agendas, anachronisms and weaponary for certain groups

Hasn't history always been taught like that?

I remember the map of the Empire on the wall and being taught about people like Gordon of Khartoum, Baden Powell etc

Kind of a certain message being drummed into us at the time.

What and whose version of history were we being taught?

Whose stories were being told?

Describe how colonialism impacted India and whether these impacts were beneficial or harmful

Or Describe how colonialism impacted India and explain in detail whether you think these impacts were beneficial or harmful.

It would be interesting to see what a student thought about the impacts.

Advantages: some nice architecture, cricket.
Disadvantages: oppression, famine, theft of labour and natural resources.

Swings and roundabouts really.

@Lalalabrador

India did not benefit from colonialism. There is no for or against colonialism. There ‘weren’t good people on both sides’. I want my daughter to learn the truth about the British Empire not a skewed, jingoistic myth of a Britain generously bestowing ‘civility’ on the poor ‘savages’ of the colonies.

But that's not what she's learning....she's learning history and critical thinking and how to evluate and balance things.

I would imagine the essay to go somewhat along the lines of "the British introduced things to India like railways, however colonialism greatly harmed in so many other ways and to such an extent that this outweighs any benefit and colonialism cannot be justified by so-called 'benefits'"

You hear people try and justify colonialism all the time by citing so-called 'benefits'...and as you point out, its not that simple, and that is a skewed logic to use for justification if you don't consider the harmful impacts on colonialism and why it is also wrong from an ethical standpoint

It's not teaching the Trump-style "there were good people on both sides"..it's teaching her how to critically evaluate historical events and why things cannot be seen that way...

I'm a bit concerned that you are saying you are a historian and that this is how you're interpreting the question tbh.

I do agree the question is a bit clumsily phrased...but she's 8. It's not an A-level essay question or university question

@LilMidge01

She is not 8. She is 12 or 13.

With respect to some people - I am slightly astonished that some people think an 8 year old would be asked to write an essay about colonialism in India.

Even in year 8, it's a complex subject to tackle.

@AlexaShutUp

As a teaching tool the question has huge drawbacks because it plants an idea, an implication, that there were negatives and positives in equal measure to the experience of the colonised. Children in Year 8 do not have the intellectual capacity to unpack this question adequately.

Yes, this.

Maybe they dont have the ability to unpack it to the same extent you do, but pretty confident a 12 year old can understand the basics of "not all points are equal in weight attributed to them" and can grasp the concept that certain negatives can outweigh benefits.

The question does not ask them to justify colonialism.

They also haven't been given this in a vacuum presumably, and have had primary sources and class discussions led by the teacher prior which prompts them to think about these things.

I actually remember my year 7 and year 8 history lessons precisely for this reason because I loved how they encouraged this way fot hinking that I hadn't done in primary school. Obviously by adult standards it was very basic, but it felt ground breaking and eye opening at the time.

Give 12 year olds a bit more credit