Could Cambridge and other towns learn from this example from over a century ago? It feels very similar to elements of Capturing Cambridge at the Museum of Cambridge – just an offline version!
This article from 1922 is about a project that a girls’ school in Brighton undertook to make the link between local history and contemporary (to them) citizenship. It still reads well today.
Above – An Experiment in Practical Civics, by E.M. White (1922) in The New Era in Education by E. Young
“Manuals of various kinds have been issued, giving details of local government, taxes, laws, etc., but no outstanding work has yet appeared which clothes the facts with imagination, points out significances, and invests Civics with that atmosphere of devotion and inspiration which should accompany the study of the subject. Meanwhile teachers are experimenting in different directions, and Professor Patrick Geddes, with his formula of Place, Folk, Work, shows the lines on which to travel.
“The following account is written with the desire of spreading the idea of one method of arousing interest in Civics and of awakening that civic pride which is a step towards the active citizenship that should be the aim of all Civics teaching, and, with some widening of meaning, of all education.
“In dealing with local government — of course, illustrated by that of my own town, Brighton — the thought occurred : Why not take the history of the town ? Since the present has grown from the past, it can only be adequately understood by studying its roots. The search for material, in books and objects, disclosed so much that was evidently unknown to the majority of the inhabitants— and this would be true of any town — that I conceived the idea of holding an exhibition illustrating the past history and present activities of Brighton and suggested it to my pupils — girls of fifteen and sixteen years of age — who had been impressed and interested by the history of their native place, and whose willing help was obtained. I may say, in passing, that, unless willing cooperation is given by the pupils, the plan may as well not be adopted, as no pursuit can be of ultimate educational value if it is followed grudgingly.
“Various girls volunteered to undertake the different tasks, which included : —
- Drawing enlarged copies of illustrations of old streets and houses of Brighton, of the Chain Pier blown down by a storm, of plans of the town at different periods, of famous buildings of the past, and of portraits of former celebrities. These could not be obtained except from books, and therefore could not have been shown had they not been copied.
- Writing out large charts giving a sketch of the history of the town, a list of famous people who had lived in the town and particulars concerning them, the population of the town since 1801, war work undertaken by the town, etc.
- Drawing various plans and maps of the town, county, and district.
- Drawing on a large scale the arms of the borough and of the county.
- Printing quotations (given later).
- Printing labels and headings for the different exhibits.
- Collecting sea-shells found on the beach, naming and arranging them.
- Collecting, naming, and arranging grasses found in the district. (The classification and collection of the plants was kindly undertaken by the botany mistress.)
- Bringing any objects of interest that could be borrowed from friends — e.g. one girl’s father lent a valuable collection of old prints ; others had pieces of the old Chain Pier; another brought a meteorite found near Brighton ; some had mugs which had been presented to elementary school children at coronations, the Jubilee, etc.
- Calling at various places, such as the station, tramway office, gas office, and factories, to ask for views of their works.
- Bringing picture postcards or views of every place of interest in the town, such as hotels, churches, hospitals, schools, public buildings, etc.
“The curator of the local museum was willing to lend coins that had been dug up and photographs of Roman vases unearthed in the vicinity. He would not allow the most valuable exhibits to leave the building, but suggested that girls should draw or paint them, and we therefore had coloured illustrations of old Celtic and Roman remains. Much help was also obtained from the museum with regard to the naming of shells, seaweeds, and grasses.
“The editor of the oldest-established local newspaper was visited, and he kindly lent a volume of his journal issued a century ago. He also printed an article sketching the early history of the town which I wrote as a preliminary to the exhibition, and in which I sought to show the struggle and history of the townspeople rather than the connection of the town with royalty, etc.
“One term was occupied in preparing the exhibition, all the work being done by the girls at home, with no neglect of other work. Nothing was ‘set’; they were told what was wanted, and usually more than the number required offered to do it. Towards the end different groups of five or six girls volunteered to stay some forty-five minutes after school to mount specimens, postcards, and pictures on brown paper — a task which took more time than we expected. One morning was spent in fixing the sheets on the walls of the hall by means of wooden frames. Invitations were sent to parents and other townspeople who might be interested.
“One wall was covered with representations of the past, commencing with a large chart, arranged in centuries and indicating the main events in the history of Brighton. Much interest was concentrated on the copy of a contemporary diagrammatic picture of a French invasion in the sixteenth century, when the town, now containing over 130,000 inhabitants, consisted of only four streets. On this side also were ranged all the old prints of various streets, buildings and district (obtained mainly from an old curiosity shop owned by the father of one of the girls), and plans of the town at different periods.
“On flat desks below were Roman coins dug up in the neighbourhood, photographs of Roman urns, and paintings of Roman glass ; a Celtic brooch, etc., from the museum ; a facsimile of the first newspaper printed in Brighton, and a file of the same journal a century old ; relics of an old pier and paintings of it ; an illustration of a cricket match played some fifty years ago, and another of a scene from Dombey and Son.
“To many people a great deal here exhibited had been unknown, and it was gratifying to notice the appreciation aroused by the knowledge that their native town could boast of centuries of labour, struggle, and independence before it was designated a fashionable watering-place.
“It is a mistake frequently made to treat history as ceasing about fifty years ago, so that the majority of pupils leave school with some knowledge of the story of England to 1867 [or for the present generation, WWII…!] or thereabouts, but with no link joining what has been to what is. Civics could become such a connection, and by dealing with the present and with actualities and tendencies, it might be a guide to thought and action in our complex civilisation.
“For youth should not be plunged into the sea of after-school life rudderless, and with no chart of discovered lands or dangerous rocks. It should have presented to it, during its school life, a view of its actual country and district, with the possibilities contained therein ; that is, the ‘ commonwealth should express itself in the school.’ Therefore the present, growing out of the past, and touching the life of all, should be appreciated and studied in a natural and unbroken sequence with its antecedents.
“For this reason Brighton in 19 16 [six years before the article was published] was represented on the next wall, and here also much that had been unknown to the visitors appeared, more particularly in the pictures shown of various industries and factories. (Most of these were cut out from booklets, obtained by application to the places, though it had to be explained that nothing in the nature of an advertisement was intended.) Such works as a pill factory, bakery, printing works, machine laundry, and railway, gas, and electricity works were illustrated. Educational institutions occupied a prominent place, and included both interior and exterior views, obtained chiefly from prospectuses ; there were large privately-owned schools as well as the Municipal Training College, Technical College, School of Art, and secondary schools.
“Views of elementary schools were difficult to obtain, but a history of one of them, written on the occasion of its centenary by the head master, was a valuable acquisition. Churches, a few of each denomination, including the Jewish Synagogue and Salvation Army Hall, were pictured mostly on postcards ; and special features of interiors, such as an old font, had been obtained in prints. The hotels, hospitals, and other buildings of interest — town hall, public library, museum, etc. — were succeeded by views of the channel and the surrounding country districts. On the desks in front were copies of Brighton guides in French and Esperanto ; pieces of meteorites found near by, a sheep bell used on the downs, and some framed views.
“Next came the war-work undertaken by the town; a chart gave a list of the activities for which Brighton had made itself responsible — hospitals, munition works, funds, making hospital appliances, etc. — and pictures were shown of women workers on the trams, at the railway station, and in other positions, of Lord Kitchener’s visit to the wounded Indians, of the Home Protection Brigade, the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, and of police-women. A specimen powder-bag made in Brighton, badges of special constables, and a collection of all the flags sold for different funds completed this section.
“Maps and plans covered another space ; a map of Sussex and a geological map of the same district ‘ placed ‘ the town, and another showed the railway system ; a complete plan of all the streets had been taken from a directory; plans of the tramway system and the bus routes were also shown. Since 1801 the census has been regularly taken, and the population for every decade was written on a chart, together with the area of the borough. Near this was a large drawing of the borough arms, with a description below in heraldic language ; the arms of the county had also been drawn.
“An attractive feature proved to be the collection of wild flowers from heaths, downs, hedgerows, etc., classified and named. The grasses of the district had also been collected, and seaweeds dried and shells gathered ; these three sections were mounted on large sheets of drawing paper, and made an effective display, together with specimens of dried flowers.
“The last wall was covered with portraits of famous people who had been born in, or were connected with Brighton. Their names, dates of residence, particulars concerning them, or interesting items were written on a chart ; and another gave a list of the various royalties who had dwelt in Brighton. Writers especially abounded, but the list included statesmen, clergy, artists, soldiers, and local celebrities of the past. We were fortunate in being able to obtain portraits of the past mayors of the town from an old directory, and the present mayor and members of parliament were included. Want of space precluded our showing other present officials of the town.
“Lastly, as a motto to all the rest, three sheets were displayed on an easel : the first had inscribed on it ‘ We are citizens of no mean city ‘ ; the other two had quotations printed from two great writers on Civics, the earliest and the latest — Aristotle of the fourth century B.C., and Patrick Geddes of the twentieth century a.d. Said Aristotle : —
“‘One citizen differs from another, but the salvation of the community is the common business of them all. … A citizen is . . . able and willing to be governed, and to govern, with a view to the life of virtue.’
“And Geddes : —
“A city is more than a place in space : it is a drama in time. … To realise the geographic and historic factors of our city’s life is the first step to the comprehension of the present — one indispensable to any attempt at the scientific forecast of the future.’
It is obvious that other places would have different points of interest, and would provide exhibitions varying in character. Brighton itself is lacking in dramatic history in the usual sense, and though it is an olden town, the flavour of antiquity is absent. But there are very few districts which could not follow some such general plan as has been sketched above, and none where the effect on the pupils of the school and the community outside would not be beneficial. In the former would be aroused a civic pride that is an incentive to civic service ; and the latter would derive interest and a desire to continue past traditions. There has been some talk of forming a permanent exhibition in Brighton on the lines of mine, but whether the idea will flower into an accomplished fact remains to be seen.”
Ends\
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