Nationalism destroying education.

[Rainbowshit]

This is quite brutal. Hope the SNP take heed...

www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19834326.neil-mackays-big-read-snp-nationalism-destroying-education---devastating-assessment-sturgeon-schools-leading-scottish-educationalist/

This article is full of untruths. I'm a teacher and it's sad that someone has felt the need to lie so much to paint a picture which simply isn't true.
Prior to Black History Month, we (GCC) attended training beforehand where we were encouraged to use resources highlighting Glasgow’s links to the slave trade.
I'm not sure who the author is but he appears to be either ignorant of reality or purposely promoting an untrue picture of the Scottish curriculum. If the latter, he must be completely lacking in morals as I cam see that this would upset a lot of parent who accept it as the truth.

*can parents

I assume it will all sort itself out when they get Independence from Westminster and then get help and support from Brussels ? 😳

As well as the problems with the curriculum - Scotland's schools are in a dreadful state and have been for quite a long time. Unable to adapt to the modern age. Teachers do their best but are woefully under resourced.

The SNP have failed on class sizes and the attainment gap grows wider every single year.

They got completely distracted with the years wasted on the failed Named Person Scheme and other such follies.

But alas voters will keep voting for them as long as the 45% care more about independence than anything else.

@StarryEyeSurprise

This article is full of untruths. I'm a teacher and it's sad that someone has felt the need to lie so much to paint a picture which simply isn't true. Prior to Black History Month, we (GCC) attended training beforehand where we were encouraged to use resources highlighting Glasgow’s links to the slave trade. I'm not sure who the author is but he appears to be either ignorant of reality or purposely promoting an untrue picture of the Scottish curriculum. If the latter, he must be completely lacking in morals as I cam see that this would upset a lot of parent who accept it as the truth.

Nothing if not predictable starry.

I see you haven't actually read the article as it states quite clearly who he is and his experience in education.

And inaccuracies which he has acknowledged in social media but still the article is published. Which is a shame as the valid points about Scottish teachers having the longest hours of contact time are now lost. Interesting that an "expert"can be out of the system for ten years.

Gosh, that’s scathing @Rainbowshit.

I am interested in his concerns about the rise of nationalism globally and the subsequent controlling of education by the state to further that cause. It’s pretty worrying.

I have seen evidence of the parochial nature of education, with DS being told about the fabulous transport links to and throughout Scotland, for example.

And teachers have certainly been dumped on over the sudden changes to education with lockdowns,etc.

It’s all very depressing. Good education is the main way to ensure a more equal society and it looks like things will just get worse and worse.

@Lidlfix

And inaccuracies which he has acknowledged in social media but still the article is published. Which is a shame as the valid points about Scottish teachers having the longest hours of contact time are now lost. Interesting that an "expert"can be out of the system for ten years.

His bio doesn't seem to correspond with that statement.

www.abdn.ac.uk/education/people/profiles/neil.mclennan#external_memberships

Yet states inaccurate information on courses and content. He's in academia, not classroom teaching and his speciality is (according to bio) "history and history education ". I'd expect him to get his facts right if he's an expert. Twitter is full of History teachers calling the journalist on the inaccuracies.

This has similar criticism about the slavery component in Scottish education.

eprints.gla.ac.uk/220908/1/220908.pdf

He has made remarks about the content of courses and which part of the curriculum that they fall under which are incorrect. Neil McKay has acknowledged this. He has been asked to print a correction or retraction. None has been forthcoming despite his admission that it's wrong.

The Glasgow Uni article (whilst I am sure is very interesting) is completely irrelevant to the point I made. The article contains inaccuracies (which the journalist admits and puts back to his expert) which, for me, detracts from the important aspects which are correct re hours of work as the " expert"view is unreliable .

Could you link to where he had acknowledged this please?

Just looked through his Twitter feed and all I can see is a correction from WWII to WWI that he has acknowledged. You really think a subbing error renders the whole article innacurate?

Interesting that you don't think academics making similar criticisms are relevant to the discussion. 🤔

I get his point about nationalism in the history curriculum, and the damage it can do. We've seen the effect on the UK of the national obsession with British leadership and victory in WWII - one of the contributors to Brexit. In China, very young children are taught about what the Japanese and Western powers did to China prior to 1949. It's done deliberately, to encourage nationalism and a determination to defend China's interests.

Even if everything he says is not correct, there’s clearly a problem and education policy needs addressing.

Why is it interesting? I have zero interest in politics. Plenty of interest in education and the truth about what happens there.

Thanks to amazing Social Subjects teachers I have a DD who is one, another studying History and Politics, another Social Work. And where I teach It is one of the most vibrant departments in the school. That is interesting to me.

I don't think it's relevant because they are not cited as experts and then go on to include inaccuracies.

Yes , in my view, an expert should be accurate otherwise I cannot trust them. I could use Wiki or Wendy on Facebook if I am not concerned about the reliability of my sources. If a bio states that History teaching is your specialty then in that aspect, at the very least, I expect accuracy.

Are you seriously using what is likely just a typo as proof of innacuracies? Because that's what it seems like to me unless you can provide a link as I asked for.

You don't find it relevant that others back up the criticism in the article that you dismiss?

Yes and yes.

For the reasons I have stated.

Astonishing. So he's bang on then. Because you have absolutely nothing.

Man is rabid anti- nationalist. Man is picking holes in curriculum drawn up under nationalist government. Man using this to criticise the whole of the Scottish education system. Man giving no credit to history teachers, whose critical thinking skills are better than most, or should be.
I think the curriculum for excellence is quite woeful but ffs unionists treating this article like its a gotcha moment is nonsense.

I should add that hes absolutely entitled to have strong anti nationalist views and to air them in the newspaper if he wishes, but I think it means his views on education aren't any less biased than someone who professes strongly nationalist views from the off.

This thread shows why Scotland is in such a hopeless place. Everything is polarised on this bloody constitutional stuff. It’s so depressing.

he's saying it's a 'myth' that Scottish history wasn't taught in schools in the past. i must just have been really unlucky then as I was not taught any Scottish history whatsoever at school - and i took it as an o'grade and higher. I also didn't read a single book by a Scots author all the way through High School - and again, i did o grade and higher English. (we did do a couple of Burns poems around Burns day at primary school mind you, which at least was something). I never even thought anything about all that at the time but looking back now it makes me quite sad. I'm so glad that's not the case for pupils now.
It sounds like there are problems in education though - not trying to dismiss that - but this writer does sound pretty biased and very inflammatory in his language, all this about nationalism 'infecting' education and 'seething cauldrons of discontent' and so on.
I'm also a bit taken aback about his criticism that 'Scottish teachers also have one of the highest class contact times in Europe'
You'd think that would be something to be proud of

I was at school in the 60s and 70s. Some Scottish history at Primary and studied Lewis Grassic Gibbon and Scottish poets, particularly Hugh MacDiarmid for Higher English and SYS.

My DS is in his early twenties. He did Nat 5 history at school and might have done higher history in S6 but said he was absolutely sick of hearing about "men in kilts running about in the heather". To be fair I don't know if he looked at what the higher course would be.

@UnconditionalSurrender "rabid" is a strong word to describe anti nationalism. I suppose I'm an anti nationalist as I feel that nationalism is mostly a harmful attitude. It encourages competition instead of cooperation, tribalism, pride in a purely accidental fact of birth and is generally arbitrary and divisive. It's also a relatively modern concept. I wonder if this is discussed in Scottish schools. Especially since global warming has been known about and its disastrous effects are global nationalism seems old fashioned and reactionary.

Nationalism is generally destroying Scotland , education is just one of the casualties. SNP never held to account for running country into ground . A ragtag bundle of second rate regional administrators who are largely out of their depth and whose only mantra is independence.

Their argument is they can’t borrow on the markets . All devolved nations can borrow on the bond markets . However debt wouldn’t be backed by Uk government and suspect it would show them how independence might look .