Creative reasons why history is important ?

Question

My world history teacher assigned an essay to say why history is important. He refuses sunday school answers and tells us to go in depth with our papers. You cannot just say "to learn from our mistakes" or "so we know how the present came to be" or stuff like that so I really don't know how to expand on those ideas (those 2 are my reasons btw lol). If you do, he'll basically say why does matter to everyone ? or why do I need to know the names and dates to know their mistakes. Complicated to me I guess ? Any out-of-the-box thinkers out there to help me ?

Answer 1

I like challenges, but I think asking others here on YA to answer creatively or to think "out of the box" is definitely challenging! I am glad your World History teacher refuses to accept the same old drivel that was given as answers to Oreo's "Why should we study History?" question that was asked only 90 minutes ago - and is the source of such great "out-of'-the-box" thinking as these two replies:

1. "do you know where you came from?"

2. "since they have nothing else to teach us."

I answered that History is important since remaining ignorant of the events of the past is just that - ignorance. I answered that the study of History can lead us to the truth behind that many myths we all believe but rarely question. I also said that we need to learn about History in order to learn about the people who made contributions that (positively or negatively) affect us today. I hope this sheds some light on your question.

Answer 2

Hi, I will try to answer this question from three different angles.


First, it's important to know where History stands in relation to other intellectual disciplines, or recognize where it stands on the intellectual framework. There are five branches of knowledge: Logic, Mathematics, Science, History, and Theology/Philosophy. All human knowledge emanates from these five disciplines. History is one of the BIG FIVE!!!!!!

Second, the study of history allows the student to know the discipline as "the study of power". Power manifests itself in different ways but the four basic areas in most political systems are as follows:

I. Political leadership
a) Military
b) Police and the courts
II. Economy (money)
III. Educational system
IV. Religion

There are 193 different countries in the world. The history student studies them individually and how they relate to each other.


Third, History is an important discipline from a theological standpoint. Most theologians consider History as the mode in which God reveals truths to man. Many theologians refer to God as "the master of history".


Unfortunately, they dont teach you how to study History in a public junior high or high school (and they ignore Theology altogether). Those social studies classes were NOT History class, not even close. Learning to know "how" and "why" something happened is different than memorizing a bunch of dates and names. History is a subject where there may be four or five (sometimes more) reasonable answers to one question; it can be a messy and troublesome subject. But it can really help develop your intellect, and aid in your discovery of the world. An excellent historian will know what will happen in the future...how does he/she do it???? It's easy, they've seen it before.....

Answer 3

Well, I see history as the memories of human civilisation, just like our own memories of our own life. There are important points in our own life, such as our first words, first day of school, first love, etc. There are important events in history, the beginning of civilisation in the middle east, Jesus and the birth of christianity, the discovery of America, etc. We can reflect back on our own life and learn from the bad choices we've made, and might not be proud of, such as taking drugs for example. We can take steps to make sure they don't happen again. We can remind ourselves of the time we have achieved great things, maybe landing a top job or graduating, and learn from those experiences. As a whole, we can learn from the times we have done shameful things, war for example, and great things, like freeing the slaves (Although it took a war to do it!) Now, imagine your life with no diaries, no videos, no photographs, no memories. This is a world without history!
So, that's why I think history is important. And good luck with your essay!

Answer 4

History is relevant to the present because WE ARE the past: we are the sum of all the events--good, bad, and indifferent--that have happened to us. This sum product guides our actions in the present.

This is true not only for the individual (imagine what would have happened to you had your parents never met, or had your parents raised you with different values), but for large societies as well (how would the U.S. be different, for example, if it had lost the American Revolution, or if the Spanish had founded the colonies of North America that became the United States?). In both cases the United States as we know it would not exist.

The only way we can understand who we are and how we got to be that way is by studying the past. Similarly, the only way we can understand others is by studying their past. If we don't understand what made them who they are--in terms of how they think and act--we will make all sorts of mistakes in our interactions with them. Think of how you treat people differently based on how you know them. The same is true for countries when it comes to diplomacy. Our failures in Iraq were borne of a limited understanding of who they are (because we haven't taken the time to truly study and understand their past).

"We study the past to understand the present; we understand the present to guide the future." -- William Lund

Hope these ideas help!

Answer 5

How do we know where we are going as a society if we dont know where weve been?
Its easy to take things for granted but if you think about it 90 years ago women were throwing themselves in front of horses for the right to vote and today we take it for granted so much so that hardly anyone votes.

Answer 6

Because without history all the people who believe in the possibility of time travel can only go forwards, and once they do, they can't return because guess what!? It won't be there anymore!
I dunno, I like the idea of messing with time. Go rent "The Langoliers" (that is, if your paper isn't due TOMORROW) -- that'll give you some out-of-the-box ideas on what happens to history!

Answer 7

At some stage you must have asked yourself the questions; "Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going?". Your answers will of course be personal to you.

History is mankinds answers to those same questions.

Answer 8

maybe something along the lines of so we don't lose important knowledge and events, or to give future generations a view of what was and how far we have come

Answer 9

I think you can somehow work in Bush's recent claim that we should not leave Iraq because we should not have left Vietnam.

Answer 10

history is my least fov class