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In Britain there is a view that languages are essentially the preserve of clever clogs. At a conference focusing on reviving this language in Scottish schools there was some debate on this issue. But as you know, the best points on any issue at any time can often be heard in the ladies' loos. A teacher told me that as a teenager on an exchange with a German family she was for a short time in the house on her own and answered the door to a chimney sweep. When she indicated in faltering German that she didn't understand him he replied in fluent English.

In fact in many countries there is an expectation that anyone in any job will have a decent grasp of at least one other language. Here there is (up from 900 nine years ago). . But just , 33 Mandarin and as for in the last nine years.

The rising popularity of Spanish is widely held to be down to the rising popularity of sunny holidays and the relative ease with which the language can be learned. It is unlikely to be because of an expectation of many jobs and much trade with Spain as it has one of the most fragile economies in Europe. True, Spanish and its near relative Portuguese are the languages of choice in many other parts of the world with stronger economies but on the face of it, it is puzzling that there is such a pronounced slump in German when it is Scotland's largest trading partner in Europe and is the third largest economy in the world. (Companies like , , and obviously but also ones you might not have thought of as German eg. the energy giant ).

In the last few years the focus of partly because of the stunning growth in the Chinese economy. It seems a fascinating language with I'm told helpfully no gender for nouns (imagine never having to remember if something is le or la!). But with to learn as opposed to 26 letters in the alphabet, attempting even a simplified form of the language seems a daunting task.

Faint heart that I am, it is far more likely that I would embark on learning a European language such as Italian. , as Gregory said in celluloid of Gregory's Girl. I saw this for myself when filming last week in in Glasgow where the . The youngsters speak Italian for two hours a day while learning 40 per cent of their subjects (eg, history, singing, art and even English). Their accents and confidence in the language are impressive.

who heads up the explodes myths and highlights interesting cognitive and social research on the pluses of being more than monolingual. It is easier for bilingual children to pick up extra languages but it also appears to make them generally more mentally agile as they are used to changing track as it were frequently and filtering out information that is not relevant at the time. Research also indicates the children are mature for their age with empathy for others that lasts throughout their lives. This is attributed to the fact that from a young age they have to work out all the time which individual they are speaking to and which language they understand at what level of difficulty.

It suggests that you don't have to be clever to learn languages. Learning them seems to make you clever.

As Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Four dedicates four new series to the art, landscape, culture and history of Germany, gauge your German and pick up a load of lingo at the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Languages website. While You and Yours asks is it worthwhile learning another language?

The major thing that struck me about was its title. To me, sounds a bit like one of those Victorian instruction manuals on propriety and efficiency. Perhaps that was a deliberate move by Mr Gove in these stringent times to evoke traditional and thrifty values.

The content of the document has been dissected and debated by the press over the last couple of days, but there's been little discussion of how the proposals stack up against the . Given that, under the previous Government, the now-defunct Department for Schools, Children and Families were looking to implement a creative curriculum based around the , which shared a lot of theoretical ground with the Scottish curriculum, this feels like a severe parting of the waters.

The title gives the difference away. The proposals laid out in Mr Gove's white paper place a clear emphasis on the authority of teachers - in the foreword, for example, the Prime Minister and his deputy state that 'raising the status of teaching also requires a significant strengthening of teachers' authority in the classroom'.The Scottish curriculum too has given more powers to teachers - but in emphasising their 'professionalism' rather than their 'authority'. In fact, as Scottish teachers will possibly be weary of hearing, but English teachers may not be aware, in Scotland the firm intention is that It's 'the importance of learning', not 'the importance of teaching'.

That's not to play down the dramatic importance of quality teaching, as the other striking divergence between the English and Scottish systems will be assessment. Marks will be allotted in English examinations for spelling and grammar, whereas internal assessment in Scotland has become about proving ability - whether that's making a film, or writing a report. Given the about aspects of assessment in Scotland, it's interesting that our friends south of the border are returning to a traditional, exam-focused system.

There's plenty more, including the where academic subjects will be given prominence, raising questions about vocational education; funding for ; and changes to league tables.

This could, of course, serve to raise the voices of those already concerned about Curriculum for Excellence. Alternatively, Scottish teachers may look south and feel a little happier with their lot. Only time will tell how the different curricula fare, but in the meantime, where would you rather teach?

History has often been taught using famous characters and personalities to bring an element of empathy to what can feel like a vast and abstract subject. But what if that famous personality wasn't in a book, or in a dramatisation, or even played by an actor, but there in person?

Children from all over are going to experience just this - and they're inviting the rest of Scotland to take part. Former Prime Minister and current MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, , will be taking part in a from Dunfermline to launch a new 'evolving history' of Fife. As one of Fife's most famous sons, Mr Brown will be speaking from the , the philanthropist .

As a keen historian (with a PhD in the subject) Mr Brown has made a start himself of mapping out parts of Fife's history - but has left deliberate gaps. He said:

'It would be great if we could get pupils involved in actually writing and researching themselves and adding to what could become a modern history of Fife. So it could be a collective project that ends up with everyone feeling they have contributed something to it. And what they can find out and study themselves could actually be part of a book that is eventually published. I think there is huge potential for pupils of different abilities and interests to have a role in making their mark on the project, and I believe it could yield something quite important.'

The sustainable vision of the project, however, means that projects such as this one could be rolled out in different regions across the country - again tapping into the values of Curriculum for Excellence. David Gregory, national history specialist with , said: "The new curriculum encourages pupils to start local and think global. Thinking about Fife will eventually lead pupils to, say, look at Carnegie on a global scale. It's about getting history at the roots to enable young people to become global citizens."

The added bonus of having a famous Fifer involved in the project is obvious - Mr Brown's time in Downing Street may one day be taught as history in itself. And therein lies this crux of the matter - history isn't in the past, it lives and breathes.

Local libraries and museums are a mine of information on history - but they're not the final word. There's a lot of potential for personal stories to sit alongside more standard accounts of events, for example, using family artefacts to complement museum pieces. This project reminded me of the recent Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú and campaign 'A History of the World'. 100 objects were chosen from the riches of the British Museum, some from smaller museums around the UK and the rest were uploaded by the great British public, including 120 items from .

The chronology of certain events might be reasonably well known, but the personal stories and perspectives that young people can research and bring to a project are equally valuable. Learning how to research, interview and capture information is so important - and the knowledge they'll gain about their local area and the connections it has to the wider world will hopefully give them fresh insight as global citizens.

You can still upload objects to the website for A History of the World, and additionally now you can add your local photographs to our Scotland's Landscape website to build a visual history of change in Scotland. You can also get involved with the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú's Hands on History campaign, visit us online or at our pop up shop in the Thistle Centre, Paisley from 25-27 November.

We're getting increasingly acquainted with the language of - developing global citizens, cross curricular projects and the like. Some people, though, are simply ahead of the game. One such initiative that's been running for a number of years is the , funded by the .

There are several different ways for schools, colleges and local authorities to get involved with the project and start opening up connections with European counterparts. We were lucky enough to be visited by a group of college lecturers and teachers this week - some who work five minutes away from our building here in Glasgow, but they brought along their partners from Italy and Belgium.

The groups have come together to work on a media project reflecting European Youth Culture. Their students will make films based on common issues for young people, including health, environment, families and friendships. What's hoped is that this will build an interesting picture of the similarities and differences between young people in the three countries taking part. As Fred Hannah, lecturer at points out, 'it's a project about youth, by youth'. Active learning? Tick. Media literacy? Tick. Learner at the centre? Tick.

The Comenius group's visit to Pacific Quay in Glasgow.

The Glasgow contingent taking part are on the NC Media course at Cardonald College, and as this is a two-year project it's hoped that they will continue working with their European partners through their HNC too. In making their films they'll be learning specific media skills but they'll also be developing personal skills like communication and teamwork - and as they'll be talking to each other via Skype and posting reflective blog posts, that ticks another big box - ICT.

It strikes me that more Scottish schools could be involved in this project - or, alternatively, begin smaller scale projects along the same lines. The fact that students from three different countries are involved here isn't the real heart of the matter, it's that they are learning about each other whilst developing their skills. Could we in Scotland use to create similar projects, perhaps connecting mainland and island schools, or non-denominational and faith schools through film-making? I'm sure some teachers will be leading on this already - but it could become a real centrepiece, drawing so many curriculum areas together. I'd be delighted to hear of any examples going on in Scotland at the moment, and I only hope that Cardonald's Comenius work inspires even more.

For another example of Comenius in action, have a look at - one of the schools involved is in Stirling.

Greek fish roe is responsible for my children being educated in Gaelic.

The trio, all born in London, had Wimbledon accents. The eldest employed this and several decibels when on a visit to my mother's home in Edinburgh she asked him in Gaelic to move out of the way. ("Teann as a rathad orm.")

He replied: "What? Taramasalata?"

I was embarrassed to learn my son, then four, was more familiar with Greek food than a simple phrase that was part of his heritage.

Like most of my 36 cousins and many others of my generation I was not brought up speaking Gaelic even though I was the offspring of native speakers. From the sixties onwards there was a widespread belief among parents and grandparents that proficiency in Gaelic might delay or damage children's command of English. The latter language was also perceived to have greater status and currency. Consequently my generation commonly has a decent understanding of conversational Gaelic but struggles to speak more than a few sentences.

Brian Wilson, the former education and enterprise minister who is part of what has been dubbed "the missing generation", suggests this widespread belief meant we were "disinherited" of an important part of our heritage.

isn't for everyone but its launch 25 years ago has offered the option of ensuring this and future generations don't miss out on the language, music and wider culture.

It is worth pointing out that this form of education isn't just a link with heritage. Children learn all the subjects they would in an ordinary school be it the environment, science or outer space.

And Gaelic education can open all kinds of links with the wider world. To give just one example, pupils learn to sing stunningly beautiful Gaelic songs or are sometimes offered the immense privilege of learning to play the (Scottish harp).

That's led to some playing last year in St Andrews at the summit for G20 finance ministers and before that - with great glee - at Edinburgh Castle for an ex KGB spy boss, President Putin.

Read Seonag's news article on Gaelic taught pupils catch up on English skills and listen to her report bilingual skills benefits pupils.

Check out the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú's pages where you can learn Gaelic and see where you can get involved in .

Last week we published an article on the enduring appeal of Norman MacCaig to coincide with what would have been his 100th birthday.

The feature appears in a new section on the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Scotland website and while it was a bit nerve-racking to be the guinea pig for something different, it did mean that I had the pleasure of listening to some fantastic old Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú archive recordings featuring Norman MacCaig reading and discussing his poetry.

I've tried to fit in as many clips as possible. I hope that they'll help to give anyone studying MacCaig a different perspective on the man and the poetry.

We've also just added some of his poems - 'Visiting Hour', 'Hotel room, 12th floor', 'Assisi' and 'Brooklyn cop' - to the interactive application Book Notes. This allows users to read annotations written by a teaching consultant as well as produce their own. These annotations can be saved and imported/exported - giving teachers and pupils the opportunity to share and exchange them.

I was never going to be able to fit in as much archive as I would have liked - he was featured in many radio programmes over the years and from what I've heard, he was always a witty, if occasionally prickly, interviewee and a marvellous reader.

His friend and former colleague Professor Rory Watson told me that MacCaig was not anti-intellectual - he had huge admiration for scholars - rather he was anti-pretension and listening to the old interviews this came across very strongly.

For example, one clip I didn't have space to include featured MacCaig comparing his approach to that of Hugh MacDiarmid:

I think this clip illustrates what many feel is MacCaig's greatest strength - that while his work has great depth, everyone can get something out of MacCaig's poetry; it excludes nobody.

If you're interested in MacCaig, there's been a number of other pieces that have appeared online in recent weeks (we in the media like anniversaries). His friends and have both written about him, and former English teacher Bill Boyd has been .

Reading the article in the Guardian this week, it struck me that his thoughts on 'what every child should learn' may differ to what we may find, let's say 'important', north of the border. Historian is involved in two panels currently discussing how history should be covered and supported under Curriculum for Excellence. So we thought she'd be perfectly placed to supply us with her top six 'what every Scottish child should learn'. She said no. She is nice, so did also explain why...

We should never ever stop insisting that our children have a right to learn their own history within a wider context throughout their school careers. Nor are there many more eloquent and passionate advocates for the place of history as a thrilling and essential antidote to national myth-making than , as he illustrated once again in this week. I read his piece, nodding violently at almost every point. Until I got to the end. To the list.

Oh dear.

It is astonishing that a man who delivered a whole should still know so little about the diverse, contradictory and complementary trajectories through the past experienced by our various ancestors in these islands; that he should genuinely believe, as does, that the southern English version of events is the natural and definitive model of the past through which all others must be measured (and found wanting).

But it is the idea of the list itself that bewilders me, simply because this is what attracts attention as we assert our own preferences - "imagine missing that out!" Meanwhile, the debate which Professor Schama really wants to have about the dwindling place of history in the English national curriculum is shunted to the side.

So I won't do it. I won't make a list of my top six essential moments in Scottish history. You no doubt have your own anyway and the usual suspects will be there, among others we might debate until our children are off to whatever future we have left for them. The joy (and the hard bit) of the new is that teachers are free to teach whatever they think is best, whilst ensuring that each child is exposed - oh, how marvellous! - to Scottish history within a wider context. I'm sure they don't want historians spouting off, though they may want to work with us to deliver the very best for our children.

However, there is a debate to be had about the 'what' that the new curriculum might encompass. Not a list, but a framework, if you like. It is already well established that the personal and the local is the best place to start with our youngest children. But I believe that, after that, they should be exposed to Scotland's past across the ancient, medieval, early modern and modern periods; that they should have an opportunity to reflect, at certain points on what they have learned, so that they can understand the order in which events and trends come and assess the relationship between the Scottish experience and that of other places and cultures; and that encouraging themes - Scotland in the wider British and European context; war; the impact of changing technology; nationhood and identities, for example - is a far better way to get the best out of the curriculum than mandatory 'must-dos'.

But if I did want to be prescriptive about one thing in this particular time and place, to allow us to tackle a continuing problem in contemporary Scottish society, it would be that the history of Scotland's engagement with religion, in this, the 550th anniversary of the Reformation, would be taught in every classroom in the land. Until we get to the point when we can study it because we want to, not because we should.

I am wondering if Keir Bloomer, the leading educationalist who has called this week for an independent commission to consider whether schools should be wrested away from local councils, has come out from under his kitchen table yet.

The volley of quiet criticism from civic offices around Scotland has been substantial.

"Poacher turned gamekeeper" is the phrase commonly applied by Mr Bloomer's critics. He is a former depute general secretary of the EIS teaching union who went on to become the leader of council education bosses and a Scottish government advisor. (To give just one example of the scope of his influence, he is one of the architects of the Curriculum for Excellence.)

In short he knows where all the bodies are buried in Scottish education and if he suggests some systems are decaying, aren't serving children, then it isn't an opinion lightly dismissed.

That said, while some see him as an intellectual visionary, his critics sometimes suggest he's an abstract romantic who doesn't always make obvious connections between theory and the day to day realities of running a school.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of that argument, Mr Bloomer is suggesting the money from the public purse for running schools could be given to charitable trusts or non-profit-making companies. The claim is that councils are, with notable exceptions, wooden and bureaucratic in the way they run schools.

It has to be said that the issue of school closures doesn't suggest councillors are unresponsive. For years, book-keepers have pointed out the cost of running schools with relatively few children from the catchment on the roll. But many councillors have dismissed closure as an option because they are aware of the distress it causes in communities.

The possible loss of votes may also cross their minds. The persistent handling of the issue of closures indicates council control is a responsive, democratic way to run schools.

Head teachers may be tempted by the concept of greater independence if key decisions aren't made in distant town halls. But management by a trust or company using modern management techniques, brings with it the prospect of greater accountability too. Some worry that heads could, like football managers, be put on short term contracts and asked to move on if results are disappointing.

If this day ever dawns, Mr Bloomer might find this week's criticism just a minor skirmish.

Related links:

Scotland's Landscape producer Derek Farrell wants your photos - of landscapes past and present ...

When you get to my age, and nothing ages you more than using that phrase, you start to take a look at your history, your heritage, where you fit in the world. Some people start on their family tree - as producer of the Scotland's Landscape website, I get to look into the whole nation's trees ... not to mention coasts, lochs and mountains.

Scotland's Landscape is a theme running across television, radio and online at Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Scotland this year. Through Making Scotland's Landscape on Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú1 and Walking through Landscape on Radio Scotland, looks at how human activity has shaped the nation.

Through the themes of Trees, the Land, the Sea, Water and Weather, he explores the ways we have plundered, managed or preserved the country's resources in the interests of survival, development, industry, leisure and wealth.

The human element is kept right at the heart of the matter, with physical changes and social changes entwined and constantly affecting each other. Directly or indirectly, our actions change the world we live in. In turn, this changing world changes us.

The main focus for Scotland's Landscape online is our rephotography campaign, which aims to capture some of these changes. I'm in the enviable position of choosing photos for the site. When I started out I had no idea of the wealth of photos out there, in national collections as well as local archives in libraries and museums all round the country.

Burntisland as it was ...

... and how the same landscape looks today.

Just as there are few parts of the country that have not been altered by man, there aren't many that haven't been photographed either. When original and new images of the same location are combined they give a fascinating insight into how places across the nation have changed: abandoned industry reclaimed by nature, a once-thriving fishing harbour standing empty, a sea of wind turbines flooding moorland . These snapshots don't just reflect how we have altered the landscapes we live in - they hint at changes in how we live our lives too. And when you come across an image of somewhere you know, in my case suburban Giffnock, it's like uncovering a little piece of your own history. At which point, I could say, "I remember when all this was fields", but then, I'm not that old.

Light those tapers ... and stand well back. As Bonfire Night crackles into action around Scotland, writer and historian Fiona Watson weighs up the evidence for the original gunpowder plot being not just anti-Parliament - but deliberately anti-Scottish ...

November is a good time for conspiracy theories, as we get ready to remember one of the most dramatic and potentially spectacular plots of them all.

The story of how ringleader and twelve other conspirators, including , planned to blow up the during the state opening of Parliament on 5th November 1605 has become legend, not to mention providing inspiration for the bonfires and fireworks of Guy Fawkes night ever since.

Catesby and the rest were English Catholics disappointed in the new English king, , and his failure to repeal the repressive anti-Catholic legislation passed during the reign of Elizabeth I. As King of Scots, James had been tolerant and it was hoped that he would continue to be so after 1603 when he became King of England. But he was also keen not to upset the English establishment and the legislation remained. And so the plot was hatched to blow him and the rest of parliament to smithereens.

So when you light your bonfire this weekend, remember that while some were prepared to grumble at what they saw as a preponderance of Scots in key positions in the last Labour government, four hundred years ago there were people who felt so strongly, they were prepared to set a match to gunpowder to make their feelings felt.

Related links:

From A History of Scotland, here's Neil Oliver's take on the story.

From the National Archives, the

More on James VI and I, and the story of the gunpowder plot, from Scotland's History - the Reformation

Raise the subject of school closures in front of councillors with first-hand experience of them - and wait for them to flinch. Any I've ever met seems to be psychologically scarred.

The fierce debate in offices of Western Isles and Argyll and Bute councils is probably a foretaste of similar fiery battles coming soon to other areas. Although there is a chance some decisions and plans may not emerge until after the Scottish Parliament elections in early May.

Such is the strength of feeling among parents, councillors can expect to receive phone calls day and night (yes - midnight, 2am, 4am) and letters which seem to be written in sulphuric acid.

But much worse than that are the tears. Many, many tears are shed by parents over the possible fate of the schools where their children and perhaps they themselves have been nurtured.

Councillors say given the squeeze on public spending they just have to grasp the nettle. The cost of staffing, heating and repairing school buildings is keenly felt when pupil numbers are falling and council income is too.

Parents struggle to accept that much is more important than their children's school. And some are sceptical over the case for closure. In some areas, council documents are being subject to forensic analysis by campaigners who strongly suspect council officers have simply got their sums wrong.