It may seem like parody, but it’s real-life. Reality TV and Instagram star Freddie Bentley thinks teaching about World War II in school negatively impacts teens’ mental health.
Good Morning, Britain
The 22-year-old U.K. “Apprentice” contestant told the hosts of ‘Good Morning Britain,’ “It was a hard situation, World War Two, I don’t want anyone to think I’m being disrespectful,” he said. “I remember learning it as a child thinking, ‘Oh my God it’s so intense’.”
“I don’t think it needs to be put to such young children,” Bentley says. “For their mental health to be told that this amount of people died for you is a lot.”
The controversy sparked when members of his young team on Britain’s “The Apprentice” needed to find a pre-WWII copy of “Alice in Wonderland.” The group members struggled to recall the dates of WWII: 1939-1945.
Bentley acknowledges the war that claimed millions of lives was a “hard situation,” but he suggests that it is not worth being taught in school.
Viewers Reactions
“Imagining the reaction of soldiers in the trenches if they were shown this interview. So sad,” one British journalist tweeted.
https://twitter.com/SnakePl75018406/status/1190173937252089856
(READ ALSO: WWII Veteran Asks For 100 Cards For 100th Birthday – Gets Over 100,000)
Britains School System
The heart of Bentley’s comments is a critique of the British public school system.
“When I left school, I felt like it hit me like a ton of bricks,” he says. “Because I didn’t know anything about general life.”
Um, what? That’s not just a schooling failure but a major parenting failure. Most young adults leave school and their parent’s house with some knowledge about “general life.”
“All of a sudden, it hit me that didn’t know how to save for a mortgage,” Bentley says incredulously.
“There’re so many problems going on in the world at the moment. Like Brexit, that’s not taught in schools. And climate change, which is a situation that we should all be aware of,” Bentley suggested as topics more important than teaching about World War II.
Let Go of History
“So I feel like instead of focusing so much on our history and holding onto this past, that we can let go a little bit — I’m not saying get rid of it totally — but let go of it a little bit and replace it with a subject that is going to be beneficial to us in the future.”
He actually said that last bit. Thankfully, another GMB guest, former Chief Inspector of Schools, Sir Michael Wilshaw, set the record straight.
The fact that mental health issues are climbing AND the kids aren't learning about WWII doesn't support not teaching them about the ugly truths in history.
More of today's bubble-wrapped kids have mental issues than those who lived through the war.
Let that sink in, Bentley.
— Todd Cimini (@ToddCimini) November 2, 2019
“It matters, as other major events in history matter,” Wilshaw said.
“50 million people died in the Second World War,” he continued. “To fight facism to fight tyranny, people who wanted to take away people’s right to vote.”
(READ ALSO: World War II Veteran Receives Bronze Star In Surprise Ceremony After 74 Years)
“That’s why people should know about the Second World War, the First World War, the conflicts that have taken place, and the fight for freedom that we enjoy.”
He also doubled-down in an Instagram post, you can watch the whole segment here and see his stance:
Let’s hope Bentley is the exception and not the rule for Gen Z.
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