CURRICULUM
THE CASE FOR CLASSICS? Why should anybody study Classics at all? It’s arguable that we all should, according to Libby Isaac. By Libby Isaac
Last month I was lucky enough to host Professor Dame Mary Beard in an interview on Teacher Talk Radio. I teach Humanities at a Secondary School and more recently I’ve been working with the Historical Association and consulting with key members of staff within Primary Schools. Working with these individuals, combined with my own passion for Classics has really made me think about how and more importantly, why we should be exposing our students to classical civilisations within the Secondary school curriculum. I attended the University of Wales, Swansea, where I studied Ancient History after studying Modern History at school. I remember vividly when we were reading the Odyssey or the Iliad, my friend sat next to me would be off in her own world, laughing and giggling as she read the Latin. She explained to me that certain parts were very funny as they were incredibly rude. However, this was usually lost in translation for me, as I could only access the literature in English. But even though I felt somewhat of an imposter, I knew I wanted to study
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the classical world because I knew it contributed to my own understanding of our culture. Mary Beard explained in her interview that universities have now become much better at teaching about the classical world. Every university in the country will teach Latin or Greek from scratch; they do not require you to have studied a language. Primary schools are also getting this right; their curriculums are setting students up from a very young age. There are exciting initiatives both at Primary and University level but little at the Secondary level. So, how can we do this within a Secondary school setting? The Ancient World is not just for students who learn Greek and Latin at school. Neither is it about burying the past. We use it to help understand the present. I would argue that we need to include references to the Ancient World in today’s Humanities curriculum. Mary Beard used the example of talking about slavery in Ancient Rome and Greece, then moving on to referencing it in the modern world. We can use the classics, as a way of opening up debate with our students, about the topics they consider important. This can work incredibly
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