Page 148 - Through a glass brightly

Ann’s email brought back memories of O level history and like Ann I remember clearly those Punch cartoons especially of Louis Philippe. I think they were in some kind of text book we had and were such a clever way of aiding memory. I was in Miss Mayer’s set for O level history and much as I enjoyed A level medieval history, the topics covered in O level have proved so useful as background knowledge for life as an adult. How can you hope to understand political and social developments during your life without an understanding of the rootsofitall? IrememberbeingstruckbyhearingthatTonyBlairhadnoideaofhistorybefore the Vietnam war - who knows if true or not - but it might account for a lot. And when we went into Afghanistan my father then in his late eighties and who left school at 14 but had obviously done some history said - ’Never get mixed up with the Arabs or anyone in that part of the world!” Good advice. I get really cross when history is undervalued as a school subject. I believe that Elise Mayer was instrumental in the drawing up of the African history part of our syllabus which was unique to us - I think other schools may have also studied India? I could be wrong there. I thought at the time that if Elise had known of the Brexit referendum decision she would have been absolutely horrified. She was such a firm believer in internationalism.
Miss Eatock was a true eccentric... And I loved your rules for seniors, Glenda, and read them out to the friends I walked with today, perched high above the Dart as we ate our lunch on a blustery but sunny day. We particularly liked no. 9.... You have to avoid mirrors if you want to believe that!
Monday 6th July
From Janet at 14.20
I too remember Louis Phillippe along with the Kaiser and Bismarck - we used to get the Punch weekly at home -
almost an antique version of Private Eye but possibly a bit kinder and more of their time.
I seem to remember doing both India and Africa in history - I definitely remember the Indian Mutiny and I am sure we did
something about German East Africa too. I thought Miss Meyer was instrumental in extending our course to include the build up
to WWII but again time may be playing tricks on me!
Things are easing up here with an exciting trip to the vets with the cat tomorrow for her annual booster - no doubt I will come away
somewhat poorer!
Sorry to hear such bad news about Texas and Melbourne too. This virus isn't going to disappear just like magic overnight!
From Jenny at 15.59
To clarify the recent thoughts about our O-level History Syllabus. My understanding, gathered at the time and later from more detailed conversations with staff at the school (Miss Ritson - the other 'History' teacher of that era, was Deputy Head at QEGS when I returned there to teach in the early 1980s), is that it was a Syllabus devised by Miss Mayer specifically for our school. Our exam board was the University of Cambridge and they, like other exam boards allowed such things - later referred to as 'Mode 3 Exams', where schools could adapt the standard syllabus to include specific items, although of course most schools did not bother to do anything other than what was set by the exam board - too much effort!
The 'bog standard' O-level History syllabus of most exam boards in those days focussed on British and European History from the Industrial Revolution and usually ended with the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Miss Mayer obviously thought that we should have some knowledge of
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