Why do so many high school and college students hate history?

Question

History meaning history classes.

Answer 1

Three reasons:

1) Many History Teachers make it about dates and not about people and events. It is so much more important to know about the Man Columbus then to know he first got here in 1492

2) We do nothing in schools to tie History to other topics. For example would not the History of the Industrial Revolution in England and reading Dickens be so much more interesting if students were told that Dickens wrote in that time period and that he was writing as a reaction to his own Father's life as a debtor in debtors prison?

3) We teach Myths not facts. We all think that Paul Revere warned that "The British were coming" Why the heck would he say that. He thought of himself as British and The British army was already here. So instead of teaching the Facts we teach myths. How many students think Lincoln Freed the slaves? Lincoln never freed a salve. The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in states in rebellion in other words areas that Lincoln had no legal authority over. If we cut out the myths History would be more interesting

Answer 2

I have two degrees in history so I could probably help with this one. One answer comes to mind immediately. The teachers/professors do not know how to present the topic. Thankfully I had a wonderful Honors U.S. History teacher in high school (she is a nun) and instilled in me the importance of learning history.
I was fortunate to be taught that history is not about dates or memorizing when an event happened but about the political, economic, religious and social ramifications of events in history. When you have to break things down like that the wars and battles and presidents and speeches take on an entirely different meaning.
I had several great college professors as well. It truly boils down to how the information is relayed to the students. If it is presented in a boring way then the students will find it boring...sounds elementary but it is very true.

Answer 3

Because they are too young to understand why it is important. Also, trying to learn history out of a book is a real drag. In high school, my history teachers were coaches. They tought the bare minimum. They were there to coach and not teach. And they made learning it very dry and boring. The best way to learn history is to experience it. For instance, if you want to learn the history of a building, walk through that building and discover the history inside. Although that's not always possible, learning history should be fun.

Answer 4

Totally depends on the college, the class, and the professor. I was never in a class where we went around the room and each read a paragraph from the text like we sometimes did in high school. You might have to give a presentation, but you probably won't have to do this in most of your classes unless you major in something like Communications. On the first day of class, your professor will probably hand out a syllabus that lists the course requirements. If you have to make a presentation, it should be on the syllabus. Most schools have a drop/add period so if you REALLY don't want to take a class with that type of requirement, you can drop the class and add a new one that doesn't have that type of requirement. Good luck!

Answer 5

Some don't like the various facts that need to be remembered for tests. Some don't like all of the reading. Some think it's boring and do not appreciate the necessity of knowing about the past and how the future is usually nothing new, but a repeat of past things.

It's sad that people don't appreciate history because many lies are taught and people don't bother to look into history to find truth. As it is said time and time again, if you don't know you're history, you're bound to repeat it. So one could argue, those who don't care about history, don't care about the future, though that is a stretch.

Answer 6

I think some people may hate history because there is a quote that says that "history repeats itself." So why should people study it when it repeats itself. Irony is, many people find it fascinating from that perspective--why don't people learn from it?

People should learn about history because those who ignore history, are condemened to repeat it.

Sometimes I wonder how well did politicians now learn or have studied history. George Bush and Ahmadinejad are just a few to name.

Answer 7

Hey, speak for yourself. Many like history, and even take history majors in university. There are so many, and I mean soooo many branches to discover- Ancient history, Egyptian, Indian, South East Asian, China, European, the Slavic domains, Biblical history, Middle Eastern. The concept of lost civilizations, Mexican, Mayan, Tibetan, Incas, Atlantis, Lemuria, the list goes on.

History based movies are very successful in the box office.
Our world is very interesting, and to know about each others culture, we have to know each other's vibrant and beautiful history.

Answer 8

because they thing of history that doesn't challenges my way of thinking and bores me almost to piont of leaving class. they tell the same stories of people who did let things and not the ones who really made the difference and just of the same old people like with black history all they talk is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr when there are more black who did good things just like the whites during that time who did good and not bad. too much left out information .

Answer 9

Horrible, ill prepared, unmotivated teachers fail to impart knowledge to short attention span students incapable of integrating social, economic, cultural, and philosophical thoughts in a fact-based manner.

It is often the worst of both worlds.

Answer 10

Kids are required to memorize dates and basics, but they aren't exposed to the really fun stuff in history, or how it relates to things happening today. Yes, the Crusades happened from X to Y date, but did they know that one reason it was all started was because Europe was relatively peaceful, and the Pope was worried that knights were fighting each other and the public instead, so he sent them out to "battle the infidels!" Or that the Crusades are one reason we're so hated in the Middle East? We slaughtered Muslims left and right, without any regard for whether or not they were actually soldiers. I'd hardly blame them for carrying a grudge.