Peter Green, School should be…
There is more than meets the eye in efforts to bring appreciation of diversity into the curriculum. Attempts to decolonise the curriculum and make it more fitting for today’s young people are another example of a struggle that has been taking place for a long time.
Britain is a multicultural society whose educational system does not formally and comfortably acknowledge that fact. The system overlooks (at best) or ignores (at worst) the achievements, trials and tribulations of the diversity of its inhabitants. A major reason: politicians who seem to fear young people will be indoctrinated by exposure to celebration of diversity (too woke!), critical exploration of Britain’s past and its political policies. Politicians have kept teaching about the different cultural heritages, family connections and backgrounds of many of its citizens out of the curriculum in a formal and systematised way (a political stance?). This stance has led to an arbitrary ‘bolt-on’ approach dependent on the inclination of the individual teacher, the subject being taught and the approach and philosophy of the school.
