Teaching World War I in the 21st Century 1 | Page 19

THE BLAME GAME:
TEACHING WORLD WAR I FROM A BRITISH
PERSPECTIVE
Ryan D. Campbell, British International School, Jakarta, Indonesia
With the centenary of the start of World War I this
year, the perennial blame game has reared its ugly

head in Britain even higher than usual. Accusations
of arrogance, aggression, failure to communicate

intentions clearly, and outrageous amateurism are

being thrown around, and those have just been aimed

at teachers! This anniversary of the war’s beginning has

put everything World War I–related under the spotlight,
from the causes, events, and effects of the war itself to

the teaching of it in British schools. Indeed, if we are to

believe some of the more hysterical pieces, it is not really
taught properly at all. While the blame gam e is hardly
a new feature of British education, the centenary has

seen a whole host of old and new issues. Tempting as

it may be to just ignore the fuss, keep quiet for the next

four years, and wait for it all to go away, this article will
argue that the centenary actually offers unparalleled

opportunities for the motivated teacher to produce some
exceptional lessons.

An interesting element of this anniversary has been

the outbreak of passion and argument on the part of

rock-star historians as to the war’s causes. Getting the

academy particularly hot under the collar are those two
old favorite debate topics, “Was Germany to blame?”

and “Was Britain right to get involved?” The intellectual
luminaries fighting it out include Harvard’s Niall

Ferguson, the prolific Max Hastings and Professor Gary

Sheffield in a Twitter-fueled frenzy of middle-aged (I’m
being charitable) academics getting themselves hot

Horatio Herbert Kitchener World War I poster, considered one of the
most iconic and enduring images of the war. (Image courtesy of the
United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs division)

under the collar. While at times it has been reminiscent
of the professors in the old Newman and Baddiel

“History Today” comedy sketch, for the teacher it is

Essays & Resources

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