Titanic as a topic for 5/6 year olds?

[Itssinkable]

Would you be happy for your child to learn about Titanic in Year 1 at school?

The pros are teaching about class, climate change, life in the past, engineering.

The cons are so many people die on the same night.

YABU: I'd have no problem with my child learning about Titanic

YANBU: I'd have a big problem with my child learning about Titanic

Haven't you watched The Lion King with them yet? (Or Dumbo. Or How To Train Your Dragon 2.)

To borrow a journalistic maxim, one death is a tragedy, but 1,500 deaths is a statistic. If you can cope with the fact that so many people died on one night over 100 years ago, what makes you think that your DC can't?

I was thinking ‘well, the great fire of London is a year two topic’ but when I thought about it only six people died in that whereas it must have been thousands in the Titanic.

I don’t think I’d be thrilled to be honest. Do year ones need to learn about class, climate change and engineering? They all seem quite big topics. The last time I taught year one it was more seasons and planting beans than class.

Every Disney movie ever and quite a lot of other kids movies have parents or relatives dying. Every one.

You are worried about the wrong things OP.

There are appropriate ways of covering all historic and social events. Death is a part and fact of life.

One of my formative memories (around age 6, I think) was going to the maritime museum in Liverpool - learning about slavery, discovery, empire, the titanic and Lucitania and war. I think it is important that we don’t shy away from discussing and feeling reactions to these topics at all ages.

I think it's a great topic, for all sorts of sociological reasons.

Mine both did it in Y1. Us parents were a bit baffled at the time but it was fine. There is a big social history element, eg the differences in experience and survival chances between first, second and third class passengers. I may be wrong (maybe my children's class were too affected by their subject material!) but Y1s tend to be a straightforward and kind lot who also worry about death and can write terrifying stories about it. I wonder if the topic helps them explore this when they are at a developmental age of needing to do this.

There is a lot of WW1 and WW2 stuff around in junior school too, and a 7 year old isn't than much older than a Y1.

It's fine

Hmm. My school teach it as a topic in Y6. The children love it and get a lot out of it. It’s a bit wasted in Y1 as a lot of the nuance will go over their heads, let alone the fact that it was a terrible tragedy. I don’t think I’d be comfortable with it TBH.

This is a great topic. Anything they learn can be associated with tragedy if you think about it long enough. Great Fire of London, Guy Fawkes, King Henry, Battle of Britain, volcanoes, rainforests. I am sure the teachers will teach the good bits not the bad bits at that age.

What’s the good bits about the Titanic disaster?

I would see no problem. Kids should know about death. I find most kids quite detached at that age anyhow, they won't care that much that people died. Especially not people over 100 years ago

How it was built, where it was built, the opulence and grandeur, the legendary staircase, how it got power, the sheer size of it. The White star line, It actually sunk on my birthday and I remember telling everyone this at primary school. Far worse things they’re going to learn about.

My son has been obsessed with the titanic since he was about 3! He’s going into year one next year so would be thrilled with it as a topic.

That the rules around lifeboats were changed and now all liners are required to have enough for everyone on board.
That's something good that came out of a tragedy.

My nearly four year old is VERY interested in the Titanic, and the sister ships, and a few other well known maritime disasters. In fact we are going to the museum in Belfast soon. We’ve been on the HMS Belfast which kept him. entertained for hours, and he also enjoyed the Cutty Sark. He loves popping on the Golden Hinde occasionally too. I count myself lucky to have such a bright, curious spark for a child who wants to learn about interesting topics.

Also a lesson in humility.

Don't ever tell yourself that you have created something so wonderful and perfect that it's completely indestructible and as a result, you can behave with impunity on the sea.

Prime time to be fascinated with the titanic IME. Just when they move away from the dinosaur obsession. See also, volcanoes, hurricanes and tsunamis.

Yes it was an engineering feat for its time and rules around lifeboats did change after the disaster. I find the whole story fascinating and I think year 1 kids would be gripped

My DS did it.

He is now 16 and has a fear of open water but he says the two are not connected.

I was inappropriately obsessed with these sorts of things as a child.

The issue is that they'll give a sanitised version, which people think is the true cause of the sinking. I can remember being taught that women and children were kept out of wars and that's a narrative that is picked up on by misogynists. Likewise we were given sanitised versions of the commonwealth.

I'd prefer to wait and the children be an age were the farse of the investigations and the appointing of the people to oversee the investigations, could be discussed. Talk about it at home, but not in a school. Or you have to undo what you have taught. I'm from a seafarering/Merchant Navy family and had relatives die on the Lusitania and Titanic.

Also the international ice patrol; and that quite often, safety procedures are often in place because of a former disaster.

Echoing what others have said in that children learn about horrible things all the time: think of Horrible Histories. Lots of Bible stories are pretty horrible as well, although those have their own kind of controversiality on Mumsnet.

Having said that, I'd have to admit I'd be uneasy about children learning about air travel disasters at a young age. Many of us travel by plane far more than by ship, and we don't want to make children nervous about flying. My brother was really nervous about flying aged 8; he studied the safety card carefully, and talked so much about what might go wrong, that he made other passengers nervous, one of whom asked him to stop talking about it. My parents took care not to let us find out about Lockerbie, which happened a week before we went by plane.

And being able to radio other ships 24/7. The closest ship was the Californian, and the crew member in charge of the radio had clocked off and gone to bed and didn’t pick up the distress call. They saw the flares but didn’t make the connection that it could be the Titanic in peril. The captain decided it was probably a much smaller ship and if in difficulty, it would be safer to navigate the ice fields in daylight to offer assistance.

DS did the Titanic in year 1 and was fascinated. I think YABU - it will be done in an appropriate manner

It’s a year 1 (and a year 5 - separate infant and junior schools) topic here. I’ve had three go through it now and I’m still tempted to send them in with seaweed for dressing up day.

it was a huge tragedy for our local city, and mostly my kids have managed the conversations well. But I was perplexed the first time I came across it.

In our experience, it was a really interesting and engaging topic that both our dc really enjoyed learning about. I'd much rather they enjoyed learning and it captured their imagination. Plenty of sociological lessons in it too, which is positive.