'The History Boys' Reading Response 7

In this reading, "The History Boys and Cosmopolitanism," the authors challenge the traditional teaching methods and the idea of what an education is for. According to David Hansen, the man who developed the cosmopolitan theory, teachers need to embrace cultural differences and understand that a "real" education is one more about socialization. What is the purpose of an education then? Hansen's cosmopolitan idea is honestly quite confusing and not clear. The way I interpreted his theory is that teachers need to understand the difference between thoughts and behaviors for the chapter claims, "David Hansen defines orientation as 'the fusion of perception and action' to maintain a constructive relationship between what we do and what we believe" (134). There is a fine-line between thoughts and behavior-which define a person and how they impact others. The cosmopolitan orientation is the idea that teachers need to understand how their thoughts and behaviors impact their students. In terms of The History Boys, there are three perspectives of teaching of which the eight boys learn to grapple with. 

Of the three teachers (Hector, Mrs. Lintott, and Irwin), there are essentially two perspectives: cultural literacy and social justice orientations. Mrs. Lintott is a major supporter for cultural literacy and believes the most important aspect of education is understanding and memorizing facts. Hector and Irwin on the other hand, believe education is about understanding social justice and how students can complicate the world. One could argue though, that an education is the combination of these two perspectives, which is essentially the cosmopolitan orientation. This orientation is mostly about acceptance of difference perspectives. What I find to be interesting is how the chapter does not mention parental influence. Teachers are not the only people who contribute to educating people. In many people's lives, their parents' perspectives and desires take control of their own fates. If the authors of this novel and David Hansen want education to be viewed differently, not only should teachers be aware of this but parents as well. How can we change education when the parents of the children want control in what is being taught? Take for example, my experience with education. I would like to say I have had a range of teachers who are either focused on cultural literacy or social justice. Although, I did not have the option to form opinions on facts until I was older and was expected to complicate ideas. Most of my education was centered around cultural literacy where I was expected to memorize facts. Despite this, my parents were interested in what I was learning and projected their opinions onto me. Therefore, I view certain things in life differently and potentially negatively compared to others. For example, my father is extremely liberal and does not have any patience for people who are either republican or religious or both. Consequently, I view people similarly and my outlook on certain things is negative. I formed these opinions before I was taught in school how to have constructive and open-minded thoughts. To change people's perspectives on the purpose of education, there needs to be and understanding parents contribute as well. 


Liston, D.P., & Renga, I.P. (2015). The History Boys and cosmopolitanism. In D.P. Liston & I.P. Renga (Eds.) Teaching, learning, and schooling in film: Reel education. New York, NY: Routledge.