RU
History is one of my favourite subjects of interest. I found it so interesting that, when I was in school myself, I didn’t even see my homework as homework. I now hope this is the same feeling my students have inherited from me and I want to explain to you why it’s important for us to learn about the subject and hopefully you too will start to find as much love in it as I.
Building an Understanding of the World
I’m sure I’m not the only one that’s asked the question; why are there so many small European countries? How were we able to get from riding horses to landing on the moon in less than 100 years? Why do stiletto heels exist? (if you want the answer to any of these and don’t trust the AI generated answers from Google, then come find me!)
Whatever situation we find ourselves in, reading this very article on the internet for example, it has been shaped by historical events, movements or even singular individuals, to deliver us to our current, modern outcomes. Studying history, allows us to have a much greater understanding of why the world is the way it is.
Understanding where we come from
For those below the age 30, it’s often strange and at times (for those students in primary) downright bewildering that many of the items we enjoy in our current, modern lives (as in the right here and now) did not exist 10 years ago. How did we possibly live without these modern comforts? If that was what it was like ten years ago, how on earth did your father live when he was ten? How would your grandfather have lived? Learning history gives you fascinating and well developed answer that allows us to see how technology and the world has progressed and how, in turn, human lives have changed so dramatically over time.
History is Ever Changing
Although history is in the past, that doesn’t mean it is a subject that never changes. Famously, the discovery of the Rosetta Stone and the subsequent unlocking of Egyptian hieroglyphs led to a completely new understanding and appreciation of the sophistication of Ancient Egypt. New discoveries lead always help us lead to new understanding, like how Gobekli Tepe in Turkey shows humans living in organised cities as early as 12,000 years ago, much earlier than previously thought. Even now, news about potential lost cities deep in the Amazon rainforest may uncover a whole new set of history, previously unknown or lost to us – Machu Pichcu was, for example, considered as much as myth as a real place until Hiram Bingham rediscovered it in 1911.
Cultural Awareness
History, being a topic based entirely around humanity, also means there are different perspectives. This tends to mean that history is quite complex and nuanced and almost always, we cannot make generalisations. One of my favourite examples, is how the Roman Empire claimed to be civilised and superior to the barbarians of the north and, yet, the Romans learned technologies of soap, the plough and trousers from these same groups of barbarians. I think this perfectly encapsulates how history can rarely be seen as black and white. As in this case, both the Romans and Celts can claim the other side to be barbarians with a fairly reasonable cause.
Time to Play
One active game I like playing is Artefact Guesser. This game gives you pictures of artefacts which you have to guess both its date and country of origin, with you scoring points if you get reasonably close. Follow this link if you want to try for yourself: https://artifactguesser.com
Sean Powell, Year 4 Teacher and Student Council
