Is learning history in school important?

Post Reply New Topic

I know many people say "it is not practical. how am i going to use this stuff?".

But according to the old adage, "those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it".

What a TRITE remark, but at the same time, it is completely true.

History may not be more important than math, science, or english, but it is still very important and should remain a prerequisite.

History connects with many other areas of knowledge: sociology, psychology, science/technology, politics, economics, military, art, culture, geography, etc.

If taught correctly, history can teach a person many things such as how to think critically, how to identify cause and effect relationships, how to be an informed citizen/voter, how government and economy work, reading and writing skills, and more.

But personally, sometimes I feel it is taught incorrectly. The public education system rewards rote memorization only, which is necessary, but means nothing if it isn't backed by genuine understanding.

Sure its rather dry and boring but history should be a mandatory part of every school curriculum

History is the context in which we live. Anyone who doesn't understands its importance is to be pitied and educated.

Too often, the message I got from history classes read like "people used to be racist bastards back then" or "colonial life was sooo hard that children had to walk up a hill both ways in a snow storm to get to school." That doesn't teach anything useful. The lessons we should learn would include how the Cuban missile crisis turned out, why nobody has successfully invaded Russia - intelligent stuff that doesn't read like a list of dates and events. And that historical document stuff I had to do on some HS tests... completely pointless. Either you know how to read and process information, or you don't.

So, teachers, don't list all the taxes Britain imposed on the American colonies and then tell us the only truly important point is that there was no representation. Instead, reiterate the point on every tax, or at least fixate on that and not the bullet points.

I love history. It's very intriguing to me. Plus it tends to be one of my best subjects.

My problem isn't about teaching history, but about teaching REVISIONIST history.

Lots of stuff I learned in "history" classes weren't 100% accurate. Sometimes it was the deliberate emphasis on one thing over another (whole chapters devoted to MLK, a minor player in American History but only a paragraph on the Founding Fathers who formed the nation). Other times it was disinformation or misinformation. Deliberate most likely by the editors of the textbooks we used, but some teachers openly telling kids that what was in the textbook wasn't really the truth.

History is one of my favourite subjects so I picked it as one of my A-levels. My only criticism of it this year is that the subjects chosen (we have two seperate teachers and classes for the subject) are ones which I already know a lot about. We're studying Nazi Germany and Tsarist Russia. I mean I do find some of it interesting but I would like to be taught a new subject in history for a change...Like maybe the French Revolution or something like that...

History is not in the least dry or boring... it's the story of life, death, war, peace, triumph, disaster, hope and despair. The fact that teachers make it dry and boring speaks more to their failure than to the subject itself.

Don't fall for that lie... history is necessary.

However, we don't need to learn it at school. My son loves history, and eats up history books... but he's not sure if he should study it at school, since the curriculum is so poor.

Everyone should learn history, but you don't need school to learn it. Particularly since Friskeygirl has obviously had a bad experience with a poor teacher... that is sadly common.

Divorce the subject from the teachers, and you'll get something interesting.

You didn't have my teacher for history in 10th grade, he also taught project management it was very boring, watching
paint dry was more exciting, grades 11 and 12 were great, it made a huge difference having enthusiastic teacher

Interesting.......I had the same experience where grade 10 history was unbearably boring, but grade 11 history was really great. I actually got 53% in grade 10 history, and 98% in a grade 11 history course called ancient civilizations. I actually had the same teacher for both of these courses! She approached me at one point near the end of the year (of grade 11), and asked me if there was a reason why I did so much better in that class than in the other. I really didn't have a good answer for her. I definitely found the grade 11 course more interesting...but I'm not sure why.

I do think history is very important. Understanding the stories of our society and culture, and other cultures around us is certainly worthwhile. Of course stories have many many sides, and different perspectives, so we only get one perspective on the events of the past. I think it is important to recognize that history is not objective unembellished truth. However if it is taught properly, it can encourage people to look at how our perspective of events as constantly changing (since it has changed so many times in the past). This teaches people to evaluate information about events more critically, which is of course important for learning in general. Also, it is only natural to be curious about the story of our collective past.

History is really important. Of course I am a history major so I also think it's awesome, but historical instruction in today's schools is terrible. It's amazing when people get to college and learn real history instead of "Marie Antoinette said 'Let them eat cake!' because she was evil and it's good that the democracy took over and killed her." That was what every student in my history class knew about the French Revolution. SO not what actually happened.

You need to know about what has happened to the world in order to comprehend why it is the way it is. How could you understand the liberal vs. conservative argument if you didn't know it started after the Renaissance when people argued whether the new learning was causing problems are the old feudal system was causing problems? And the pundits on the news try to fill in the blanks for you when they explain what's happening in the Middle East, but they do a terrible job. I'll hear things like, "These people have been killing each other for thousands of years." Seriously, people? That started when the oil companies moved in. The Crusades were started by a pope who was looking for a way to unite the people of Europe by giving them a common enemy, thus improving his power.

If you don't know your history, you don't know who you are or how you came to be here. And I see in my country a whole two generations of people who don't know their history. It's really, really sad.

I enjoyed history in school, though I've forgotten most of it now - which goes to show most of it was just for the exam. (That's the key point of learning it, really - not to give you a series of life lessons, subliminally).

I still love and remember most of the history I've learned in school. Some of the best games I've ever played have a lot of historical context, the rest are just things that could happen like the fallout series

It's extremely important, in this society, to learn in school.

I don't care if it's "irrelevant," or if it's "propaganda."

Just learn the material, and judge it in your own free time.

Bully! (An yes the good ole meaning of the word, not the brute with a nickle on his shoulder)

I hate history class