Saturday 30 November 2013

Local History and Schools

Date: 28 November 2013 14:43
Subject: Waltham Forest Local History Societies and Schools
To: David yahoo Boote <david_boote@yahoo.com>



It was a pleasure to see you at the meeting on Tuesday about Local History Societies and Schools.  Most if not all of us found it a very worthwhile experience, and agreed to meet again on Tuesday 18 February.  Robert Wilkinson chaired the meeting superbly, very gently and effectively guiding us along.  Martin Spafford and Lissa Chapman were as inspiring as I knew them to be, and very generous in the effort they made to show how they give young people an understanding of and enthusiasm for local history.  One challenge for local history societies is this : how can we use our knowledge to help primary school teachers fulfil the national curriculum requirement for local history ?  Teachers have great pressures upon them, and it is vital to persuade them that local history societies can save them time in lesson preparation.  Graham Millington of Leyton & Leytonstone Historical Society has promising ideas for involving schools in commemorations of the terrible First World War nearly a hundred years sgo.
 
Lissa is rightly keen to decide upon a name for these meetings, and suggests "Waltham Forest History Network", in other words covering more than schools and children.  My own wish is to make contact with the increasing number of universities which have a presence in east London.  We can have a web presence with links to WF Oral History Workshop, the activities of Clio's Company etc.
 
Most urgently, if you feel this email fails to convey something important, please let me know before I circulate it to contacts who did not join us on Tuesday, such as Walthamstow Historical Society which had a committee meeting.
 
Do let me know if you wish to be taken off the emailing list for these Waltham Forest local history society meetings - and do invite others to join it.  Once we have a name we can publicise more easily.  If you would like the emailing list to be visible to everyone on it, help that process by confirming you agree to your own address being disclosed.
 
Someone left behind a poem 'Coalhouse', the music for 'Make Them Hear You' and other papers.  Would you like them back ?

Regards
 
David Boote
Co-ordinator of the Research and Publications Working Group
Leyton & Leytonstone Historical Society
 

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