[Ansteorra] World History In High School

[HerrDetlef]

Dates facilitate the organization of facts.  They're useful.  They're
helpful.

But there's much more to history than just dates.  It's good to know what
happened and when it happened, but without knowing WHY it happened or HOW it
happened, the teaching of history seems to lose a lot of its importance.

Here's an example: sometimes I wonder if all the people who want to build a
wall along the US-Mexico border have ever heard of the Berlin Wall.  The
Wall didn't stop people from leaving East Germany for West Germany.  It
slowed them down significantly, to be sure, but it didn't stop them.  Making
that crossing demanded more creativity, but the Wall certainly did not stop
people from WANTING to leave the East for the West; if anything, the Wall
made the Ossis want to leave even more than before it was built.  The Wall
was much shorter than the US-Mexico border, and thus easier to monitor, and
STILL people managed to get over.  How is a wall across the US-Mexico border
going to put a complete stop to illegal immigration, and how is a wall going
to put an end to people WANTING to immigrate into the US illegally?  (This
is not my final answer, by the way.  There will continue to be discussion,
but I'd like to see "walls in history" included in that discussion.)

Notice that I didn't mention 1961 or 1989 at all (until now).  The dates
themselves might make the facts more manageable, but the lessons are not
always in the dates.  History was most enjoyable to me, and I actually
learned more of it, when the focus was less on the dates (which we still
learned) and more on the how's and why's of historical events.

Where were we?  We were talking about dates, not walls...

P&B,
DT+LF


On 7/19/08, Jay Rudin <rudin at ev1.net> wrote:
>
> Lady Katrina wrote:
>
> Yep ... I remember having to take Texas History, World History, and World
>> Geography ... not only in elem but in high school.  Does any one remember
>> the school holiday we used to get for San Jacinto day anymore?
>>
>
> Of course.  San Jacinto Day is April 21.  Alamo Day is March 6.  Juneteenth
> is June 19.  The Texas-OU football game is the third weekend of the State
> Fair.  All are days to fly your Texas flag.
>
> By the way, kids memorize dates, not because it's the most important aspect
> of an event, but because it's the easiest to learn, and it *is* important.
> It's just not enough by itself.  Suggesting that they don't need to learn
> the dates is like suggesting they don't need to learn the multiplication
> table "because they can just use a calculator".  In both cases, what we're
> talking about is basic knowledge that will be used later to develop critical
> thinking and a more complete understanding of the world.
>
> Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin
>
> Texas, our Texas, all hail the mighty state.
> Texas, our Texas, so wonderful and great.
> Boldest and grandest, withststanding every test,
> O, empire wide and glorious, you stand supremely blessed,
> God bless you, Texas, and keep you brave and strong,
> That you may grow in power and worth throughout the ages long.
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>



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