Debate has erupted this week concerning the removal of the lyrics from performances of Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory in the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms, which is to be played for the first time this year in orchestral versions. (This is despite the fact that the BBC has stated its decision to remove the lyrics was, in fact, not motivated by Black Lives Matter protests, but actually caused by the fact that a live audience will not be present, as a result of Covid-19.)  

The extreme reaction of some right-wing commentators to this decision - with even Boris Johnson weighing in to state that we must stop society’s “cringing embarrassment” over Britain’s colonial past - suggests a defensive belief that critically examining the past equates to an erasure of history, or a desire to hide it. 

Yet the idea of reflecting on, omitting or altering lyrics such as “Britons never shall be slaves” should not be so controversial. We need to be able to critically confront the reality of our country’s history. In fact, it is exactly this form of reflection we should be engaging in within schools, through critically examining the way we teach history and other aspects of the curriculum. 

Context is key

The teaching of the history of the British Empire in schools needs to be framed in a way that helps shape critical awareness and understanding, rather than lauding an Empire that led to the oppression and deaths of millions. 

The key here is context. There is a difference between awareness of colonial history and celebration of it.

To take an extreme example, if a school teaches its children to sing Rule Britannia in assembly every week, without reflective context or analysis, it is engaging in a glorification of Empire that essentially signals approval of imperialism and racism - in exactly the same way as having statues of slaveowners in city centres communicates tacit approval of slavery and colonialism. 

By contrast, imagine introducing children to this song in a cross-curricular lesson, which might involve thoughtful language analysis of its lyrics and discussion of the more damaging consequences of the British Empire from the point of view of colonised societies - as well as exploration of the composition of the powerful musical score itself. 

Such a lesson would certainly not erase a cultural product. In fact, confronting the most difficult aspects of the past head-on shows a willingness to shine a light on the darkest corners of British history. Not only this, but it could also provide children with a richer educational experience, by helping them to develop more nuanced insight into the relevance of context to our understanding of history.

The values we wish to emphasise

As teachers, our role is to help children develop awareness of the past, but this should be contextualised, and never taught uncritically. For example, in English, teachers teach many texts with troubling elements, such as antisemitism in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice or racism in Othello, to name two obvious examples. 

However, rather than stating that these texts are simply part of our cultural heritage, English teachers tend to encourage students to critically analyse these elements of the plays, and take time to explore what they might show about attitudes in society at the time.

We would not simply deliver texts from an entirely different time with completely different social attitudes without exploration of context - and, equally, we should not be singing Rule Britannia, or propagating any other aspect of colonialism, without thinking about it critically and having a thoughtful discussion about the values we wish to emphasise. 

Those who are calling for a critical examination of history are, in reality, calling for a greater and richer awareness of the past, rather than an erasure of it. 

Ultimately, what we choose to celebrate in our schools reflects the type of society we wish to have. If we want a society that emphasises values such as equality of opportunity, respect for other cultures and shared responsibility, then we need to think carefully about the cultural products we celebrate. 

Removing the objectionable lyrics of songs such as Rule Britannia is no great tragedy. However, if the less “glorious” and more shameful elements of our nation’s past are taught in a contextualised, critically reflective way, they can become an important point of learning, rather than an anachronistic celebration of oppression and imperialism. 

Megan Mansworth is a teacher, former Leader of English and PhD student. She tweets @meganmansworth