Should History Be Taught to Children?

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:24pm

Are they able to comprehend such horrible events?

And if not, why not?

Discuss.

[Kringas]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:28pm

What history? What children?

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:41pm

^ You tell 'em!

America's right and everyone else is WRONG WRONG WRONG!

There's only ONE way -- the AMERICAN way!!!

"God bless America...land that I love...."

Aw, darn it. Now I'm tearing up.

[Pinguin]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:41pm

well, I mean, children cannot COMPREHEND horrible events, but that doesn't mean we can't teach them.

I mean, heck, when you're little you learn the bubble gum versions of history about the Native Americans and, like, the Ancient Egyptians or whatever else. They wait till later to actually teach the Holocaust and World War II. But at least they try to infuse a little appreciation for culture in you from a young age.

[AC126748]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:45pm

NO! History is useless, boring and stupid.

And let's get rid of that reading business, too. What a waste of time!

[MotorTink]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:50pm

Definitely no need to teach spelling or punctuation anymore. Look what it's done to the people on this board who had been taught! Waster of time!!! =)

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:51pm

It wasn't mentioned in the 3 R's: readin', ritin', and rithmetic

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:52pm

Let's ditch math while we're at it too.

Who needs to know multiplication tables, we've got calculators on our cell phones.

[AC126748]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:53pm

And screw science.

Creationism GOOD! Evolution BAD!

[Pinguin]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:54pm

hell, half of math class in high school was "learn how to use your TI-83 class" anyway.

[Kringas]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:55pm

Cruel, do you actually start these threads to foster discussion, or is it just some sort of compulsion? Why not actually start by giving your opinion on the questions you raise instead of just posting a question and saying "Discuss"?

[deadparrot]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:55pm

As a history major, I say absolutely.

History is so much more than the study of past events. It teaches critical thinking skills, sociology, philosophy, psychology, and many other areas. It encourages intelligent discourse and the notion that there is always more than one side to a story, which I think is a plus at any age.

Yes, events such as the Holocaust, slavery, and other human rights abuses will be difficult for smaller children to understand, so the teaching of such events should be adjusted accordingly for different ages. Even then, it may disturb some kids; however, the idea that kids will grow up without knowledge of why the world is how it is and without learning some of the key themes that appear throughout history is infinitely more scary to me.
Updated On: 1/4/07 at 05:55 PM

[Pinguin]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:57pm

like Kringas, Cruel, I wonder if this thread was sparked by something specific...?

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:58pm

Did I miss something ?

I thought all this time it was. I think we would all get a laugh at what todays history books look like. Most kids in school probabaly think Lincoln is a luxury car

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 6:00pm

Like anything else regarding children, history can be taught in broad strokes at a young age and then more clearly defined as they mature so they can understand the importance of the events and how they helped shape the world. To deliberately not teach history is like brainwashing society to ignore the past. What is the point of that other than to gain power and control in a fascist manner? It's like a Southern Baptist Bible class.

[zepka102]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 6:01pm

being a social studies teacher, i try stressing that we need to learn from the past, and that's why it's important to know it. i expect my students to make connections as we go along and in the end, try to get feedback on what they think of the topics.


you know, if they can comprehend...

[Pinguin]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 6:02pm

Mister Matt: yes, though of course "history" can be taught to facilitate fascism as well.

just to qualify your comment :0)

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 6:16pm

Not if it means replacing Musical Theatre 101.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 7:25pm

Not if it means replacing Musical Theatre 101.

Speaking of which, my freshman year of high school, my school offered a theatre class which I took.

Since I live in a hick town, 90% of the kids in that class were just placed in that class and had no interest in theatre.

[lovelyspotlight]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 8:03pm

I think that history should most definitely be taught. As has been said, children can be taught the gist of events that happened in the past, then - in higher level schooling - be taught the often more complicated WHY and HOW.

Also, history has a tendency to repeat itself. I'm not saying that elementary school children can necessarily learn from historical mistakes and avoid such blunders in their lives. But I do think that it's good to have the background information for better understanding in the future. (I think I may have just restated the first paragraph...)

Anyway, a society in which history is not taught to children...what does that foster? A largely objective schooling system, I suppose. Objectivity and subjectivity should work together, though, in creating an individual. Without history, what do students have to debate? They wouldn't be able to cite historical events in their debates. They'd have to go upon an idea pulled out of thin air. Or upon what they've learned in independent study.

I think I'm going too far into this. I think you probably just meant "children" as in five-year-olds...

=/

[wexy]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 9:09pm

All learning is history.

[lovelyspotlight]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 9:13pm

That's a good point...

[kelzama]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 9:20pm

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.-- George Santayana The Life of Reason, Volume 1, 1905

[singingwendy]

Posted: 1/4/07 at 11:42pm

Absolutely.....


I was working on some spirituals and freedom songs with my second graders today in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which is coming up soon. It thrills me to see that they are appalled at the idea of segregation. They need to know that this was once an accepted fact in their country and to discuss why this was so wrong. Even in 2nd grade they can know that a law that doesn't allow them to be in class with their friends is wrong.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/5/07 at 12:08am

Oh no, of course don't teach them history. Why bother? We're turning out the dumbest kids in the world as it is, might as well eliminate some of those pesky subjects which require reading and absorbing some knowledge.