It’s nearly time again for a well-earned break. You and many of your pupils may soon be heading off for a holiday by the sea. But which sea, and where? Nowadays, the British are more likely to set their sights on Marbella or Miami than on Margate, but our coastal resort towns are rich in history and natural history. If you long to bring back those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer - and to share them with your class - you need only turn to page 14.
The Victorians loved to be beside the seaside. They built pleasure piers and proms to walk upon and miles of railway track to get them there. Their tremendous spirit of enterprise and invention is featured in this month’s panel of the Millennium Frieze as well. A hundred years ago, they approached the new century with optimism and a firm belief in themselves. As we steam towards a new millennium, we are not feeling so sure of ourselves.
Nevertheless, confidence and optimism are what we hope to instil in children. Perhaps surprisingly, David Blunkett’s Curriculum 2000 proposals for teaching about sustainable development (page 5) may help today’s pupils start thinkingabout tomorrow’s solutions to the problems so naively incubated by yesterday’s optimists.
Diane Hofkins Editor, TES Primary
