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The supreme purpose of history is a better
world. -Herbert Hoover
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Have you ever wondered - Why do we have to
learn about history? - Why do we have to go to
history class year after year and learn about the
past when we could be learning about whats going
on RIGHT NOW?!?
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• Many students dont like history at all. They
  believe that learning about the past is totally
  pointless.
• Im here to tell you that its not! Like Herbert
  Hoover, I believe that the study of history makes
  the world a better place. Today I will give you 8
  reasons why we NEED this history class.

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But first

• Lets find out what YOU know about history.
• Please silently write a brief paragraph in
  response to each of the following questions
• 1) Explain one lesson or activity youve enjoyed
  in history class before. What did you like about
  it? What did you learn?
• 2) Think of one reason why we should study
  history in schools. Explain.

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1 History Illuminates the Present

• I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided,
  and that is the lamp of experience. I know no way
  of judging the future but by the past.
• Edward Gibbon
• If you would understand anything, observe its
  beginning and its development.
• Aristotle

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1 History Illuminates the Present

• History helps us understand and survive the world
  we live in. Without understanding the history of
  issues facing us today, we will not be able to
  solve them.

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1- Examples

• In order to address inequalities in the United
  States, we must look to our history to find out
  how some people ended up with so much and others
  with so little.
• In order to try and solve the conflict between
  Israel and Palestine today, we must first
  understand why they are fighting. The answer can
  only be found in history.

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2 Skills

• Studying history gives us an opportunity to
  develop extremely important skills that will help
  us in all stages of our lives, no matter who we
  are or what we do. You dont have to be a
  historian to benefit from history class!

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2- Examples

• Evaluating the reliability and credibility of
  different sources, including TV, films,
  textbooks, etc.
• Thinking for yourself formulating and depending
  independent thoughts.
• Reading, writing, research, public speaking and
  listening.
• Technology build websites, make movies, publish
  magazines.
• Teamwork
• Organization and Responsibility

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3 History Equals Power!

• Who controls the past controls the future. Who
  controls the present controls the past.- George
  Orwell.
• By manipulating what people believe learn about
  the past, people and institutions may control
  what people believe and how they behave in the
  present.
• During Saddam Husseins rule in Iraq, students
  were taught that all of their nations wars were
  just and ended victoriously.
• How might these history lessons have impacted
  students in Iraq?

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3 Example

• Thousands of Native Americans were taught the
  following in schools during the late 1800s "They
  told us that Indian ways were bad. They said we
  must get civilized....It means be like the
  white man... And the books told how bad the
  Indians had been to the white men - burning
  their towns and killing their women and children.
  But I had seen white men do that to Indians. We
  all wore white man's clothes and ate white man's
  food and went to white man's churches and spoke
  white man's talk. And so after a while we also
  began to say Indians were bad. We laughed at our
  own people...
• How might this type of education have affected
  the beliefs of Native American students?
• Compare the two photos of the same student form
  the Carlisle Indian Industrial School taken
  three years apart.

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4 Inspiration Through History

• Through history we find INSPIRATION in the great
  individuals, groups, and events of the past.
• Learning about this can inspire us to lead
  greater lives in the present.

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4- Examples

• Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights
  movement
• Gandhi, non-violent protest and independence for
  India
• Harriett Tubman and the Underground Railroad

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5 Avoiding Mistakes of the Past

• History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be
  unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be
  lived again.
• Maya Angelou
• Through history we learn to avoid repeating the
  terrible mistakes of the past.

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• Examples
• Slavery
• The Holocaust
• Child Labor
• Oppressive Government

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6 Decision Making

• History is the only laboratory we have in which
  to test the consequences of thought.
• Etienne Gilson
• History is a guide to navigation in perilous
  times.
• David McCullough

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6 Decision Making

• By examining complex questions and issues from
  the past, we can learn to make good decisions in
  the present.
• History is not about memorizing dates and names-
  its about learning how to THINK!
• In class we will deliberate, debate, persuade,
  simulate, roll-play,
• Examples The Cuban Missile Crisis, The Atomic
  Bomb, The Declaration of Independence in 1776

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7 A Common Culture

• History helps to provide us with a common
  culture, or common identity that unites us.
• The history of the U.S. provides Americans with a
  common bond that ties us together.
• In order to understand books, movies, television
  shows, cartoons, the news and everyday
  conversations in your own country, you must share
  in this cultural literacy.

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7 A Common Culture

• History is especially important for Americans.
  In many nations - Japan or Sweden, for instance -
  most citizens share a common background. They
  have a similar look. They may worship in the same
  church. That isnt true of us. Some of us were
  once Chinese, or Italian, or Turkish, or
  Ethiopian. Americans dont all look alike.
  Sometimes we dont think alike. But as Americans
  we do share something. It is our history. We
  Americans share a common heritage. If you are an
  American, then the Indians, the Vikings, the
  Pilgrims, and the slaves are all your ancestors.
  You will want to know their stories. - Joy
  Hakim, historian.

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8 Current Events

• History is the present. Thats why every
  generation writes it anew. E.L. Doctorow
• Through the study of current events, history
  gives us the opportunity to evaluate whats
  happening in our world RIGHT NOW and to make an
  immediate impact.

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8- Examples

• 2012 Presidential Election
• Drug Trafficking
• The Economy
• The war in Afghanistan
• Independence in South Sudan