Vaguely Interesting Snippets | 25 February 2014

The British Civil Wars are not part of citizenship tests because they are deemed too sensitive a subject

The British Civil Wars of the 17th century are, according to the Home Office, too raw a subject for citizenship lessons. A Home Office publication surveying British history for immigrants omits the entire period of the Civil Wars on the grounds that ‘the wounds are still too fresh’.

Yale students rioted when forced to use blackboards in class

The ‘Conic Sections Rebellion’ occurred at Yale University in 1830 when changes in mathematics education resulted in students being required to draw their proofs on a blackboard. Previously, students were allowed to refer to diagrams in their textbooks. A number of students staged a rebellion in which they refused to take the exams at all. They were summarily expelled.