Is learning history important in your life? As a history teacher obviously I feel that knowing and studying history not only of your country, but the history of other countries and other cultures is very important. There are some people who will argue that learning history, especially as one gets older, such as in college, is of little importance because it may not have anything to do with their upcoming careers and job opportunities. They will say “I am going to be a business major or a journalism major or an engineering major, so why waste my time learning about things that happened twenty, forty, one hundred, or even five thousand years ago? Why waste time learning about history when I should be focusing on my specific college course work.” However, these people will be missing out on what I would call “a complete education.” I would hope all of my students one day when they are out of college and married can have an intelligent conversation around their dinner table or when they are out with friends on whatever topic comes up; entertainment, their businesses, jobs, and definitely history. What do you think? In middle school and high school you will be forced to take history classes in order to graduate, but as you move on in your education careers you will have many options. Will you take some college level history classes regardless of your major or will you not see learning about the past as relevant to your future? Remember to write at least 200 words and indicate your first name, last initial, as well as your homeroom. Basic grammar rules, as always, apply to your blog. Use your Woodward Student Email to post to this blog and to other comments.
History is important in anyone’s life I think. History helps us learn from our past mistakes as humans so as to not allow that to happen again. I agree that everyone should take history classes even when they have the option not to take them. My aunt teaches history at Florida State College (not Florida State University) and she thinks it is sad that her students don’t remember what they were supposed to learn a while back. I also think that this is pretty disappointing. I bet that they did not take history when they had the option. I love to talk with her about history and it is fun to hear her tell about our country’s history, and I especially like to hear her tell about Napoleon. I also talk with my grandfather about our family’s history. I think it is the most fascinating thing to hear. That type of history can help me get a better understanding from where I came from, and where my ancestors were. I hope that I can continue to talk with my family and friends about things like that. In order to help me do that, I think that I should take history classes when I go to college. History would be fun to take in college. Social Studies is my favorite academic class so I hope that I continue to take classes for history, even when I have to option not to.
ReplyDeleteI think that history is very important. I think it is important to know what has happened in the past in order to know why things happen in the present. It is also important to learn about history so that it does not repeat itself and people do not make the same mistakes that other people have already made in the past. If we did not have history, archeologists probably would not have bothered to find Ancient Egyptian tombs, written records from earlier civilizations, or even artwork from the past so we wouldn’t have any knowledge of these things. If we did not study history, we would not know anything about how things were done in the past so we wouldn’t have any ideas to base what we do off of. For example, if we didn’t know how the Ancient Egyptians wrote their hieroglyphics, we would have nowhere to start and we wouldn’t know how to say words. We would have nothing to base our writing, language, or speech on. If we didn’t have history, we might not even have fairytales or folktales because of the lack of written records. Those are the reasons that that I think that history is important.
ReplyDeleteAnna F. 6F
ReplyDeleteI think learning is very important. I think you should know where you came from, how different life is today and early on. I think we should know that we are destroying our world with all of the new inventions. Earlier, life was just about teamwork in order to survive. Now, some people are taking everything for granted. Earlier, people all gathered around a fire to hear a story, not text at the table during dinner. I don’t think our world was made to turn out like today. I also think it is important to learn history because you can have role models. Lots of people have created amazing things from their role models. For example, you can look up to an amazing president, poet, or queen, I also think learning history is important to learn about the world: how some places have not changed a lot, and some places have, such as the United States. I also think learning history is important because you never know what you will do in your life. When you are in Pre-K, you might want to be a Halloween costume designer, 6th grade you will want to work at Game Stop, and you may end up wanting to write a book on ancient Egypt because you love it so much and it turns out to be a bestseller, and you write another, and before you know it you are a millionaire. Over all, I think learning history is very helpful.
I believe that learning history is very important. There are three main points I believe that learning about our history and other people`s history is important, first, I believe we can learn from any of our mistakes that we have made in the past, second, some world history is very important to know, and third, we can help improve our future by learning from the past My first point is that we can learn from many of our mistakes. We can help ourselves by studying our past mistakes and improving or just not making them again. Another one of my points is that some history is so important we really should know it. One example of really important history is the terrorist attack on 9/11, we should all know about what happened that day and really understand the importance of it, another example is the world wars, we should all know about battles and wars we have fought so we do not fight them again. Finally we can improve on much of our future if we can just take time and learn from the past. If we could learn from people of the past and great things that have happened in the past it could really help improve our lives and help us to understand some of our world much better. In the end I really believe that everyone should learn history and get to know what has happened in the past not just about themselves but about others too because we can all benefit from it.
ReplyDeleteI think learning history is very important. I also think there are various reasons that it is important. First, I think it is very important because you read about people in the past and you hear about all of their mistakes and you can learn from them. Second, it opens your eyes and you realize that when you think your really unlucky you can look at the people in struggling times like that the great depression, and how hard it must’ve been back then. Third, it lets you learn about the country your ancestors came from and you can see what their life must’ve been like. You can also learn about your own country and find out more about it and all of your country’s leaders. Also you can learn about other countries and cultures so you can understand them more. Also, when you learn about other people’s culture you can know when their holidays are and their customs so you can fit in to their country if you are visiting. When you learn about history you can see where different things originate. And finally, it is interesting and fascinating to learn about the amazing cultures, defeats, and victories of yours and others countries. I think that learning history is important in your life.
ReplyDeleteAddie Warncke 6F October 30, 2011
ReplyDeleteI think it is, personally. I think it really depends on what’s important in your life at the moment. If some one is just interested in science and technology then they might not think that history is all that important. There is history in pretty much everything, but I’m not sure if you need to know the history in the subject if your going to have the occupation of something like an engineer or an English teacher, ect. The reason it’s important to me right now is because I am very interested in traveling and I think one of the fun things of traveling is learning the history of wherever you want to go. On the other hand learning about Mesopotamia and the Sumerians just doesn’t seem important. I’m not very good with dates or really remembering stuff so history isn’t one of my stronger subjects (making it harder for me) and even though I try to make it fun, It just isn’t. When something isn’t fun for me it makes it very hard to understand why it would be more important than something I love as much as preforming arts, but when I do think about it I guess history is important.
Mary L 6F-11
ReplyDeleteI think that a college education regardless of your major should include history. I believe that the past is the key to the future. History can help you in your career, even if it is not history. An example of this is if you are majoring in architecture or construction, studying ancient buildings and civilization could help you when you are building. Besides that, history is interesting, although others may or may not disagree. I enjoy learning about history and the past and learning how lucky I really am to be living in the U.S. going to a nice school, with a family and other things. On the other hand if your college major has nothing to do with history then I do not think it is not unreasonable to not want to take history. It could be better to take something more related to your major. History is not always as interesting to others and therefore not as enjoyable. Although both sides are arguably right I would have to say learning history is very important (and fun). Therefore I would have to agree with Mrs. Vangrofky and will look forward to taking it in the future, regardless of my major.
In college I will not take history if it has nothing to do with my major and if it doesn’t relate to what I want to have has my job for three reasons.
ReplyDeleteOne is how do we know history is real or made up? All the written records could just be a made up record, something imaginative. What if we’ve been studying fake records? What if the things we’ve picked up from people before us were just from one imaginative person who dreamt up these things then wrote them down? We may have artifacts but how do we know people really used these artifacts. They could be just ideas from maybe the same or another imaginative person again. My big question is, where is real proof?
Secondly, who cares what people did before us? I’m a very curious person but still I couldn’t care less what people did before me. It doesn’t affect what I do today. But I’m glad that someone found those written records, fake or not, because we picked up things from those records. I also think that one or two people should pass the records from their time on once they die to one or two more people and they’ll pass their new and improved records on to the next people and so on, but I don’t think they need to teach them to everyone unless someone wants to have a major in history or a job relating to history.
Third, if I don’t major in history and know I don’t want to have a job in anything related to history then why learn history? Most people learn what they need or want to learn and don’t really care about extra knowledge that will never come in to play during their lives. Also everyone is their own independent person and wants to learn different things and has different interests. Nobody should be pressured in to thinking they have to have things that don’t interest them like history to have a “complete education”. I think depending on a person’s interests everyone can have a different “complete education”.
These are my three reasons why I think it’s not important to learn about history in college if it’s not your major or if it’s not related to the job you want to do.
To me I think that learning history is important. I think that it’s important because some bad things happened in the past and we don’t want to repeat it. For example, the Great Depression was a major bad thing that happened in the past and if President Obama makes a bad move, he’s going to do the same thing Herbert Hoover did and lead us back into the depression. When I’m in college I’m going to take the history classes. Even though it may not be my course requirement, I’m going to take it because I want to have complete education. History is also important because on 911 lots of people died and we don’t want that to happen again so, we’ll get better protection. There’s a saying that says those who forget their history are bound to repeat it and I don’t want to be that one person who forgets their history and repeats it. The past and the present are one in the same whatever we do in the past it’ll affect our future, so we need to do whatever we can to learn about our history so that we won’t repeat it. This is why history is important.
ReplyDeleteDaniel's response:
ReplyDeleteThe value of learning history is in learning about the famous scientists and their handy little gadgets. Personally, I want to be a scientist and so it is important to know what to do and what not to do. For example, the invention of the gunpowder was a mistake. I don’t want that to happen again! History can teach us about ancient scientists and their primitive inventions. It would be fun to try to fix the mistakes that they made. The engineering skills we could receive from ancient scientists would be amazing. For example, a Chinese scientist named Zhang Heng invented a working seismometer in 138 A.D.! Of course, we cant’ forget about the inventions like the light bulb, or the discovery like the penicillin, radiation, planetary motion, etc. Here are some scientists I‘d like to learn about: Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Galileo, and von Braun, to name a few. We have to appreciate the inventions scientists give us. They didn’t just appear out of thin air. People went through a huge struggle to make this possible.
The important thing is that history tells us where we have come from. It educates us by teaching us about the past. So, you should think about this every time you turn on a light bulb, get in your car, or use a web log like this. Think about how much effort was put in!
I think that knowing history is not too important. I think that knowing a little history would be good all the way back to the 1700s and less information to 1000 AD. I think that Christopher Columbus is important. I think Thanksgiving is important also, but we only need to know the important dates of the past. I also think that wars are important so we do not make the same mistakes again. It is important that you know some history facts because you don’t want others to think you are uneducated. If you want to be a scientist, you have to know about history because, if you did not, you could not improve on others ideas. History is also important because you might want to know about your family heritage and who your family was. The reason I don’t think history is important is because the future will be more advanced with technology and the past did not ever have what we have today or what we are going to have in the future. Why would we need to know about chariots and shadoofs if that has already happened? If you never knew about history, and you were not a world leader, then why would you repeat the same mistakes in the past? We don’t make pyramids or castles anymore. So that is why I don’t think history is too important.
ReplyDeleteWOW! Sawyer those are some strong feelings. I can not agree with you. The point of all of history being made up is against what I believe and teach to you on a daily basis. I think that learning about the past helps you define your future.
ReplyDeleteDaniel-I really like how you brought up the fun of fixing the mistakes earlier scientist made.
David and Sam I agree we can learn from past mistakes. History seems to repeat itself and the more knowledgeable the less likely it will happen again.
I really like your point Sam on how it opens people eyes to other points of view and such.
This is some good discussion, lets keep it going...
I think history is important because, without history we don’t know how we got to where we are now. If we always dismissed history we are dismissing our own family history as well as world history. History is present in all subjects that interest us. My first example is “FaceBook” everybody is interested in how FaceBook came about, well isn’t that wanting to know the history? Twitter, Skype and many others we always want to know how did it get started? When police are investigating a crime they always ask about the history of all parties involved. History is important to us no matter what we are talking about or what interests us. When your mom or dad is sitting at your table with other family members and they are talking about the good old days that’s history. When we talk about what happened in kindergarten or lower grades we are talking about our personal history! So I guess I can say that I think history is very important for everybody to know. Even when we don’t realize it we are always talking about history. So in my opinion history is taught to everyone by parents, uncles, grandparents, aunts and teachers, not just to school aged kids!
ReplyDeleteThere are many different reasons social studies is important. One reason is you can have conversations with others about the past. When you are older you are expected know about history. You can learn about history based on what you have already learned. Another reason is so you can understand why things happen the way it happens. Like Super Goober Day happens because when we were a military school the soldiers were called, “super goobers.” Another reason why social studies is important is because of holidays. Like why do we have passover? The answer is when the jews left Egypt and were free from slavery. Another reason is the culture. Like why the Star of David is the Jewish symbol. Another reason is you don’t know what your job is going to be so if you would have a job and you need to know social studies. Like if you were going to be an engineer but you don’t make it and you could have been a teacher that needs a full education. Then you might not have a job and become poor. Another and final reason is you can be interested in it and have a fun time learning about it.
ReplyDeleteHistory is it or is it not important in our lives? I believe history is important in our lives because it can teach us so many great and interesting things about our family members or someone really important in the life of history. History is not something that you learn about, it is something that we might teach or talk about later on in life. I think that history is something that is important regardless what we might be when we’re grown up. History is something that is important because it can tell when something important happened. Like what if there were no history books to tell us who the presidents where. We would not know how famous people died, or how ancient things back then were discovered. History is important to our lives because it can tell how people in the past survived. It is also important because it can show how people back then made things that are still used in the present. It present mistakes back then that we can look at and hopefully not make the same mistake again. It’s important to see who invented stuff like Albert Einstein. In conclusion I think history is important in our lives.
ReplyDeleteTashfia R. 6F
ReplyDeleteLearning history is very important for people to learn. We need to know about our past for many different reasons. One reason is because it answers many important questions that we need to know in order to succeed in life. Another reason is that it tells us what the world was like a long time ago and how the people were like and the cultures they had. History shows us how this world came to be. It also teaches us how and when cities, states, countries, and continents were developed. It tells us who made what inventions and how they made them. We can look upon the mistakes from the people that once walked earth a long time ago and make sure that they don’t happen again. It can maybe predict stuff that will happen in the future. History also shows patterns that may happen again in the future so we need to be prepared. It’s great for people who have an interest in politics because they need to know everything they can so they can run the country as best as possible. If some people say that history is not important then they’re saying that everything happening right now isn’t important because it will be history in the future.
I think that history is very important. It is very helpful to know what happened in the past in order to know why things are happening in the present. Another reason why I think history is important is because if we didn’t know anything about history we wouldn’t have any knowledge. Also the archeologists wouldn’t know about time, Ancient Egypt, food, art, people and war, civilizations, written records, sphinx. Since we know about history we know how to talk, write, cook, and get info and so on. Also since the archeologist knows about history we have so much knowledge and information, which helps us with our studies. Also history helps you in the future such as your career or work even if it’s not about history. It is gets annoying is someone keeps saying mistakes about history in the past. I think we should know were we come from also. Even though some people might be like “history is boring I don’t get it” they have to learn they should go to Mrs.Vangrofsky and be like “Mrs.Vangrofsky can you help me I need it badly.” I’m sure she will help to. History is fun to! It is fun when we can play games to find out the answers and win candy and learn more about history. I also think history is really educational for teachers and us. Even when we get older we can learn new facts and things! Those are the reasons why I think History is awesome and important
ReplyDeleteMany people think that it is no use learning about something so long ago but I don’t agree.
ReplyDeleteHistory can be fun especially if it is about something you like. For me, I like playing soccer and I read a lot about soccer from the past. I also read about how players became good at their game. When I learn about soccer from the past, it makes me play better. I can learn strategies, cool tricks and other good things to know in soccer. I also think that learning history is important because if we did not know the good and the bad that people did in the past, we may make mistakes that they did and not learn from the good. Especially the big things like wars, fires, floods and hurricanes. History helps us improve how we do things today. Learning history can just be fun. We should not learn history because we have to, but because we want to know more about people of other countries, their culture, and their lives.
In conclusion, history is important because it makes our lives more interesting, we can learn from other people, and not make the mistakes they made but learn the good they did.
I think learning history is very very important in life. I say that because it would be really hard without knowing a lot of things about history. You wouldn't know what people in history did to make it how it is now. Imagine if you don't know anything about who invented what of what historical event happened. For example, a lot of people ask you these questions of history and you don't know! Knowing history is really important! From history you can know what things you can change! Without history no one might know what to do. History is really important in life because there really wouldn't be things we have now!
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I think history is a waste of time. I am a very curious person but I don’t think it’s important. I think if maybe you want to be the president you should learn history so you don’t make big mistakes like we did in the past years. I want to be a veterinarian when I’m older because I love animals and why would I need to know history for that or a doctor for instance, why would they need to know who the Paleolithic and Neolithic people are. It’s not like their going to think about the Homo habilis people while there doing surgery on someone’s foot. The president for instance, it’s not like their going to use the ways of the Homo sapiens while vetoing a law. I am grateful for the people back then because with out them we wouldn’t have clothing or religion or maybe we wouldn’t even be here without them, but we shouldn’t have to learn about them. But we defiantly shouldn’t take all the stuff we have now for granted because it wasn’t always here. Like clothing, we didn’t just find some beautiful mauve silk shirt lying on the ground when we first were here. But still we shouldn’t have to learn about them because in my opinion history is a total waste of time. I know some people think differently than me and think history is just so important but you know what, that’s their own opinion and this mine.
ReplyDeleteI think history is very personal to what you major in. If I were an archaeologist then I would pay attention to history. If I were a doctor or lawyer I would not pay much attention to history. Yes history is very important so when I get to college I will take one or two courses of history just to learn a little bit more than what I know. The reason why I think history is important is because we learn about the past and we can use some historical things to help in the modern day. We could learn that Hitler was a very bad and mean person and we don’t want something else like that to happen. We could learn that slavery was extremely bad thing that people wanted back in the 1800’s. We could use the sources of the Egyptian’s. How they were great navigators and doctors. So I think that history is very very important. So in history you learn from mistakes and not to do that again and you also learn the good things and to keep doing that. So Mrs. Vangrofsky I agree with you history is very important and that and that you need to learn about it through school.
ReplyDeleteWhy Learning History is Important
ReplyDeleteHistory is important because, as is often said, if you do not learn history you are doomed to repeat it. An example of this saying is the Great Depression and the economic struggles we are having right now. The circumstances are somewhat the same. In the Great Depression the banks put us in a bad situation, like they are now. After the Great Depression, regulations were passed to tame the banks. Then in the nineties, the banks claimed they were trustworthy, and got the regulations removed. Then history repeated itself and the banks started to fail again.
Another reason learning history is important is so that we can learn about the sacrifices our ancestors made for us. The settlers who came to America sacrificed many lives to win us our independence. Also, learning about the contributions of the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians help us understand what it would be like without medicine, the wheel, or mathematics. It is very important to know where we originated from so we can understand where we came from.
Three of many reasons that learning history is important, are that if you do not learn history you are doomed to repeat it, to learn about the sacrifices our ancestors made for us, and to know where you came from. Another reason learning history is important is because history is very interesting and exciting, especially the war sections.
I think history i important because you should know what happened in the past. Knowing history will increase your knowledge and help you throughout your life. I personally think that history is interesting. Topics such as wars and myths fascinate me. Myths may not be real but who said they are not. History could relate to your conflicts in life so if they do relate you also have a way to fix this. A lot of people say why do you want to know what happened in the past when you should be focusing on your future. Well the reason to know the past is because you should have as much knowledge as you can. Increasing your knowledge will increase your IQ and will help you, believe it or not, in all of your other subjects. Suppose in reading you read a story in Reading about Cleopatra and you've covered this subject already this makes your quiz, daily grade, or test a LOT easier than it would to have not known about Cleopatra. Another example could be in science. You might have to learn about Madame Marie Curie and her contributions to science. So suppose you’ve already covered this subject in Social Studies. Then it will be an EASY A+ for you. That is why history is important.
ReplyDeleteTaylor b. 6-v
ReplyDeleteI think history is very important in several different ways. For instance, one is it tells us about special moments that has happened in the past, and how we can create or start some more history. Such as in 2008 our president Barack Obama made history by becoming the first black American president. Soon who knows if a girl attending Woodward will become the first women president of the United States? Another reason I love history is that you can find out where are life style came from. The Sumerian started a number system based on 60 that started 60 min= 1 hour and 60sec= 1 min. Those are some of the reason I love history, but I have many more.
I think the importance of history is NOT to repeat the mistakes that have been made in the past. One example was the Holocaust in the late 1930s to the early 1940s, when Hitler killed 6,000,000 Jews and about 11,000,000 people in all. We don’t want anybody to make the mistake that Hitler made by killing millions of people for no good reason. Some things we can look back on in a good way is all of the technological inventions that have been provided like Macs, phones like the iPhone, all of those ideas were thought on by one man, Steve Jobs. We’ve also made great discoveries like putting men on the moon to explore, discovering space, and sending satellites up in space like Sputnik. Another great discovery is when Columbus discovered the “New World”. Another important thing in history could also be about MY family history. It is important to know where you came from (or your heritage), your families medical history (example: if cancer runs in your family), and knowing if you are related to someone important in our past history. And finally, just knowing a lot of history will make you more interesting, and you will appear as a smarter individual to other people.
ReplyDeleteI think learning history is important and it is not important. Sometimes, we make mistakes and sometimes we don’t know that we might have repeated history. Learning history may help us not to repeat it. Like trying to rule an empire but with a bad budget [ROMANS] or something like that. We never know. Some adults probably don’t know about history just because they thought that they didn’t need it in the future. Like maybe they went to Woodward and they didn’t care about Mesopotamia or something that has to do with just reading and taking a daily grade on it. You never know. History also has some down drops to it. Like learning about other countries that have different cultures. We might not care about what the Egyptians did like embalming a dead person or religious beliefs about the afterlife. That might not matter. Like before you go to college, you are troubling with these history tests and you are thinking at your desk, “Why do I have to learn this, it has nothing to do with chemistry or honors. It’s just learning about the past.” The past could be important. Remember, it is still part of our grade, so either way; we are going to learn about it. And I think that it is great that our school is getting us ready for those trembling test that we are going to have in the future. THE END
ReplyDeleteI think that learning history is very important in life for many reasons. It is a common saying that one person should forget the past and focus on the future, however studying history is very helpful to anyone who takes the time to do so. By looking at mistakes made in the past, we should move forward to the future and not make the same mistakes. History can be used as a building block for the future progress. Discoveries today help us with new inventions tomorrow. I also think that people should learn about their past and their family heritage. History can give is value to things all around us. If history was forgotten, one may go look at a giant hole in the ground and think how boring it is. But to know history, they would know what happened to the twin towers and all the many people that died that day. We have made changes by looking at history to not make the same mistakes. History can also improve our modern day inventions so tragedies, like the sinking of the Titanic, don’t happen again. It is obvious that the more we know about the past we will be better prepared for our future.
ReplyDeleteI think History is important. It's Important because you should know about your past. You might need to know if you become an archaeologist because if you discover something new you need to know about it. You could major in history in college. Our ancestors did some great things in the past, wouldn't be cool if one of our relatives was an important person, you wouldn't know that if you didn't do history. It doesn't really matter what career you pick because when you get older you can know more than others and others will respect you because of how smart you are. Plus it's cool to know things that other people don't because when they have a question you might have an answer.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think I will take history even if it is not my major in college for 3 reasons. My 1st reason for taking history is to learn about the mistakes that happened in the past and for the world to study those mistakes and make sure that they don’t repeat them. For example, the mistake in the tsunami in Japan is that lots of people died because the built their houses right up on the water. And now scientists will know and hopefully tell everybody not to build their houses right up on the water. My 2nd reason for taking history in college is because history is interesting and important in our lives. Like at my house I tape all these shows about Hitler and the Nazis because I think that it is interesting and important in my life to know about that kind of stuff. Finally, my 3rd reason is so people can look back on history and make things better. Like in baseball, a coach or a manager might look back on one of their players’ statistics and try to make his team better by training them in their weak spots so he can have a good team. I think learning history is very important.
ReplyDeleteI think that history is very important because it is very interesting to know how, when, and why things happen, so when people make a mistake in the past we will know not to do it because we learned what would happen if people did that mistake. For me I want to be a lacrosse expert and by doing that I can look at clips about other lacrosse players mistakes and I’ll know how I can better myself by not doing other lacrosse players mistake. When I practice any type of lacrosse subject I always look back and see what I am lacking in before I do anything else. So when I have a problem I look back through my history to figure out.
ReplyDeleteHistory can also give you a good education and a visual about what happened in the past and what people did and why they did it. The entire thing that happened in the past reflects on the present the things people do will always have an effect in the future. When I learn about history I get really bored, but when I get a historic fact that was out of the ordinary it gets interesting. What gets me pumping to learn about history is what college I want to go to and the college I want to go to is Harvard University. I know that kids that have to have straight A’s I might be lacking In some subjects so I try to learn from my past that lets be do better in school. These are the reason why people should learn about history.
Nanda M. 6V
ReplyDeleteWhen I’m in college, I am going to take history classes because I think that history is very important. First of all, it is important to know what happened in history like the wars, the inventions, and the struggle to keep our civilization together! We need to know about the different inventions and speeches people have done and how much effort was put in to it. What if we didn’t have those inventions today? We are lucky we do. So, I think that we should give credit to those who helped our civilization by learning about it and knowing it was them who created it.
Second of all, we don’t want to repeat the things that have happened. Someone could possibly start another era or war on something that has already happened. Also, history is interesting. Other people may not agree, but it is interesting to learn about different contributions, wars, and inventions people have started and done. It is good to know how Ancient Egyptian civilization started and the different pharaohs and rulers of Egypt. If we didn’t know that, then what would explain the mummies and artifacts people have found. I agree that Mrs. Vangrofsky is right about history.
History affects how we live, survive, and tells stories of the past. Without history we would not have the technology of the wheel. Ancient cultures passed down technology from generation to generation which lead into transportation which we have this present day.
ReplyDeleteHistory has given us records of the past. History gave us data of the civil war. In the civil war the United States of America was divided in the North and south. The history about the civil war gave us valuable and tragic information. We figured out that the war was one of the most bloodiest and tiresome wars. This is were history shows us how some people were treated unfairly.
History can tell who you are, were you were born, and how much struggle and victories your family has been through in the past. This can tell you how far you've gotten in life than your ancestors. My grandmother went through a lot of struggles. She told me when she picked cotton as a child. During her life time she was treated unfairly because of the color of her skin. History allows me to relive on what my grandmother went through.
History allows us to look at the past and helps us mold the present and future.
I believe learning history is important because it shows the many differences from now and way back during Ancient Egyptian times. It greatly shows how we as humans have evolutionized from writing hieroglyphics to modern-day English. History basically gives us that feeling what if we were stuck in events like The Great Depression, having to deal with the rations that were set on the American people during World War 2, and the fear of a nuclear war breaking out during The Cold War. Suppose we didn't get the shot to learn history, how would we be able to have the chance how mistakes and successes by people from the past would end up affecting us right now? For example, without history how would we know the effect of Albert Einstein’s equation E= mc^2 on the field of physics or Alexander Fleming inventing penicillin which has helped save many lives. George Santayana said it the best with his quote, "Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it," which is very true because if we didn't learn history and someone comes up with an idea/hypothesis that had been proved to be a fail in the past and is tried in the present, it will have a great effect on the present. I think the past will never die, in fact since it teaches us so much it shouldn't even be considered as the past.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I think that the reasons to study history can be summarized through five major ideas:
1. It is important to study history to gain an understanding of the past generations of humankind. Students can understand the mentality and values of people during other times.
2. History also allows students to time travel to compare the problems that occur now to the occurrences of the past. If there is a similar problem, people can look at precedents to figure out how to solve the current issue.
3.One should study history to become a valued citizen. To be a good citizen, one must learn how to gain morals and help their peers which was done by many leaders.
4. History helps students learn how nations came to their current condition. One can learn why a nation is not doing well by checking if they had a rough past.
5. People must know history to build on top of it and make new discoveries. History provides people with a starting point to keep on moving forward.
There are many options for jobs in the distant future that would require a knowledge of history , but if I want to take a history class or not in college might be hard to decide. If I am failing in other subjects that might be a reason to put history temporarily to the side. If I am succeeding in all subjects and excelling or even slowing down in history, I want to think of taking more of it. If it comes to the time to choose my classes in college and I am doing well I will probably choose it for my college education. If it is not my major and I am doing well in it I will probably take it. If it is not my major and I am failing in it I will probably not take the class. If I enjoy history, that would be another reason to take it. It would probably be a good idea to take history as well as chemistry, algebra, English, and reading. If you do not choose it and are just being lazy and selfish you could be making a drastic change to your job, house, family, and life experience. In all I am about 90% probably sure I will take history when I go to college.
ReplyDeleteSam E. 6-F
When I am in college I will not take history. The first reason I won't take history is because that type of knowledge does not interest me at all. I don't really care about what "embalming" means or who the "Phoenicians" were, etc. Why do we need to know that the Egyptians were the contributors to medicine, the calendar, and the number system based off of ten, we have them, I do not care where they came from. The second reason I will not take history is that it has nothing to do with what I think I am going to do when I get older. (I think I want to be some type of therapist, and I do not see how history will help me in that profession). I would much rather take classes that have to with my job, and cover topics that I enjoy learning about. My last reason for not wanting to take history in college is most of the events that happened back then will most likely never happen again, because we have developed new technology, safer advancements and many others. So what is the point of learning about it? (No offence, Mrs.Vangrofsky, that’s just my opinion)!
ReplyDeleteHistory is a valuabe learning tool, it helps us to remember the past so we can correct the future. For example, when Adolf Hitler took control of Germany and led them into a bloody world war, supposedly helping the world by ridding it of his personal grievances, all that it led to was an era of poverty and poorness for the german people, not to mention all of the lives lost in the war. We have learned from that experience, and nothing that bad has ever happened on such a large scale since. Another reason learning history is important is if we didn't learn it and pass it on and document it, everything would fall into the shadow of the past. Imagine in the future, in a world without history,something as big as the Civil War seeming like the times of the cro-magnons do today. If we didn't learn history, nothing would ever stay. Also, what would replace history in our everyday school work, would we have more math? How about more English, how does that sound? We might even have to shorten the school day, that sounds like a miniscule change, but imagine, suddenly having no social studies. Our fair Mrs. Vangrofsky would be out of a job! Our country is already in an unemployment increase, what if every social studies teacher was suddenly layed off, and sent to the unemployment line. Think about it. This is why history is important.
ReplyDeleteTanvi R. 6F
ReplyDeleteYes, when I grow up I will take college level history classes although I don’t I will major in them though. You see, to me I think that taking college level history classes are important because you can learn from the mistakes they made, what correct choices they made, and how to improve them to let them reach up to our standards if needed. When I grow up, what if there’s an awkward silence? Then I could bring up an smart topic and start a conversation going? Also, what if when I am in my college interview and I want to impress the college administrator over there? Then I could say something smart like, “Do you think Thomas Jefferson would have been a better choice for being the commander of the Continental Army ?’’ Also, I do agree with you Mrs. Vangrofsky when you say that those who don’t major in college level history classes would be missing out on what you call a “complete education.” They won’t be able to understand the conversation at the dinner table if the topic is something about history. Furthermore, what if they direct the conversation to you? Then you would probably be dumbfounded and answer, “ I don’t know. I never did major in history in college.”
Sam- I get the feeling you would only take history in college if it helped you with your grades. The question was focused on why history would be something to learn not how to boost your GPA.
ReplyDeletePrasanth- WOW! what an awesome quote from George Santayana: "Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it." I whole heartily agree.
Jordan- Thank you for sharing such a personal piece from your family's history. It's important to know where you come from and help you make your goals of where you want to go.
Austin- I like how you tied your example in with Japan and how we can learn from it.
Evan- I really like how you made learning history personal and made connections with Heritage and family history. You were thinking along the lines of Jordan. You know there's a saying "great mind think alike"
Miranda- I believe that understand where we came from and sacrifices made help us be better people and more understanding of different cultures. The saying goes that "you have to walk in ones shoes to understand them" I feel that history gets us closer to walking in ones shoes and understanding all the pieces that go into the piece of the story.
Sara- Thank you. I hope learning history is fun and valuable to you.
Graysen and Katie- you are in the minority here with Sawyer. I hope that you find meaning in your history classes in the future.