"We really should think about getting home," Hannah said. Searching through each book had been tedious thanks to Will's insistence that the pages be handled like rice paper. He stopped short of making them wear gloves, but insisted the pages be touched only along the edges. As a result, after nearly an hour they still had only poured through about thirty books. "We don't want to over stay our welcome," Hannah urged Will again. "We'll come back." "I guess you're right," Will agreed and stood from the floor of the library and stretched. He walked to one of the floor-to-ceiling bookcases that flanked each side of the fireplace, studying them with what looked like admiration stamped across his forehead. "But you should keep at it." He turned to Nate. "You might want to do some research on the Underground Railroad too." "Can't," Nate told him. "I don't have a computer." Will drummed his fingers against the mantle. "If only you had access to something like, oh, I don't know... books? Yeah, encyclopedias for example." Will stopped drumming and ran a hand across the spine of a row of encyclopedias. "You see, before the Internet, there were these things called 'books' with all sorts of information in them." Nathan squinted at the row of books. He couldn't remember the last time he had used a real encyclopedia for research. Now he was embarrassed the logic had escaped him. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed with an awkward smile. "How are you guys getting home?" he asked, changing the subject and hoping to regain the appearance of intelligence. "'Cause I might be able to help you out there." "How do you mean?" Hannah asked. "I can drive you. Hajji's car is still in the woods." "You have a license?" Hannah asked, looking imp... ... middle of paper ... ...me of those books are as old as the house," Granddad said. "I remember watching them collect dust on the shelves when I was a kid. My dad didn't care to read about how to farm, he just did it. And I could never muster enough interest in them. I hope your friends can find some use for them." "Yeah," Nate said. "We hope they'll be useful too." "It's refreshing to see young people this interested in history. You know what they say. 'Those who forget their history―'" "Are doomed to repeat it," Nate finished. "Very good, Nathan. The only reason we don't repeat the atrocities of the past is because we have learned from them." His granddad patted his back and walked into the house. Nate wasn't concern about repeating an atrocity, but how to disprove one. He followed his granddad into the house. If there was a clue inside those old books, he needed to find it.
“We’re going to print out copies of the books we have remembered over the years that we have stored, and share with the leftover survivors that we have been found.”
“One is astonished in the study of history at the recurrence of the idea that evil must be forgotten, distorted, skimmed over. The difficulty, of course, with this philosophy is that history loses its value as an incentive and example; it paints perfect men and noble nations, but it does not tell the truth.”
As educators and students, we should be able to trust that the truth about our past is what is being taught to today’s youth. The majority of our youth despises history; history is usually ranked last among the favorite subjects of students. American history textbooks all seem to follow the same storybook technique; therefore, students tend to take a snooze in class rather than learning about what has given them the freedom to sit in a classroom and learn. What if what is being taught in classrooms is not the complete truth, though? James Loewen dove deep into the true history of our past in Lies My Teacher Told Me. James Loewen has studied over eighteen American History textbooks over the years, and he discovered one common theme throughout each of the ...
“Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.”
Melinda smiled. “Be true to yourself, and do not let this world consume you. I look forward to seeing you again.”
“All right,” he said to my relief. “Do you know your way back, or would you like us to escort you?” he asked kindly.
History is dedicated to those who went before us, so that, upon reflection, we can learn from them, without repeating their mistakes, experiencing or inflicting their pain. This quote, attributed to an anonymous source, showcases the deep understanding that all people should have. Without this direct insight, a generation will be ignorant to the hardships of their past, and will end up in a cycle of failure. This is why history is so vitally important to our society; because we must look back in order to keep moving forward. History should be studied because it is essential to individuals and to society, and because it harbors beauty (Stearns). It is not some meager thing to sit on a shelf and ignore, but a bountiful treasure trove of wisdom. Sadly, it seems that our generation has become so engulfed in the highlight of the here and now that we have neglected learning about our ancestors. Educators of history, whether it is American, European, or another, are the key to helping students progress not only as scholars of the field, but as worldly human beings. Without the proper knowledge and guidance, history repeats itself. How do history teachers shape students to educate them about the past and keep the mistakes of our predecessors from happening again?
In school, we are all taught history and how it is important to study it, yet looking at it from a Theory of Knowledge perspective we are left questioning whether history is taught as a common knowledge goal or whether we are expected to apply it in some way. I can tell you that I have no intention in writing another Treaty of Versailles; therefore, the knowledge of world history can be seen as having a low value in terms of what we can actually do with it. On the contrary, studying history and applying it to personal history can have a dramatic effect on an individual’s perspective on life. My personal life history has heavily influenced the person I am today and the opinions I have across many different topics, but at the same time the personal value that I have adopted from the studying of world history has in a way shaped and sometimes shifted my views. In summary, on a personal level I believe that history has value when combined with the personal history of someone and helps influence their personality. The history area of knowledge is greatly interchangeable because it could influence a great population or a great population can influence it but without application of history in a global pattern its value is simply stored inside books and
By learning about the reasons and results of what took place in history, people can learn better ways to understand the past controversies among nations and individuals. if we understand the achievements and disappointments of the past, we may, if possible, be able to learn from our errors and avoid repeating them in the future. To paraphrase Edward Burke “The more we study history, the wiser we become. Doomed are those who can't interpret history well.”. Sato, S. (2014).
"Eh? Ghosts and whatnot?" Another chuckle slipped from his maw. "They really will teach kids anything these
"Incidentally, I despise everything which merely instructs me without increasing or immediately enlivening my activity." These are Goethe's words. With them, as with a heartfelt expression of Ceterum censeo [I judge otherwise], our consideration of the worth and the worthlessness of history may begin. For this work is to set down why, in the spirit of Goethe's saying, we must seriously despise instruction without vitality, knowledge which enervates activity, and history as an expensive surplus of knowledge and a luxury, because we lack what is still most essential to us and because what is superfluous is hostile to what is essential. To be sure, we need history. But we need it in a manner different from the way in which the spoilt idler in the garden of knowledge uses it, no matter how elegantly he may look down on our coarse and graceless needs and distresses. That is, we need it for life and action, not for a comfortable turning away from life and action or merely for glossing over the egotistical life and the cowardly bad act. We wish to use history only insofar as it serves living. But there is a degree of doing history and a valuing of it through which life atrophies and degenerates. To bring this phenomenon to light as a remarkable symptom of our time is every bit as necessary as it may be painful.
What is history? History is the analysis and interpretation of the past. History allows us to study both continuity and change over time. It helps to explain how we have changed throughout time. Part of history is using pieces of evidence to interpret and revisit the past. Examples of evidence include written documents, photographs, buildings, paintings, and artifacts. Is history important? When looking at what the definition of history entails, it is clear to see history is in fact, important.
The importance of history in school today is questioned because of whether it serves a valuable enough purpose to have its own subject.Voltaire said, "Life is too short, time to valuable, to spend it in telling what is useless." Nietzsche said, "We want to serve history only to the extent that history serves life." History is studied to aid us for the future, not to dig up old stories and events.Knowing our history brings judgment and freedom.Our great leaders in the past have had these to characteristics, thus they have lead our nation.Without this knowledge, what is our purpose? We are destined to repeat history, if we do not learn from history itself.A quote to leave with is from Cicero.“History is the witness that testifies to the passing of time; it illuminates reality, vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life, and brings us tidings of antiquity.”
Before the question of whether history is a science can be answered, one needs to know exactly what a science is; it's definition. When we imagine science, most of us will immediately think of experimentation, with test tubes boiling, or mechanical objects spinning around. Although this is true, this is not all there is to science. Science is a methodical discipline of studying the phenomena of the universe and recording, measuring and analysing the data. Perhaps even producing theories before experimentation, or if experimentation is not possible. For history to be a science it must follow the methods of science. Scientific method is a method of procedure that consists of systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing and modification of hypotheses. History, however, is not systematic or methodical and can not be regarded as a discipline.
Studying history involves both student and instructor in interactive conversations about historical events created by the actions (or inactions) taken by both elite and non-elite people in the course of their daily lives. My role as the teacher is to enable students to obtain an historical context through which they can understand the motivations behind the decisions made by historical figures, critically evaluate those motivations, and assess the significance of the actions taken as they analyze the events themselves. More importantly, I want my students to understand, intellectually and emotionally, that their present lives are the result of these historical events, events created by imperfect beings very much like themselves who often did