Thread by @Mr_Minchin

Walter Raleigh
Francis Drake
Nelson

Malala

Apparently it seems to some that the first 3 people listed are more appropriate ‘names’ for primary school houses than the girl who survived a taliban gunshot and has championed education since.

1/5

When deciding on famous people to name a school house after, one must accept standards & culture were different in times gone by.

But Walter Raleigh led the massacre of and beheadings of 600 Spanish and Italian men who had surrendered.

A role model for primary kids? 2/5

Francis Drake was involved in battles in Ireland too. When the troops at Rathlin Castle surrendered, he tortured and killed all 200ish soldiers and 400 civilian men, women and children. He wasn’t taking orders, he made the call.

Massacring children - name of a school house? 3/5

Nelson had many admirable qualities (sea what I did) but in his latter years carried out some abhorrent, backstabbing acts that The Nelson Society have tried to mitigate claiming ‘head injury might have...shortened his temper’

Fast forward some years and in Pakistan...4/5

Malala was shot in the head, age 12, simply because she believed in the transformative power of education and championed schooling for girls. She’s gone on to graduate from Oxford.

So: who should a school house be named after?

5/5

It’s not ‘cancelling’. No-one says they shouldn’t be taught. Many are saying both successes and faults of historical figures need taught.

Presently, many are also voicing that when considering ‘role models’ for kids, murder should rule one out.

It’s not a high threshold.