Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Broughan. It is strange having this debate this evening because up until this morning, we thought we would be bemoaning the continued demise, relegation or optional nature of the subject of history at junior cycle level.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an gcinneadh a chuala mé ar maidin. D’éist mé leis an agallamh a thug an tAire ar an raidió faoin ábhar seo inné, agus is cinnte go raibh áthas ar a lán daoine faoi, go háirithe múinteoirí staire. Tá Deirdre Mac Mathúna agus Mary Ó Dubháin ón History Teachers' Association of Ireland linn sa Teach anocht.

It is rather ironic that history became an optional subject at the same time that we were commemorating so many historical events which had a profound impact on Ireland. It is very sad to imagine that young people could come out of our secondary schools without knowledge, insight and understanding of their country's history or that of Europe and the world. Certainly, as it was previously taught at junior cycle, history was also about European and world events. If ever we have proof of the importance of history as a core subject in our schools, we have seen it due to Brexit in the utter ignorance of Irish history, Irish-British history, the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement, colonialism and imperialism on the part of so many British politicians and the British public. There will be serious questions around the teaching of history in British schools. That was certainly brought home to me when I met some master's students over from a university in England. I was quite incredulous when I listened to the kind of history they were being taught in British schools.

The question is always, why study history? I liked the Minister's analogy about looking in the rear-view mirror. How can we know where we are going or where we want to go unless we know where we have come from? Studying history gives us that insight into our country, into events, why they happened, what exactly happened and what those events led to, the causes and the consequences. It is a wonderful window into so much of what makes us who we are. It has to be taught warts and all, as the Minister said. We have to learn about our dark moments, the home-grown injustices and atrocities.

We cannot be afraid of doing this. All of it comes from the way history is taught. I acknowledge the different methodologies that are now in use compared to when I was being taught history, a long time ago.

From my own teaching of history, the great moments were those where young people were connecting the past and the present. Two examples really brought this home to me. One was teaching about the Industrial Revolution and the child labour used in those times, as well as the conditions in the factories and the mines, and then relating that to what goes on in our world today, where we have child labour and terrible conditions in factories and mines in other countries. The second was where students were being taught about the Holocaust and the barbarity of man to man, and we linked that to what is happening today in so many places in the world. History is about getting young people to think and to become more aware of what is going on in the world around them, and they get that from what they learn about the past.

History is about analysis, prioritising information and decision making. It brings an awareness of bias because students have to learn how to question the sources they are using. It is also about encouraging independent and critical thinking. It is helping us to learn from the past, those of us who are open to learning from the past. It is about diversity and also about understanding diversity and different cultures. All that adds up to life skills and transferable skills.

The Minister's words were that we learn about history and we learn from history. Of course, we are coming to the commemoration of one of those dark moments in our history, the Civil War. Young people need the opportunity to learn about this in an informed way. What is great today is that we have so much more source material available to us.

The bottom line is that history cannot be taught as a short course or as a learning experience. I would like to throw a spanner in the works by saying there is probably a need to look at geography as a core subject as well, because it is such a wide subject. When the junior cycle was being revamped, there was a danger that while the new broom sweeps clean, and that is fair enough, it also cleans out a lot of what is very important. I know from my teaching friends that there are questions around the content of the English course and questions around science, for example, questions as to whether the content is sufficient and stimulating enough for young people. While there were things amiss with the previous system, there were also things that were very good and positive.

The decision the Minister has taken is very brave and is also building on that renewed interest in history that we see today. I acknowledge those local history groups that do so much work throughout the country. I also support the point the Minister made about the importance of visits to places of historical interest. With my students, I was at the Anne Frank Museum, Auschwitz and Dachau, the Coliseum in Rome, as well as Ferrycarrig, Lough Gur and Kilmainham here in Ireland. The list is endless and we have so many sites that we can visit, which makes such a difference.

The decision of the Minister is the start. I believe goodwill will sort out the details.

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