A CALLER on an LBC show hosted by Sangita Myska has said he pulled his daughter out of history classes because all she was being taught was “William Wallace and Braveheart”.
During a phone-in, listeners were being asked what they thought about 16 and 17-year-olds being given the vote.
In Scottish elections people can vote at 16, however the age remains 18 when it comes to general elections.
One of those to call was Alan in Dundee, who said he did not believe 16 and 17-year-olds should be given the vote because they have a “narrow field of getting their resources from”.
He said “politically savvy” teenagers are “in the minority”.
The caller added: “At that age, they’re not really exposed to the wider world and wider influences and stuff.
“Let me give you an example. My daughter went to school here learning history. I had to take her out because all she was fed was William Wallace, Braveheart, freedom – everything that’s good about Scotland.”
Myska questioned what was wrong with this, particularly given Alan was calling from Dundee.
The man responded by laughing but added: “Everything that was bad about Scotland was down to the English and that’s all she was fed.”
Myska joked that “maybe that’s right” before Alan continued: “The point I’m making is they have a narrow field of information at that age.”
The comments led to a lot of reaction on Twitter/X with Scottish writer Billy Kay commenting: “FFS”.
Another said: “Ironically I got taught a lot of Scottish history at primary school by an English conservative. She came from a different country but she knew where she was teaching and cared.”
“It stands to reason that in Scotland we should teach Scottish history," said a third while a fourth user added: “How I would have loved to have been taught Scottish history when I attended school in the 60s and 70s.”
Others continued to comment on how times had changed, with one person saying they were not taught any Scottish history until they attended university in the late 1980s.
