World History
I have been asked by students several times why they should study history. They think learning a few facts is fine but they do not expect to learn anything that is will open up a floodgate of knowledge building. The assumption on their part is that most of the past is known already and even new historical discoveries only help to fill in blanks about which is generally known. To them, exciting historical discoveries are rare and the student is unlikely to engage in that type of research in his or her life anyway. Hence, history is just boring facts.
I came upon a good analogy to help explain why I think the student may wish to study history. Robert Estabrook in 1992 wrote "Constellation Building: Leadership for Effective Schools" which was published in Contemporary Education, 63(2), pp. 91-92. In it, he wrote that leadership was much like the stars in the sky. No one star can completely light up the night sky no matter how bright the star is. In addition, by drawing different lines between stars, one can see different constellations. This is an apt metaphor for what I have learned of educational leadership. No one theory or organizational model alone can solve all problems that a leader may face. Further, by connecting theories and ideas together in different ways, new solutions can often be found which were not apparent before.
This can translate directly into teaching about history. There is a lot of historical knowledge out there. In addition, there are lots of different ways to look at the same facts. Further, there are other disciplines (religion, art, sociology, philosophy, etc.) which intersect with history and use it in different ways. The job of the students is to look at the stars (the historical facts and different perspectives) and in their own minds create new constellations (new lines) with the knowledge. History is not static and dull but instead a way for students to use their insight to see that what is known in new ways.
Not all students buy into this view. However, some students do appreciate this explanation and seem to view history more seriously. In my way, I think keeping this blog is following this tradition as maybe I am helping a reader or two find their own new historical constellations.
- The Origin Of The Greek Constellations
The Origin of the Greek Constellations. This is an article up at the new issue of Scientific American. It is by Bradley E. Schaefer. The full-text of the article is not here unless you are a subscriber. There is only an abstract. Was the Great Bear constellation...
- Who Created The First Us Flag Of 50 Stars?
I found this fun short article at ezinearticles.com. As the site allows for the reproduction of articles by blogs and other websites, I am going to go ahead and reprint it here. The author of the article is Beth Gabriel. This article is about Robert Heft....
- Traditional Navigation In The Western Pacific
Traditional Navigation in the Western Pacific. Provides research information and historical facts about the traditional navigation skills handed down from generation to generation in the Micronesian Islands. From the site: Is there a primitive...
- Historical Criticism
Historical Criticism. This is another reprint of a public domain source dealing with history. This one is from the 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia. From the site: Historical criticism is the art of distinguishing the true from the false concerning facts...
- Teaching Historical Thinking.
Teaching Historical Thinking. Students don't come to class ready to think about history. This paper examines ways that a teacher can teach historical thinking. From the site: Over the past decade, cognitive studies researcher Samuel Wineburg...
World History
Constellation Building and Teaching History
I have been asked by students several times why they should study history. They think learning a few facts is fine but they do not expect to learn anything that is will open up a floodgate of knowledge building. The assumption on their part is that most of the past is known already and even new historical discoveries only help to fill in blanks about which is generally known. To them, exciting historical discoveries are rare and the student is unlikely to engage in that type of research in his or her life anyway. Hence, history is just boring facts.
I came upon a good analogy to help explain why I think the student may wish to study history. Robert Estabrook in 1992 wrote "Constellation Building: Leadership for Effective Schools" which was published in Contemporary Education, 63(2), pp. 91-92. In it, he wrote that leadership was much like the stars in the sky. No one star can completely light up the night sky no matter how bright the star is. In addition, by drawing different lines between stars, one can see different constellations. This is an apt metaphor for what I have learned of educational leadership. No one theory or organizational model alone can solve all problems that a leader may face. Further, by connecting theories and ideas together in different ways, new solutions can often be found which were not apparent before.
This can translate directly into teaching about history. There is a lot of historical knowledge out there. In addition, there are lots of different ways to look at the same facts. Further, there are other disciplines (religion, art, sociology, philosophy, etc.) which intersect with history and use it in different ways. The job of the students is to look at the stars (the historical facts and different perspectives) and in their own minds create new constellations (new lines) with the knowledge. History is not static and dull but instead a way for students to use their insight to see that what is known in new ways.
Not all students buy into this view. However, some students do appreciate this explanation and seem to view history more seriously. In my way, I think keeping this blog is following this tradition as maybe I am helping a reader or two find their own new historical constellations.
- The Origin Of The Greek Constellations
The Origin of the Greek Constellations. This is an article up at the new issue of Scientific American. It is by Bradley E. Schaefer. The full-text of the article is not here unless you are a subscriber. There is only an abstract. Was the Great Bear constellation...
- Who Created The First Us Flag Of 50 Stars?
I found this fun short article at ezinearticles.com. As the site allows for the reproduction of articles by blogs and other websites, I am going to go ahead and reprint it here. The author of the article is Beth Gabriel. This article is about Robert Heft....
- Traditional Navigation In The Western Pacific
Traditional Navigation in the Western Pacific. Provides research information and historical facts about the traditional navigation skills handed down from generation to generation in the Micronesian Islands. From the site: Is there a primitive...
- Historical Criticism
Historical Criticism. This is another reprint of a public domain source dealing with history. This one is from the 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia. From the site: Historical criticism is the art of distinguishing the true from the false concerning facts...
- Teaching Historical Thinking.
Teaching Historical Thinking. Students don't come to class ready to think about history. This paper examines ways that a teacher can teach historical thinking. From the site: Over the past decade, cognitive studies researcher Samuel Wineburg...