The Importance of History

Anthony Odom
August 15, 2006
(www.associatedcontent.com)

Convincing students of history's importance is difficult, but it can be done. Few people would argue that history is important. Few people, that is, who are not students. I have taught American history and Mississippi history and most of the students I've had state that history is one of their least favorite subjects. The two main complaints about history is that it is irrelevant to their discipline, and that it is boring. When asked to elaborate on how it is boring, the complaint seems to come back to a question of relevance. "I don't see how knowing a bunch of stuff about things that happened years ago helps me at all, its not like I'm going to use it" a student once told me on the first day of class. As prepared as I was to teach history, I have to say that I had no idea I'd have to be an apologist for the discipline as well. One of the hardest questions most history teachers have to answer is, "Why is this stuff important?" In an age of streamlining education and when colleges are becoming more like vocational institutions than classical universities, the issue of relevance becomes all the more important. Most rely on cliche' responses like "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Today's savvy, cynical students don't take to cryptic warnings or deep philosophical truths too well. Personally, I steer clear of this old maxim. When faced with the question of relevance, I prefer to speak in a language my students can understand. History teaches you how to think critically and analytically. These abilities are prized in any discipline, especially business-related fields and even scientific fields. Reading a research study is something anyone can do, but analyzing it takes a skill that history class can hone. Who wrote this study? What were their motives? Who's paying for it? What is this research trying to prove or gain? Who benefits?

One of my former students, a business major, asked me how could history possibly help him. I presented him with a hypothetical scenario. "Let's pretend," I said, "that you are asked by your company to research an area for possible expansion into that area." "Well, the first thing you'd need to know is has anyone opened a similar business in that area before." "Was it a success or a failure, and why did it succeed or fail? To answer these questions, you need some skills that historical education can provide." "Without those skills, you'll have a ton of data but it won't mean anything because you won't have the ability to critically analyze that data and make it make sense to your superiors." The student came away with a new appreciation, and made a decent grade in the class.
The ability to conduct research is another skill that history education can provide. Knowing the answers is not nearly as important as knowing where to find answers. Again, I revert to the example from my business student. If he were to go about researching an area for expansion, he would need information. History classes that emphasize student research can help him learn where to find such information. Knowing where to look in the library or on the internet can give the student as great advantage over someone who does not. Median incomes, historical economic trends, and other relevant information that he would need is out there, but if he is ignorant about how to find it, it may as well be on Mars.
One of the main functions of history education is that it brings awareness of the world. Knowing what is going on and why is advantageous to students in any field. All fields are affected by current events. All schools are effected by current events. All people, regardless of how uninformed they may be, are affected by current events. If you can understand your situation, you can either make it better or keep it as is (whichever is called for) based on what you know about how you got from point "A" to point "B." Simply put, there is no better way to gain an understanding of the present than the study of the past. Although it is a well-worn cliche', the past does indeed repeat itself. If past mistakes are not understood, they may well be repeated. This is true in every discipline from chemistry to civil engineering. Making history relevant to every student is difficult, and the endeavor is not always successful. But in doing so, a teacher can not only make their students better at their discipline, but the students just may come away with a new perspective. One of the best compliments a student ever paid me was, "I hated history until I took your class." If all I ever do is convince a student to at least open their mind to what history can offer them outside of just being a convenient hole to plug in their program of study, then my mission as an educator has been successful.