Have you taught it? The problem of the list curriculum

Clio et cetera

One of the problems of the various iterations of the National Curriculum is that the statements they included were very broad and open to interpretation. This is true of the current (2014) National Curriculum, but was even more true of the 2008 curriculum which included statements such as that pupils should learn

‘the development of political power from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century, including changes in the relationship between the rulers and ruled over time, the changing relationship between the crown and parliament and the development of democracy.’

Now on my interpretation to teach this one would need to cover

• The legal system in Anglo-Saxon England, including Alfred and his domboc, the growing concern with law and order under tenth-century kings such as Athelstan and Edgar and the impact of Danish settlement
• The Norman Conquest, its effect on the aristocracy and the extent to which it had an…

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