Should History Be Taught to Children?
Should History Be Taught to Children?
Cruel_Sandwich
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/30/05
#1Should History Be Taught to Children?
Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:24pm
Are they able to comprehend such horrible events?
And if not, why not?
Discuss.
Kringas
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/27/05
#2re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:28pmWhat history? What children?
"How do you like THAT 'misanthropic panache,' Mr. Goldstone?" - PalJoey
#3re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
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.
#4re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
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.
-Anyone want to turn anarchist with me?"Bless you and all who know you, oh wise and penguined one." ~YouWantItWhen????
#5re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
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!
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#6re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:50pmDefinitely 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!!! =)
BroadwayBoobs: I'll give all of you who weren't there a hint of who took the pictures ...it rhymes with shameless
SOMMS: I knew it was Tink!
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#7re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:51pmIt wasn't mentioned in the 3 R's: readin', ritin', and rithmetic
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
colleen_lee
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/16/05
#8re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
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.
"You just can't win. Ever. Look at the bright side, at least you are not stuck in First Wives Club: The Musical. That would really suck. "
--Sueleen Gay
#9re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:53pm
And screw science.
Creationism GOOD! Evolution BAD!
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#10re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:54pmhell, half of math class in high school was "learn how to use your TI-83 class" anyway.
-Anyone want to turn anarchist with me?"Bless you and all who know you, oh wise and penguined one." ~YouWantItWhen????
Kringas
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/27/05
#11re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
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"?
"How do you like THAT 'misanthropic panache,' Mr. Goldstone?" - PalJoey
deadparrot
Featured Actor Joined: 1/2/07
#12re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
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
#13re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
Posted: 1/4/07 at 5:57pmlike Kringas, Cruel, I wonder if this thread was sparked by something specific...?
-Anyone want to turn anarchist with me?"Bless you and all who know you, oh wise and penguined one." ~YouWantItWhen????
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#14re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
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
Poster Emeritus
#15re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
Posted: 1/4/07 at 6:00pmLike 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.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#16re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
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...
::bust a move::
#17re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
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)
-Anyone want to turn anarchist with me?"Bless you and all who know you, oh wise and penguined one." ~YouWantItWhen????
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#18re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
Posted: 1/4/07 at 6:16pmNot if it means replacing Musical Theatre 101.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#19re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
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.
#20re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
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
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/19/05
#21re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
Posted: 1/4/07 at 9:09pmAll learning is history.
'Take me out tonight where's there's music and there's people and they're young and alive.'
kelzama
Broadway Star Joined: 9/14/04
#23re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
Posted: 1/4/07 at 9:20pmThose who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.-- George Santayana The Life of Reason, Volume 1, 1905
#24re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
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.
#25re: Should History Be Taught to Children?
Posted: 1/5/07 at 12:08amOh 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.
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES
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