Why is History Important?
“So the story of man runs in a dreary circle, because he is not yet master of the earth that holds him.” ― Will Durant The study of history is vital to furthering humankind. It gives us real world examples of the types of problems people face and even shows us how we can correct those mistakes instead of repeating them like our predecessors. In his book, The Cycles of American Politics, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. (1999) examines cyclical examples in the United States’ history. He breaks down different parts of US history to prove that history operates in cycles. In a passage about the government, he writes, “In any events, the Moral Majority, far from signaling a permanent change in the national mood, is an entirely predictable by-product of the cyclical swing” (p. 39). It is evident to Schlesinger that the American people’s moral compass can be mapped on a “cyclical swing”. This is not a phenomena exclusive to the US population. Across the world there are patterns of cyclical history. The study of these patterns is critical.
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History is not what we would call a practical study in modern terms. Historians cannot build a bridge or cure cancer or even paint masterpieces and yet history is one of the main subjects in schools and for good reason. History allows us to be introspective, and imaginative. When we consider individuals in the past and how they may be similar or different from us, we are given the opportunity to use history to look at ourselves and see the good and bad in us. Likewise, we can use history to be collectively introspective about our country or world. What events were the result of something my country did and how can we as a nation make sure that never happens again? Giving ourselves the chance to preempt the mistakes of the past only works if we are willing to approach similar situations, in current times, with an open imagination. We need to be flexible in how we handle problems and knowing what people have tried in the past (Stearns, 1998).
Why should students study History?
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The study of history is also vital to improving the skills of young people. In the History classroom, students learn to examine evidence, hold conflicting stories in contention, and argue a point. They are asked to look at primary and secondary sources in order to draw conclusions about a historical event. Often those primary and secondary sources do not agree with one another and so we ask students to dig deeper, to examine the evidence and understand that most events do not fit neatly into a box and therefor both sides can be correct or neither can. By teaching students to grapple with these ideas we are pushing them to think outside of the box which in turn will help them to be creative problem solvers who are willing to listen to all sides of the story before making a judgement call. To top it off, a History class asks students to articulate and argue a side of a current or historical event, giving them the tools to negotiate, debate, and persuade (Stearns, 1998).
History is a vital subject of study and there are so many lessons to be learned from history, however there are those who believe looking backwards is an antiquated tradition that we no longer need. What these critics fail to see, is the way history impacts our day to day lives outside the classroom. In their book, The Presence of the Past: Popular uses of history in American life, Rosenzweig & Thelen (2000) interviewed people from all across the United States to see how or if they thought history interacted with their lives. The authors write, The people…did not view the past as distant, abstract, or insignificant….For the man from Memphis, the civil rights movement taught a basic moral lesson about racial equality…For the Oklahoma student, hearing about the past from her mother and grandmother “makes me feel I have a lot of responsibility for who goes on in the world”… people pursue the past actively and make it part of everyday life (p. 18). For many people, history is both deeply personal and informative of the future. Making connection with the past, allows us to empathize and start to understand what personal emotions and reactions went into different historical events. History is vital to our day to day lives, whether it is the study of history that helps students to think critically and question sources, or it is the personal connections people make with their past or the nation’s past, we are all able to glean knowledge from the study of history. More importantly, we are able to look at history and see the patterns and the cyclical nature of those patterns. Because of this cyclical nature, history becomes not just a thing of the past but also a future that we can either look forward to or help to change. The study of cyclical history will help to deepen students understanding of the world they live in and the impacts they can make on that world. |