Why Study History?

No doubt you have asked yourself that question before. If not, you should! After all, you are spending a good portion of your waking hours in school. The purpose of mandatory, public education is to prepare the youth of America for a productive adulthood. So why are you required to take the courses that you do? I can’t answer that question for other subjects and I won’t for this one. Rather, I’ll give you some of the usual arguments made for the study of history as part of a well rounded education and let you decide which, if any, is good justification.

Before you continue, you may wish to read the rationale given in your textbook. This should be at the beginning, in which the authors attempt to explain the importance of the subject in terms an eighth grader would comprehend. That way, in case you find what follows incomprehensible, you’ll have at least one argument to evaluate!

I. History is necessary to prepare students to become active participants in our democratic process and good citizens of our nation.

This is the rationale behind the subject when your parents were in school. A nation still fearful of the insidious threat of Communism infiltrating our society believed the subject should be used to show students the superiority of the United States and its institutions. In addition, a sense of patriotism was cultivated. Based upon the number of people who vote today (1996 voter turnout was the lowest ever recorded!), one could question the effectiveness of this approach. But hey! The Commies didn’t take over, did they?

II. History helps students develop competency in inquiry, decision making, and other critical thinking skills.

A more recent emphasis in some schools has been placed not so much on what students learn but on how they learn it. Proponents of this argument believe that if students develop higher level thinking skills, they will more likely participate in the democratic process as adults, and participate more effectively! They will make wise and informed choices. In other words, the understanding of history is a means rather than an end. But can’t students develop these thinking skills while studying something more interesting, such as the development and metamorphosis of rock and roll?

III. History gives students an identity. Without history, we would be cultural amnesiacs not knowing who we are or what makes being an American a unique cultural experience.

Wow! What’s wrong with a little ethnocentrism every now and then? We are the greatest nation in the history of the world! Let’s toot our own horn a bit. Make sure those snot-nosed brats realize how lucky they are to be Americans. And as Americans we have a certain role to play. History defines that role for us. Hey, you terrorists!! We kicked Saddam’s butt, and Hitler’s before that! We stand for freedom and democracy and all that good stuff. Read our history… we have!

IV. History can be used to develop an awareness of social issues, strengthen students’ social action skills, and enable them as change agents.

Say that in English, would you please? A current trend in some schools is to use history as a means of shaping “social awareness”, that is, creating a nation of “politically correct” citizens. This school of thought emphasizes the contributions of minorities and the “overlooked majority” (women) in our history. It may even go so far as to tamper with historical “facts” in order to achieve an objective. For example, in some schools it is suggested that Columbus was black, or gay, or maybe both. Others teach that Africans actually discovered America, that the Constitution was stolen from ideas of the Indians (oops! I mean “Native Americans”. Obviously, I wasn’t educated by teachers with this rationale for history!)

V. History helps students develop skills of interpersonal communication, encourages personal growth and self-actualization, and clarifies personal values and goals.

I think this school of thought was developed in the late Sixties. Like other ideas from that time, such as free love and communal living, no one pays much attention to it any more. The recent nostalgia for the Sixties, like all nostalgia, conveniently omits much of the bone-headed things of that time period.

VI. History is one of the aspects of “classical” learning.

A recent Secretary of Education, William Bennett, along with a whole institute of bigwigs at the Carnegie Foundation, believes that America has fallen behind Japan and other nations educationally. The reason is our abandonment of the “classical” education system. In other words, the study of stuff people used to study before television came along. Latin, English literature, and history are all up there as disciplines that develop an educationally sound populace, ready to compete economically with the rest of the world.

OK. Maybe I left something out. Perhaps you can come up with other reasons why you should be studying history, but the previous rationales are the ones I discuss with my Methods of Social Studies Instruction class which I teach for the University (okay, so it’s a part time thing, but it sounds impressive, doesn’t it?) Those students are the ones who need a rationale to teach the material, besides the one that it will give them a steady income. But as a student, it is important to think about why you are being asked to study a particular subject.

Assignment

Choose the rationale for the study of history from the six described in this handout, the one in the text, or one of your own creation with which you most agree and explain your reasons for that choice. This should be a one to two page essay, word processed, 12 pt. Font, one and a half spaced. If you are one of those unenlightened types who vehemently deny any value in the study of history, defend your reasoning. But remember, I did not graduate from the School of Education. My degrees are in History. This essay is due Friday, August 24^th, but may be emailed to me prior to this time.