Teaching Britishness

Can Britishness be taught? According to a BBC article, the British government is working to place a newly revised curriculum in schools that would include citizenship lessons on the national, regional, ethnic, and religious cultures of Britain in an effort to strengthen national identity and values. According to poll data by the Daily Telegraph, 51% of respondents believed Britishness should be a part of school curriculum. Likewise, the Minister of State for Schools and Learners, Jim Knight, states that “the values of being British as we define them for ourselves can’t be taught but can be cultivated… the whole school ethos should be about tolerance, respect, liberty and fundamental British values." Many officials do not agree, however. One British historian concludes that embracing a British culture is almost impossible because Britain contains four individually unique nations. Rather than teaching citizenship issues, others suggest that teaching history and civics courses on Parliament and Buckingham Palace is the correct solution. Will the U.S. eventually have to teach Americanness? For more information, check out the Morgan Stanley Great Britons Education Programme.