ABSTRACT
History and literacy I have above my desk the original pen and ink drawing which accompanied a piece I wrote for the Times Educational Supplement (Cooper 1996) when a National Literacy Strategy was first proposed. It depicts a large, very angry black bull, nostrils flared, branded 3R, raging through a china shop - or rather a museum of show cases containing fragile ceramic plates decorated with historical icons and models of key historical figures. His little white eyes are full of menace. Well, this bull has certainly caused havoc over the past few years. The rich and imaginative history developed when the National Curriculum was introduced has been smashed to smithereens.
