I have learned a lot about history in my time at Northern State University: important events, cause and effects of actions, and great historical figures. I also had some misconceptions about history, as with so many students who come out of high school. History is not just names and dates! Too often history is memorized not learned in schools, and it is our job in the future to change the way students view history in high school. Many people also want to learn history to prevent it from repeating itself. I was one of these people. However, Professor Steven Usitalo set me straight. He says that history continues to repeat itself over and over again, just that the names and dates have changed. I think this is true. History can show us what might happen, but there is no way of knowing with certainty what will happen...and that is the future. Instead, history is often a matter of perspective, a matter of looking at an issue, or a time period, or a scene from multiple angles, multiple perspectives. As I said, Steven Usitalo instilled this in me, and he also showed me a fantastic film that emphasizes this point: Rashomon. Enjoy.
http://www.archive.org/details/dom-24164-rashomon
History is probably one of the least favorite subjects of most high schoolers, mostly due to the fact that most history teachers don't want to teach. If high school students were taught by professors here at Northern, like Usitalo, I think that their love for history would begin.
ReplyDeleteWell put Maxwell. While we can become experts in history, we cannot prevent the future. Each event in history has had its own unique set of circumstances. I must also commend you on your comment about history not being just names and dates. That is so true. In high school I was a human depository for names and dates and other simple factual information. However, through three wonderful years at Northern State University, I have found that concepts and ideas, relationships and conflicts, repeating themes are what make history the science that it is. While names and dates may be the bones of history's body, the rest constitutes the skin, muscles, blood, nerves, and soul of the world's greatest subject.
ReplyDeleteHow about trying to add images to your posts?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words about NSU history!
Luckily for me, I had some former NSU students who taught history to me at Central here in town. So I didn't need to memorize pointless names and dates, but got actual teachers who did tell great stories and teach me what history should be about.
ReplyDeleteOn the otherhand, I did have have one teacher who did nothing but talk and tell personal stories, and cared nothing about teaching me how history should be fun.
I must have been one of the lucky ones in high school, because the teachers weren't concerned whether I knew a specific date or not but rather see how it fit into the big picture. That is the right way to learn history and I'm glad my teachers did it that way.
ReplyDeleteHistory is all about perspective and how one looks at things. We have a different version of history than they do in other countries of the world because it is all how you look at things.
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