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Films
The Politics of Education
Judith Suissa considers the intersection of political philosophy and philosophy of education in Alan Bennett’s new film The History Boys.
“Mr Hector’s stuff’s not meant for the exam, sir. It’s to make us more rounded human beings,” proclaims one of the characters in Alan Bennett’s recent play, now film, The History Boys, reflecting the tension that lies at the heart of the play. This tension is ostensibly between two very different approaches to education, personified in two very different types of teacher: Hector, the eccentric, impassioned champion of learning for its own sake, with his rambling General Studies classes; and Irwin, the bright young cynic, recruited to the school to maximize the A level History class’s chances of success in the Oxbridge entrance exams. Hector is uninterested in ‘the system’ and its material rewards, whereas Irwin has a stock of devious tricks intended to beat it by grabbing the attention of the examiners with less-than-orthodox answers to their History essay questions.
But is this just about different educational values? Indeed, is there such thing as ‘educational values’ per se, or are all educational ideas in some sense political? Although Bennett has denied that his play is an attack on New Labour, there is no doubt that a critique of spin and the values associated with the prevailing political culture runs through his script.
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