Do statues tell us anything about history?

@Northwest There kind of is a culture war in schools a bit like there is in America. Teachers are usually to the left of the govt in this. When Michael Gove was the education secretary, he tried to re-write the curriculum more on the grounds of (less contentious) medieval history and stressing the values of good things Britain did. It was partially successful.

In some schools and some places, they will do a deep dive into colonial history though that depends on the school and the teacher.

In general terms, most people are aware that slavery and colonialism are a bad thing though they know little of the details or contemporary relevance.

My primary school is pretty damn woke because its a very hipster area and because the Head is sympathetic. The eleven-year-olds are being taught about the BLM movement when they come back after lockdown.

@Burnley123 Good for your school. In the US, it pretty much depends on the State and school district. Where kids are taught about our true history, people are more likely to appreciate have not done nearly enough, to correct the historical injustice, and understand why crime statistics are the way they are.

@Northwest Here we have the national govt and county councils but not really any state level in between, certainly in england.

Schools also have more responsibility (which means we have more bureaucracy) though they do have more choice due to absense of school districts.

I teach primary, which is a mixed bag though most secondary history teachers are pretty left wing and aware of colonial history.