Here's how to teach controversial history
'The repeated refusal by Palestinian groups to accept the existence of Israel is a major obstacle to peace,' says a teenager passionately. 'There cannot be a negotiation when one side refuses to accept the other's existence.'
Half an hour later, the same boy is arguing with what sounds like equal conviction that 'Israel has to be accountable for its actions. Until then, there will be no peace, just a surrender, and the people of Palestine will never accept surrender disguised as diplomacy.'
He is not a boy who doesn't know what he thinks, but a pupil at Lancaster Royal Grammar School (LRGS), speaking in a debate between 13 to 15-year-olds from five schools in England, Scotland and Spain on which side is to blame for the failure of the Middle East peace process. In order that they should learn that the world is more complicated than good-and-evil narratives suggest, and that there is usually something to be said for the other person's point of view, pupils make both sides of each argument. Two teams of pupils take opposite sides in a debate and then swap causes after a break.
The debates are organised by Parallel Histories, a charity set up by Mike Davies. When we shared a house at university, I would not have fingered him as a catalyst for social change. He was absurdly good looking and more into rowing than studying. But as a Quaker partly brought up in Belfast, he was interested in questions of peace and conflict. And he did like a good argument.
After a successful business career, he became a history teacher at LRGS at 41. He taught feudalism by making a pile of desks, chairs and children to illustrate how uncomfortable it is at the bottom of the social hierarchy, and reconstructed the Battle of Hastings with a horse as a prop. But what he really wanted to teach was the historical roots of modern conflicts. So he organised a trip to Northern Ireland, where pupils met ex-IRA and ex-UVF fighters, and one to Israel/Palestine, where they talked to militants on both sides and played football in a refugee camp.
Mike went back to Israel on a Winston Churchill fellowship to find out how history was taught. He realised it was impossible to teach a neutral history. Every event could be seen from both points of view. 'Our voters and future leaders,' he wrote in an article, 'need to understand there are always competing narratives, and to pick apart the propaganda and the facts.' He set up Parallel Histories to make that happen.
Mike died last year, but Parallel Histories is flourishing. Now run by a former Labour minister, Bill Rammell, it works with 1,700 schools, training teachers, organising debates and providing materials, such as official documents and eye-witness accounts. Most are in Britain, but nearly 400 are in America.
It offers pupils a rare chance to learn about contested subjects such as the Middle East, Northern Ireland and the British Empire. Schools tend to avoid such difficult topics. By providing the materials and the framework, Parallel Histories makes them safe. It has organised debates on the Middle East between Jewish and Muslim schools and about Northern Ireland between Protestant and Catholic schools. Watching that debate this week, I felt something was happening that could help counteract the polarisation pulling people apart.
Conflicts become intractable because both sides are convinced their point of view is the only legitimate one. Seeing the argument from the other side is essential to resolving any conflict. That's what Parallel Histories teaches participants to do. So a girl from O Castro, an international school in Spain, argues that Israel cannot make peace with Palestine's corrupt and chaotic leadership — and then, swapping sides, that Israel's illegal settlements mean it is not an honest negotiating partner. Her classmate points to Hamas's electoral victory in 2006 as evidence Palestinians are not interested in peace; then making the opposite argument, he quotes an incendiary comment from Israel's national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and asks how the Palestinians can negotiate with people who think like that.
The aim is not to change pupils' minds but it sometimes happens. 'Because of my family background,' said Adnan, a pupil at LRGS, when I talked to pupils after the debate, 'I grew up 100 per cent supporting the Palestinians. I still have more sympathy for them, but I can now see where the Israelis are coming from.' Ben's journey took him in the opposite direction. 'I used to think Israel was in the right, but I've come to understand it's very complex. They've both done stuff to each other over the years.'
Although it was conceived before social media became the main source of news for young people, the programme helps counter some of its effects. 'It's very easy to get brainwashed on TikTok,' says Lewis, from South Molton Community College in Devon. His classmate Taylor agrees. 'It's all from the Palestinian perspective.' Pupils are encouraged to question sources — essential in an era of fake news. I listened to a detailed argument between pupils from Farlington, an independent school in Sussex, and O Castro about the trustworthiness of each other's material.
Pupils learn useful skills too. Debating is tough: you've got to marshal facts, structure an argument and look people in the eye. 'I wasn't that comfortable with public speaking,' says Alex, another Devonian. 'It's really built my confidence.' Some arguments are intense, but they're all polite: participants disagree agreeably.
Parallel Histories may not bring about world peace, but teaching teenagers to see things from somebody else's point of view is a good start. Well done, Mike.
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