tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post8875681633956482169..comments2024-03-26T10:03:51.827+13:00Comments on Karl du Fresne: It's way past time to reclaim and honour our historyKarl du Fresnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05054853925940134404noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-35980107201277626462019-09-24T15:31:12.418+12:002019-09-24T15:31:12.418+12:00You are so right, Karl, when you "fear that t...You are so right, Karl, when you "fear that the curriculum will be loaded with white shame and guilt". It all hinges on getting an objective curriculum, as close to reality as we can get to it. It sure does not bode well that Chris Hipkins, when introducing his plan, stated that the curriculum would be written after consultation with educators, students, their parents and whanau, hapu,iwi and Pacific communities. But history curricula must be written exclusively by acknowledged and able academic historians. To be able to write objectively about what took place 8 generations ago is no simple matter. It takes years of university research. <br />Leaving it to Chris Hipkins' chosen advisors will of course simply produce a curriculum based on what are the politically correct opinions today. Perish the thought. I would then rather see no history taught.Andy Espersenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04198871648612112081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-13337732152593713972019-09-23T18:03:49.720+12:002019-09-23T18:03:49.720+12:00Karl
It's difficult to be hopeful about the p...Karl<br /><br />It's difficult to be hopeful about the proposed compulsory teaching of NZ history in our schools, and you are right to be skeptical.<br />All history is viewed through the lens of the story teller, that's inevitable. That our State education system is largely in the hands of revisionists who often choose to repudiate everything associated with western civilisation is regrettable. <br /><br />It's difficult to imagine anything other than a cultural Marxist view being promulgated, with the white colonial oppressor, aided and abetted by Christianity being centre stage. It has never been more important a time to engage with our children and grandchildren to help them navigate the days in which we live.<br />Brendan McNeillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02741263914308842497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-84445189006709535092019-09-23T09:00:09.880+12:002019-09-23T09:00:09.880+12:00Ruaridh,
Every so often, a spam message penetrates...Ruaridh,<br />Every so often, a spam message penetrates the system's radar, which is obviously what happened here. Normally I hit the delete button straight away, but on this occasion - probably out of sheer habit - I inadvertently hit "publish". I realised my error immediately and deleted it, but obviously too late to prevent it implanting itself. My apologies - I'll try to be more diligent in future.Karl du Fresnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05054853925940134404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-64877544154275713382019-09-22T18:55:18.242+12:002019-09-22T18:55:18.242+12:00Karl, this is not a comment. I am communicating wi...Karl, this is not a comment. I am communicating with you this way because I don’t have your email address. I wanted to let you know that an email dropped into my inbox with a heading that ir led to another comment on one of your pieces. When I opened the email the first part was similarly dressed up but then launched into an invitation to borrow from some undisclosed finance company. I say “undisclosed” because the message was replete with hyperlinks none of which I was prepared to touch for fear of the precipitation of a security breach at my end. You may wish to follow up with the blogging entity on which you rely.<br /><br />Kind regards,<br /><br />RuaridhRuaridhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08199119759439997274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-19503793823475245732019-09-22T08:32:07.768+12:002019-09-22T08:32:07.768+12:00"Those who control the present control the pa..."Those who control the present control the past. Those who control the past control the future." I think there is little doubt that the inclusion of a standardized New Zealand history in the curriculum will be a tool to advance the wider objectives of the far Left in restructuring society.Odysseushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04745489060434244478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-56006417173210397712019-09-21T20:47:12.535+12:002019-09-21T20:47:12.535+12:00Karl, I agree that NZ history should be taught, bu...Karl, I agree that NZ history should be taught, but also am troubled about the ideological leanings of teachers.I too was bored by history at school, but am interested in it now, (even more interested in historiography). I put that down to having by now, at my age, experienced history myself. So now I know, I really know, what it is about.<br />You are not the first person to notice how low-key are the sites of the battles of the various land wars marked - as compared to say, the USA. I think that the reason is simply the newness of New Zealand. Imperial and local soldiers were assisted to settle with land grants and purchases. The descendants of the victors and the vanquished nowadays live side by side. Many have inter-married, but among others a sense of injustice lingers. Put simply, the locals do not want any memorial of anything that causes division amongst them. They are quite happy to let the undergrowth swallow the memorials, and to leave the signs vandalised. Philobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18016580552178929536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-57662798913492979152019-09-21T10:16:44.942+12:002019-09-21T10:16:44.942+12:00In principle, I share your enthusiasm for the teac...In principle, I share your enthusiasm for the teaching of NZ history in our schools. However, the likelihood that what actually gets taught would be reasonably objective or even-handed, is remote in my opinion. Like you I am concerned that an ideologically-driven, postmodern-influenced, anti-colonial account of our history will be dished out. This would just add to Maori identity politics (as we have seen recently at Ihumatao) and intensified feelings of white-guilt / white privilege amongst those of European descent. Would that be good for the country?? Even if the curriculum is carefully designed to be fair to both Maori and European interpretations of what happened, individual teachers would still have considerable leeway in how they pitch it. It would ultimately come down to the ideological leanings of modern teachers. I don't have a comfortable feeling about that. khrusthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07205236386273808326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-2818994635726749492019-09-21T08:24:41.180+12:002019-09-21T08:24:41.180+12:00Donald,
According to the NZ Herald, Mary pre-decea...Donald,<br />According to the NZ Herald, Mary pre-deceased him:<br />https://www.nzherald.co.nz/premium/news/article.cfm?c_id=1504669&objectid=12247381Karl du Fresnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05054853925940134404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-51618700479008567342019-09-20T21:20:10.828+12:002019-09-20T21:20:10.828+12:00I did not realise that re Brian Davies Karl. Altho...I did not realise that re Brian Davies Karl. Although I was not in any of his classes I remember him from CHB College and I credit my proficiency in English (such as it is) very much at the hands of his wife Mary who was my English teacher in both 5th and 6th forms.<br /><br />One of my regrets is not taking 6th form History when I could have - was lazy and went with four subjects instead. Dumb move in hindsight.pdmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13011861811163633347noreply@blogger.com