Heritage

Contents25II. Peace and heritage education: where to start?‘Guess what’, says Brenda, while emphatically waving a leaflet, ‘the cultural centre islaunching a new temporary exhibition on the First World War. Did you know thattwo ships were sunk by a German U-Boat just off our coast?’‘You can always count on Brenda for the latest trivia’, jokes John. Turning to the restof the teacher’s lounge he adds, ‘that’s why we no longer have to read the newspaper,we have Brenda.’Brenda is not taken aback by the remark. ‘Well, it’s not an ordinary exhibition. Forinstance, they have fragments of the diaries of some of the seamen. They tell storiesabout daily life, suffering, loss and anxiety. It’s deeply moving. And there’s a stronginteractive component, you can even take a virtual dive on one of the wrecks.’Hugo interjects, ‘And what’s the point of that?’‘I presume historical criticism’, says John. ‘The description of a shipwreck may notalways be a pure, unaltered reflection of a historical time period. Many external factorsbefore, during and after the sinking can subject the shipwreck and its story to variousalterations.’‘OK professor’, says Laura, attracted by the conversation. ‘But you’re a history teacher.I’m just a sports teacher, and I talk to my students on the way to the playing field. Theydon’t care about what happened a hundred years ago. What interests them is how theyinteract with each other today. Bullying, for instance, that worries them. They can becomequite emotional about the incidents in our school from just a few weeks ago.’‘Yes, but that is what it is all about’, Brenda responds. ‘This is an opportunity to learnfrom history about how a community responds to conflict. You can even discuss ideasabout the difference between bullying and other forms of social conflict with yourstudents.’‘OK’, Hugo says, ‘I get the point. But is there something in it for me? You know …maths.’‘Yes Hugo’, they answer in unison, ‘we would be nothing without the mother of allsciences!’