Why is history taught in schools?

Question

Now, hear me out. I've heard TONS of times that "it's so we don't repeat the same mistakes they did." But, most of the people learning history aren't going to be in a position even similar to them, or where they even have the opportunity to make these kinds of mistakes; most major "mistakes" we learn about in history are that of a world leader. I think it goes without saying, most people aren't going to be world leaders. Most people, in fact, won't be in the position of the people making these mistakes at all. And I understand that people who WILL find inherently find themselves in these positions will need to know about history. That's fine; there are plenty of places outside of public school to learn history. I also understand that many people learn history just for the enjoyment of learning about history. That's fine too; I just don't understand why in the world it's a mandatory class in most schools, and I was wondering if anybody had any thoughts on this.

I just wanted to add that I'm asking this purely out of curiosity, and wanting to hear multiple opinions; I for one enjoy history as a subject, but many people don't and won't need it, which is why I ask.

Answer 1

First of all, it is of great importance for us to learn history, at least get to know some of it. One reason is that we humans tend to enjoy knowing where we're from or how we've got here. And history may be the only source we can refer to. I might draw your attention, that the history I mean here has its general sense. We can say that if the "now" we're talking about is the history of next second. Everything that passed can be defined as history.

But, history taught in schools, as you refer to, is not all of the history I mean above. Those are chosen history, used as a political tool. I am sure that in every country around the world, including all the so-called democratic countries and the opposites, history textbooks and even papers are not 100% real, that is, they are elaborately altered or modified. In Japan, this history about their invasion in China is fake, according to the government of China. But the descriptions on Chinese history textbooks are not necessarily true. So in order to keep a country's society still, altered history must be taught in schools.

Another thing is patriotism. Moderate patriotism does help, while a radical one does harm to the people. You say that history can prevent the same mistakes of some political leaders from happening again. That is only one aspect. Another is that there are not only mistakes but things of which we're worth being proud as well. I bet a citizen from a country with a miserable history must definitely wish for a magnificent and splendid history. It is not a bad thing people proud of their motherland.

Answer 2

If you look at "why history is taught" (your question) rather than "why do we study history", then I suspect the answer is that it engenders patriotism which, eventually, turns the population as a whole into to happy little taxpayers. Those, who go on to study history, whether academically or as a pastime, are interested in looking beyond the basics that are taught in most nations' curricula.



Your point about being in a position to take advantage of your historical knowledge avoids an understanding of how politics work in many democratic (and non-democratic) country, leaders are elected or selected by people who have, normally, passed through the school system.

Answer 3

There is a problem with your point of view and that is that it could be applied to ALL learning. For example, why should mathematics be taught at all in schools or in the universities since almost NO ONE is going to pursue it as a career. The same with physics. With the exception of a handful of geniuses learning the mathematics that would be required, for example, to be actively involved in computer or space research CANNOT be done on your own without a formal education.



But getting to the relevance of history, claiming that history has no use is tantamount to saying that the collective experience and knowledge of our species, developing from the time we developed language and the ability to share ideas, has no value and can be learned without any outside input. This seems to me a fantastically short-sighted and unintelligent view. It was not until the Magna Carta era that the notion that a person could own something (call it his) arose. Rome collapsed because of a population that produced little and was supported by the state via the equivalent of welfare; is it not useful to realize that the "welfare experiment" has been done, and failed, before? Myriads of similar topics can be brought to bear on this issue.



The bottom line: History imparts to each of us some part of the collective wisdom of mankind. Ignore it at your own risk.



In my profession, had history not been taken account of - the failures, the false theories, the harmful treatments, etc - we would still be practicing mysticism and magic rather than methods with some scientific basis.

Answer 4

A lot of this has to do with national identity and understanding origins. Primarily, history is written by the victors, or by a particular stand point. One example I heard was that the Battle of Waterloo was not taught in French schools. So there are a few dimensions here. One is to re-enforce national identity. The other is to dictate the party line or other political reasons. The Emperor who built the great wall of china also had a book burning spree, claiming that day one of the new order started with him. In other words, he did not want to be burdened by history.



By controlling history, you can control what people believe about themselves and their neighbors. Rewrite history and you can control peoples belief systems and therefore control their actions (Dictatorship 101). So history is a political tool for control. That is why certain aspects of history are taught in schools.



But as a reading, questioning individual, you have the ability to read your own texts and to question what the relevance and meaning is. You can find out exactly what most people do not know to ask or to read your way past "What everybody knows" or the gaps that are not covered.



Luck

Answer 5

Because I just saw a question about if Hitler was "a black muslim communist", that's why, I would like to believe it's a troll but I'm not even sure anymore...



My point is that if people don't know anything about history, any kind of huge fat lie about it can be sold to them as truth, which is an easy way to manipulate masses. Creating historical facts to prove your point is a powerful tool to make it sound legit.



This could be applied to something as common as commercials, but there's also a reason why in countries under dictatorship or radical ideologies they often teach fake, altered history in schools to make it fit their ideals. They wouldn't bother doing that if there was no point.

Answer 6

History is the story of the development of our society through the ages. To get an idea of what had made humanity different from other species of animals has to be in the minds of all knowledge seeking individuals. It is this aspect that history covers at school stage. Further specialisation takes place at higher stages of education.

History is a record of develpment of man in all its aspects. With the coming in of specialisation, different subjects had developed their own histories like Literary History, Economic History etc. Even history hating science has its own histories like History of the developement of Flying, stages in the developmet of Electricity etc. To know the present better, one has to have some knowledge of the past. History does just that.

School education is the stage at which student gets an idea of branches of knoledge, making it easy for the students to decide on his specialisation at the next stage. Here again a knowledge of History will be useful to those who go for Geography, Politics, History, public Administration and Law.

History forms a major portion of what we consider General Knowledge, that is very essential for those seeking jobs through competitive examinations.

Answer 7

To inculcate patriotism, i.e. to brainwash people into thinking that their country is somehow special: "Lives there a man with soul so dead he never to himself hath said, this is my own my native land?." A nation is really nothing more than a group of people united by their sharec«d xenophobia. And that essential xenophobia must rest on the lies told to us in childhood! Such teaching is called "history." It is essentially inward-looking and subjective. To study the past objectively may be a harmless hobby if you take care never to share your conclusions with anyone else, but it can never be history in the patriotic sense of the word. "Right or wrong my country"--but it helps if you remember all the rainbow coloured myths they taught you about it at school, and all the horror stories about folk on the other side of its borders. .

Answer 8

Why? suggest you read the other 'Questions' here such as ''Why did you Americans kill innocent Japanese civilians with Atomic bombs?''

There are a lot of people out there that have no idea of the truth and would simply make it up and cause more wars unless history and the truth was told.

Answer 9

But we don't study history to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past because history does not repeat itself in the first place.

Sure, we might learn lessons such as: it's a bad idea to drink uranium water.



We study history to understand the present. Why is there chaos in one region? History will tell you. It will find the root causes of some issues. It will teach you geography. It will tell you what has worked and what hasn't worked and why. And again, we use the past to understand the present (or at least explaining past actions and the motives behind them).

Answer 10

History gives us tools for analyzing and explaining problems in the past, it is an essential tool for problem-solving in the present and future. Any career that rewards clear thinking, good writing, articulate speaking, and the ability to ask and answer complicated questions about how the world works will be open to a well-trained history major.



The site below has a great perspective on why we should learn history. Enjoy!



http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/shared/thinking.php

Answer 11

Learning about the how's and why's of societies current status needs to tied together so that we can appreciate why we behave the way we do today. This allows us to embellish our strengths as well as attenuate our weaknesses. You can never leave the past behind since it is the foundation of the success or failure of our future building. When you drive your car you always look into the rear view mirror or the past to see where you have been before you make a move ahead or into your future.

Answer 12

There are several subjects that fall into the same category as HISTORY and they're all taught for one reason...CRITICAL THINKING. Looking at the past and analyzing the facts makes one think more about and have greater respect for the future. PEACE!

Answer 13

History takes many forms - knowing who your parents are is historical knowledge.

Imagine looking at great works of art or engineering and not knowing how they came about. That's why we teach history.

Answer 14

Hi, I agree with you as well! Unfortunately, it is necessary for us to learn history because it's important to pass down the history of the world from generation to generation. It also counts as sort of an English class to help your writing skills. Otherwise...I have no idea.

Answer 15

Well how many questions would there be if nobody was taught about history? And so we understand how this world evolved. And so we don't attempt the mistakes that they did as you said

Answer 16

History is entirly worthless knowledge. It's nothing more than an interest or hobby.



The idea that we should learn from our past is not a sound argument, because events have unlimited ways of playing out and the likelihood that history repeats itself is minute.



"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme." Mark Twain



If anything history causes more problems. Conflicts remain unresolved because history keeps past offenses alive and unforgiven, just look at Israel/Palestine.

Answer 17

Really history is just for world leaders to learn and to lead. It is for everyone to learn. People of Pompeii lived too close to a volcano and it destroyed them. I think now the average person would try not to live so close to a volcano. So an average person can learn. Most of the people of the civil rights movement were not world leaders. The majority were normal regular people who decided they have a voice as well and learned to work together for a cause. There are many causes regular people can work toward. People had rallied behind leaders who end up being evil psychopaths that made promises. Now people can learn what to look for in a leader from history. So history is for everyone to learn.

Answer 18

" most of the people learning history aren't going to be in a position even similar to them, or where they even have the opportunity to make these kinds of mistakes; most major "mistakes" we learn about in history are that of a world leader."



Who do you think voted to elect all those world leaders that made all those mistakes?

-Dummies who didn't learn history. Dummies who elected the worst possible choice because they stupidly didn't know better to do any better.

Dummies like that stupidly unleashed true monsters on the world by granting them political power.

Think about that. And smarten the hell up.



Everyone that votes in an election is in a position to make those mistakes in every election they vote in.

Since voting is one of the responsibilities of citizenship in most nations, you damn well better make an informed choice instead of trusting to luck and ignorance.

Answer 19

Real history is not taught in public schools.

Answer 20

History is taught so we don't make the same mistakes. for example, if there wasn't history and someone tried to make a computer but failed each time how would we learn to make a computer if we all made the same mistake because they didn't learn the first time

Answer 21

It's better to teach history in the schools, rather than on the streets.

Answer 22

Limited history is taught so we know our own past and culture. It is always focused on the area in which we live and excludes others areas and much relevant information.

Answer 23

What the hell is wrong with you. History is a aubject. It's a thing. It fuçking exists. So it is taught at school. Kapische?

Answer 24

History is taught to know about our emperors or social fighters and to have a look at their life style and their courageous life............. we can get some technique to live our life and get some adventure too.........basically we should be aware about ancestors of our nation.that is why history is taught in the school

Answer 25

History is the story of mankind. If you can't see why that is important, I can't help you. But, as a starter, I think it's essential that we know who we are and where we've come from.

Answer 26

Why is the real history of Native Americans (past and present), Jews (past and present), African Americans (past and present), Hispanics (past and present) and others not taught? It's a social control. History if it had been taught would not have helped me get a job.

Answer 27

Because memory is identity. Because a society that doesn't study its own history is akin to an Alzheimer's patient who has forgotten her own life -- adrift and dependent on those who, to her, are strangers, even if to themselves they are her loved ones. And because an understanding of the human past helps stimulate the imagination of possibilities.

Answer 28

When one comes to power, to decide things, s/he sets a target to overcome a past mistake, "after learning lessons from History". It is what Hitler did trying to take Moscow. He thought that he is far superior to Napoleon. You may call it impunity, arrogance,stupidity or whatever.

Answer 29

Think about if you didn't know any history. If you didn't know the history of the world, or the history of your people or country, state, etc. It would be like an individual who didn't know about their childhood, where they were born, where they grew up or who their relatives and ancestors were.

Answer 30

Leaders don't just appear. They need the support of ordinary people, like me and you and the people in your history class. And if they know what happened last time they may get together and put a stop to it this time. On the very simplest level history means someone telling you "I put my hand too near the fire once. It hurt. Don't you do it."

Answer 31

history is add to school because history is the reason we are not in a class with just black people or all white people we are a family now for instace we are a family forever!



love Alban

Answer 32

I think you underestimate the importance of history for the individual and the ignorance of the masses. History isn't just about the conduct and decisions made by impactful world leaders of the past. The learning of past mistakes doesn't only apply to us collectively but also individually, nor is it limited to the mistake of a particular circumstance. People do not know if or when they may find themselves in situations that are similar to or related to historic events, therefore it is the responsibility of the education system to include the subject to prepare young minds for an uncertain future.



If the dictum 'history repeats itself' is true, uneducated future generations would have little to no knowledge or understanding of how to deal with it if they do not know the historic significance that brings the situation to the surface. A nation, much like America, depends on an informed and educated public, whom elects representatives and public officials to govern our country. Without a proper perspective on history, we are more likely to repeat past mistakes made by our nation and others. Even with the teaching of history, we are still subject to repeating the past because of the lack of emphasis and importance on knowing history. Those who are seeking power and a status of high authority are inclined to take advantage of the ignorant and naïve masses in order to get it, and impose their polices and agendas.



America is often compared to the Roman Empire, and has been projected to fall in pretty much the same way. The insertion of rhetoric and sophistry in public and political discourse allowed falsehood and partial truths to be accepted with the same credibility as truth, which is probably the most dangerous and subtle threat to any society. Not only is America repeating that very same mistake, we are also following in line with the Romans mistake of devaluing the currency. Because the masses are made up of a collection of individuals, however likeminded, we our accountable for taking advantage of opportunities to become educated in a broad and diverse respect.



Although, self-education and learning outside of educational institutions can help confirm and supplement collective learning, their is still the issue of the individual taking it upon oneself to do so. Uneducated people are easy to manipulate and control, and the saying 'ignorance is bliss' most likely comes from the people who are pulling the strings. That is why it is important for the powers in charge to change the narrative of history and or deemphasize it's significance. Getting rid of the teaching of history would be the optimal circumstance as there would be no point of reference or context for the public to go off of. We'd be pretty much making personal decisions and choices that impact others blindly on the fly, while authority gets away with deception.



Sadly, this is going in America right now. When government and the education system are in cahoots to revise the system to promote their agendas, history is one of the first subjects to suffer. This is why politicians support a conformist approach to standardize testing and education, and oppose school choice for parents and students whom prefer higher performing schools. Talk show host are conducting random interviews quizzing the public on basic elementary history and their historic knowledge as a gaff segment on their shows. If you were to ask all of those who failed the quiz whether they are susceptible to manipulation and indoctrination they all are likely to say 'no'.

Answer 33

The same reason every other subject is taught in school: to waste time for teens

Answer 34

We can't understand where we're going if we don't understand where we came from. It is also important for people to understand the sacrifices made by those who came before them, that way we appreciate what we have and strive to create a better future for our progeny.

Answer 35

It's important so you don't become a communist. That's why steadily omitting history so we all think communism and socialism is great! And you are walking into it.

Answer 36

It's cheap, and in most cases, interesting. Not every principle can afford a teacher on something as advanced as network security, or microzoology etc.

Answer 37

It is useful to understand the context by which your circumstances exist. Don't worry, they won't bother us with it for much longer.

Answer 38

It creates jobs and revenue for the schools. Most of it is down right untrue. Keep living and you will soon know.

Answer 39

Because we need EVERYONE to help keep those in power from making the same mistakes that those who went before us made.

Answer 40

It is interesting and it teaches you good things.

Answer 41

you need to learn from way back in the day

Answer 42

No serious historian says we study history to "avoid repeating mistakes." You are a blithering idiot.

Answer 43

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