Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Why is history class so boring?


An excerpt from Stephen Mansfield's More Than Dates & Dead People. He's explaining why history as taught in the classroom is so hated and monotonous, yet people like history (as shown by their interest in historical fiction, historical films, history channel, historical landmarks, etc.).



"...When you study history in a typical school today, the books you read, the lectures you hear, and the conclusions you're supposed to make are all conditioned by a certain philosophy. The people who write those books and plan your studies design what you are supposed to learn according to a certain set of principles, a certain view of the world. And that view is rooted in the philosophy of evolution...
Let's think about it. What does evolution teach? Evolution is the idea that life happened accidentally. Supposedly, the accidental mixing of some biological goo billions of years ago gave birth to the first living cell. In time, that cell grew into a critter. I won't bore you with technical language. Then, there were suddenly lots and lots of critters. In time, those critters eventually grew into man-like critters - namely, monkeys and apes - and eventually into cappuccino drinking, cell phone-toting, city-dwellers.
Ah, but lets think about what this means to our experience in the House of Historical Horrors. In other words, what does believing in evolution mean for the study of history?
First, according to evolutionary theory, all of life is an accident. There is no design or purpose. Everything just is - with no meaning, no pattern, no destination. Everything is random.
Secondly, notice that according to evolution, everything is growing from the very simple to increasingly complex - from the outdated to the new and improved. This means that what is old is not as good as what is new. Old is simple and goofy, while new is shiny and sophisticated. This means that the past is less important than today, and today will be less important than tomorrow.
Well, no wonder history class is so boring! If evolution provides the philosophy we use to understand the past (and it does, because evolution is the official public school explanation for what exists), then it only makes sense that history is going to seem like a silly thing to learn."

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