Government calms teachers over Twitter lessons

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 7 Apr 2009 at 15:31

Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, has reassured teachers that they won't be forced to drop history lessons in favour of a Twitter education.

Balls was responding to a leaked report outlining a revised primary curriculum in which history and geography would merge to become "human, social and environmental understanding".

Teachers could then dump teaching the Victorians and the Second World War - on the basis that they're also taught in secondary school - in favour of a greater emphasis on ICT - principally blogging and social networking.

Predictably, the report met with a ferocious response from the opposition. Speaking to the Association of Teachers and Lecturers' conference, Ball sought to calm fears, calling Twitter lessons "ridiculous".

"The idea that primary school children will learn how to use Twitter and about social networking instead of learning about the Victorians and the Tudors is just complete nonsense," he said.

Ball claimed the aim of the curriculum was to give teachers more freedom to study two areas in depth, but said this would be "in addition" to key historical events.

However, he admitted the Government wanted to prepare children for the social-networking phenomenon: "We need to prepare our children and young people not just with knowledge, but also with the skills to find information. And in the same way, we have a duty to ensure our children learn about history we also have a duty to make sure they are not left in the technological dark ages."