Child learning about slavery in primary school during Black History Month

[mamaM0]

Don't really know where to begin with this but... DD got homework which included a BHM theme as main part of English section.
They were given a timeline of "historic" events and asked to put them in correct order, there were at least 3 "events" referring to the transatlantic slave trade; Europeans "buying and selling of African slaves" , "the abolition of slavery act" and "slavery becoming illegal in the British Empire".
DD is in Y3.
I was not expecting these highly complex subjects to be taught in primary school let alone be rolled out in such a crude, crass way.
My heart is heavy with this subject matter and I feel the school could've taken a much more sensitive approach - better yet, focus on positive historic BH themes to actually inspire the kids - which is why it was created in the first place; to shine a light on black people too often portrayed as negative in western societies.
I'm posting this because I am in shock! And would like to know if this is being taught in your DC's primary schools? If so how have you approached it?
Is this normal?
My DH has refused to allow our DD to complete the homework.

I get what you are saying, yes positive BH must be discussed as well. What we don't know is where they're going with this topic, and I think it's important for children to know about our country's hideous past. I hope they are discussing the human side of slavery too, not just facts and figures.

My kids learned about this at about the same age. It was taught in an age appropriate way. I don't see a problem

The problem is that the history of slavery is highly complex and that the African nations were as complicit in slavery as the European ones were in selling their own people which is a fact that he is often overlooked. Unfortunately we now have this very simplistic view which we ran down at kids throats which is very inappropriate at a young age. It is important to realise that Britain was actually the first European nation to fight against the slave trade when everyone else was carrying on with it. But I do think it is not an appropriate subject for Y3.

@Kellie45

This sounds like what people say to make white people feel comfortable talking about slavery.

The point is you cannot teach slavery light. This very heavy, uncomfortable subject needs to be fully extrapolated and understood in relation to the current set up of most European nations today.

I would expect this to be done at secondary school level when most students would have reached a level of consciousness to be able to have an intellectual debate about this very ugly, heavy time in history - not in primary school y3 when they are still being taught the foundations of education, especially not just touched upon for one month during BHM.

Its like what @crossstitchingnana said; where are they going with this?

Feels like the school has got this ALL WRONG.

Thank you for your feedback.

Educationally the curriculum is not linear but builds in a spiral. So learning about it simplistically now so that that knowledge can be built upon in later years when the topic is revisited could be a good thing. It should mean that by the time they finish school pupils have a nuanced and complex understanding of world history.

Although it is impossible for us to tell at a distance whether the year 3 teacher your DC has is covering the topic appropriately.

They did include positive aspects such as first black astronaut mae jemison and first black MP's etc but it feels like they don't really know what to do with BHM.

I wonder what discussions you had with your DC's following their learning about slavery @MrsCarson ? Could you share? 😊

I don't see the issue 🤷‍♀️
Every subject can be taught gently and then more information given as the children grow up. There's absolutely no point hiding it from kids 'till they're old enough to understand fully' and then dropping it all on them!

My son (Y4) came home from school the other day talking about Harriet Tubman who they’d been taught about in a BHM assembly. Which seems age appropriate to me, would you be happier with that? I guess it takes for granted that they understand the context or it’s explained.

@AppleKatie Thanks for your feedback. Do you happen to work in education?
I have not come across the teaching of slavery in the school curriculum so was unaware this would be touched upon and feel completely blindsided.
Our school's curriculum map includes ancient benin, West Africa, ancient Egypt and Greece, ancient romans and vikings Etc. As a point of study.

I don't think learning about it simplistically over a period of time can be a good thing, a drip feed approach could do more damage than good as at this stage children are less likely to question what they are being taught and are more accepting of information as fact, internalising information in such a lazy albeit crass way in the hopes of what?
Where's the sensitivity in the first instance? How will this help them to make sense of themselves and their place within society as they grow...

Hypothetical question really...

I guess I'm just saying, why are our DC expected to ponder on this heavy history of slavery at such an early age instead of just getting on with who they want to be in life but, maybe that's exactly the point.

I’m afraid it’s not what makes white people feel better but it’s the facts of history. Unfortunately there were many sides of the slave trade. The European nations cannot escape their guilt in it but then neither can those who sold their own countrymen to the Europeans. The recent row about the Benin Bronzes illustrates that although the BBC and other media doesn’t want us to know the truth apparently. The Kingdom of Benin grew wealthy by capturing men, women and children and selling them as slaves to European and American buyers. Many of the thousands of Benin Bronzes - artworks which decorated the kingdom’s royal palace - were made from melted-down currency earned from the trade in African slaves.

I do work in education, although not primary.

I might be (am definitely) showing my ignorance here but many of the topics you mention from your curriculum maps contain horrific themes and could be said to influence modern history. Can you tell me why you feel learning these things early and then revisiting them is a good thing but not appropriate for slavery?

I think you are hitting a very good point here in that the whole subject is important but not appropriate for youngsters. The absolute harsh brutality of the slave trade was unbelievable. Interesting that we are far less concerned about the unbelievably bad conditions faced by a whole lot of children during the industrial revolution in the factories in England. I suppose it runs with fashion.

I think Y3 children have the ability to understand what happened and how awful it was - learning about it has to start somewhere.

However, DC in year 1 did not have the capacity to understand why Harriett Tubman would have wanted to escape and help other slaves to escape slavery. Doing homework about the slave trade with a 5 year old who didn't understand the concept of slavery was a waste of time. It would have been better for them to learn about the concept of fairness and equality etc before embarking on the slave trade.

Would you expect sex education to only be introduced at, say, aged 16 when it can be fully explored in all its complexities? Or WW11 at a similar age when children are more able to understand all the political ins and outs of 1920/30s Europe?

I think any subject has to be taken on its own merits. I wouldn’t teach quadratic equations or the complexities of quantum mechanics to little kids either btw

I’d agree that inspiring stories of black people in history is more important to teach at this age, but slavery and exploitation of colonialised populations is such a fundamental part of the story of Empire I think introducing it early does have purpose. I would have thought it could be taught in an age appropriate way.

Where are you getting your information from about slavery?

Ok, I'm gonna state the bleeding obvious:

Slavery existed in Africa before the Europeans arrived, as it did in ancient Rome & Egypt as well as many other places in the world.

I'm talking specifically about the transatlantic slave trade which pertains to my DD's homework.

Africans did not sell their "countrymen", rather their enemies, there was conflict and warfare between neighbouring empires and the Europeans took advantage of this, they bought slaves that had been captured during those conflicts.

Europeans began kidnapping & shipping africans indiscriminately by the barrel of a gun.

The British Royal African company shipped more African slaves to the Americas than any other company in the history of the Atlantic slave trade and was owned entirely by the British Crown.

This company quickly established a sustained slave trade that was brutal and driven by its own greed having initially formed to exploit Africa's gold fields, it also extracted other commodities.

Under this company people were branded like animals and seen as chattle.

Those that survived the inhumane transit conditions to the Americas were regarded as nothing more than cargo.

(Watch 12yrs a slave for cinematic reference)

They were sold to work on plantations to produce britain's "World trade commodities" sugar, coffee, tobacco, rice fields etc which made their slavers rich, producing wealth for Britain.

Over the next 200 years the social idea of race is constructed to justify the continuation of enslaving black africans, prior to this the English law was effectively colourless.
A social construct whose remnants still exist today.

The beginning of the British Empire abolishing the slave trade in 1807 started with the slave revolutions and revolts (Haiti and throughout the Caribbean islands and North America) following that the viability of the slave trade came into question which then started the abolition movement in the UK with the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 finally putting an end to this heinous institution (with the exception of Brazil which continued into the late 1800s). It was not due to the benevolence of the British.

New technologies in the industrial revolution made slavery no longer "economically viable"
There was more concern for the "damage to the plantation economy, owners and security" than for those enslaved.

This is just a brief synopsis of the transatlantic slave trade.

For more info slavevoyages.org is a useful resource.

It's easy to be misinformed about this heinous crime in history as it's been effectively buried.

My concern is that it's not being taught with sensitivity so that black children do not develop an inferiority complex.

Realise this is a long post...

@Kellie45 "The Kingdom of Benin grew wealthy by capturing men, women and children and selling them as slaves to European and American buyers. Many of the thousands of Benin Bronzes - artworks which decorated the kingdom’s royal palace - were made from melted-down currency earned from the trade in African slaves."

I'm sorry but how is this related? Is this some sort of justification for slavery?
There are too many misconceptions being stated as Fact about African civilizations. I guess this is what happens when former colonialists tell black stories.

The benin bronzes were created long before the Europeans stepped foot on West Africa's shores they are dated from 1500s and further more they are not "works of art" they are deities. Europeans including Britain looted them & wrongly called them "Art".
Oh dearie me...

How is being asked to put historic events in a timeline crude and crass? Why are you blindsided?

A timeline is quite a good starting point I would have thought. My ds is year 3 and I'd be happy with that as a starting point on which to build. Slavery is a very heavy subject as you say and I don't think any school could ever do it justice within the constraints of the curriculum. Even at degree/masters/PhD level I think it would be difficult to cover the subject adequately. I'd say at age 7/8 that a basic level of teaching on this is entirely appropriate and then if parents wish they can add to this knowledge through whatever resources they consider the most appropriate.

OP , your DH is correct, send that shit back and kick up a fuss. Slavery shouldn't be shoved for fucking BHM, that's for history and it should be taught sensitively for young children, in the context of colonial history of Empire.

UK taxpayers stopped paying compensation for slave owners in 2015

taxjustice.net/2020/06/09/slavery-compensation-uk-questions/#:~:text=It's%20hard%20to%20believe%20but,of%20the%20abolition%20of%20slavery.

How about starting with that, brings it bang up to date and how the legacy of slavery is all around us today,

Or perhaps how a magnificient complex city was burned to the ground and its treasure looted to the so called British Musuem

www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/18/story-of-cities-5-benin-city-edo-nigeria-mighty-medieval-capital-lost-without-trace

@Kellie45

For fucks sake, African nations complicit? Whataboutery of children during the industrial revolution in the factories in England, compared to industrialised slavery, Really? Did you know since the UK first traded African slaves, to this point , today, 18th October 2022, the UK has traded slaves longer than its made it illegal, LOOK IT UP.

There were no fucking African nations when the Europeans arrived, there were 1000's of kingdoms and the elites were told the same as any other non-white elites, step aside and you keep your privilege, or die for fucks sake.

I agree we sholdn't teach this simplistic bollocks, how about teaching about the many African civilisations prior to European invasion? The technology that was copied and destroyed and claimed , the cities destroyed?
What about the slave revolutions and the resistance of slaves that played a huge part in the trade getting abolished??

Or shall we take the view of the averarge Brit, Africa is one country, where everyone lived in mudhuts with no civilisation until the white man came, enslaved us, then because he was so pure and good, set us free again.

Perfect opportunity to teach our children the truth at home - offsetting what they're taught elsewhere. Refusing to do the homework is also an option.
A bit like Judi Love's documentary last night. Taking full control of ensuring that our children have great self esteem etc is up to us. Could you discuss it further with the teacher, to see what more will be taught? Could a visitor give a talk perhaps, one suggested by you? An assembly?
The truth taught from Yr 3 onwards is best. Great foundations. Great topic OP.

Thanks everyone for your feedback, its so interesting to see how different everyone's take is in relation to this subject - it's been a real eye opener!

@Doubtmyself 100% agree with the points you make thank you for your contribution to the discussion

@TimeAfterTime1 I watched Judy love's documentary last night - was such an insight into how young black female teens today see themselves and how they feel ignored and undervalued.
This feeds into my point about how and when subjects such as slavery is taught in schools (also mentioned in the doc) the legacy of slavery & colonialism in context of the British Empire and the impact this can have on their self esteem.
I do believe that we are our DC's first teacher and I am going to be talking to her teacher about it 😊

I can understand the teachers putting this in because unfortunately due to the actions of Brits in days gone by this is part of black history - and a big part of the history of black people as it relates to the UK. I do think this should be taught in plain old “history” though, not like it’s some special topic for BHM. Played a huge part in the formation of modern Britain for everyone as you rightly point out.

I hope there were a lot of other much more positive things included as well and brought right up to date.

can understand you feeling upset at your kid having to get their head round it now. But it’s up to the teacher to frame it correctly.

It’s a bit like when anything to do with women in history tends to be about women “gaining” rights or being “the first woman to do x” and nothing about how the fuck they were oppressed to begin with.

Many white people tend to feel "guilty" by association whenever slavery is mentioned. No one is blaming you. All we want is for History to be taught in a manner that represents all facts. Not just to puck and choose what a section of society deems appropriate for their little darlings.

I think it's great that your child is learning that in year 3.
That's around 8 years old, right?
I never learned anything about the slave trade when I was that age, have only done so by myself as an adult. (I'm in the UK)
It's the way it should be, we should all have knowledge.
We learn about WW2 and the Holocaust, why do we not all learn about the slave trade too?
Slavery needs to be widely taught but isn't.