Art Of Teaching

 It is a fact that most of the students hate history as a subject because of the obsession with details, records, dates etc. Though these pointers are important in establishing a timeline and remembering who is who, that’s not the same as understanding it. History has to be about perceiving why things happened and what we can learn from them. This can be understood through the method of discussion.

IS HISTORY BORING?

History can be really boring if the teacher approaches to explain it bookishly. Though history teachers may give the excuse that History teaching has to be scholarly and academic, it does not mean that the teachers make it mean dry and sapped of blood and sentiments. The teacher has a duty to make her class excited about the concepts, the populace and create an impact of what students are studying. They need to learn to share and connect to present day content. Teacher needs to make them understand why there is a need to study history.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TEACH HISTORY?

No Educationist can claim that they know the best way to teach History. But we can definitely talk of better ways of teaching history based on my experience.

1. It is necessary for the teacher to make sure that the students understand how the far-flung dealings of history which they are being taught have linkage with what is going on in their lives right now.

For Example:

a] The Roman Empire is a far away concept and irrelevant to the students unless the teacher takes the effort to associate it to democracy and military rule by giving example of India and Pakistan.

b] The meaning of cold war will be lost unless the teacher links it up with the present day situation between America and China.

2. It is very essential for the teacher to teach using documents and primary sources. This point is necessary when students are being made to connect with speeches or writings or artifacts of the age they’re studying. With this it becomes less distant and easier to think about.

3. There is a need for discussion among the teacher and students regarding the history pointers being presented in a classroom situation. Then the need for memorizing it will end as understanding will take place.

Most of us hated history because of the fixation with facts, figures, and dates.

 History must be about knowing why things happened, when and how it happened and what we can learn from them. That is learned only through discussion.

4 The teacher teaching the subject as well as the students needs to be excited about the topic being taught. It can have a positive impact if the teacher while leaving the last class gives the students the topics to be taught in the next class and they research and prepare themselves before the next class. When you do this the excitement of the class will be manifold as everybody would want to share their points.

SOME FANTASTIC POINTERS …..

• Teachers need to understand that the best way is by RECOGNITION.
• Students will learn fast and well when they come across the same information in different ways and different forms.
• It is not necessary to always teach and use the lecture method. A teacher can find out where the interest of the students lie and engage them through their interests.

For example: When I was teaching my younger daughter about the different  art forms of the medieval ages I made her find out about the different art forms prevalent in India. Then I made her spot the differences with the art forms during medieval ages, DIY (Do it yourself) is the best method to create interest in a dry subject like history. Make it throbbing with life; Make it as colorful as you can as a teacher.

The sort of history teaching that is most likely to capture the attention of the students is when the teacher is able to make the students spotlight how very different it was to live in past times with relation to chores, utensils, clothes, jewelry, artifacts, food items, houses and culture and society.

• It is necessary to make rampant use of teaching aids. Teacher should read out stories, use project method and dramatization to make students watch movies set in historical times.
• Today if I want to tell my students why Turkey is trying to become the ruler of the Muslim world, I need the children to understand the Ottoman Empire and its magnificence which is lost today and that Turkey wants to revive it . This can be done by showing them small excerpts from the films on Ottoman Empire and some present day speeches and link the dots.
• Turn your students into historical detectives. Give names of historical events and characters and let the students find out details about them.

 HISTORY IS THE OLDEST EDUCATOR ………

• One of the first prehistoric means of education was of people telling stories to other people by way of oral transmission. One therefore could make the argument that all other subjects are nothing but offshoots of history. I would take the position that all subjects, including history, have a familiar antecedent in storytelling.
• Please note that humanistic subjects like Literature, Journalism, and Anthropology and scientific subjects like Physics and Astronomy etc. all  ultimately hope to tell a story of why things are the way they are.
• History is very important in our lives as we need to look to our past to know our future. If you notice clearly all subjects do this. Science uses past data to make future predictions. Literature uses past works to compare ideas of the past to current ones and identify trends.

So then why is there a need for a subject like History?

1. History as a subject teaches the capability to disconnect fact from fiction. The sciences first and foremost deal in facts. The humanities deal in areas which, with a deep emotional sense, are not restricted to the limits of reality.
2. History fills the gap.  Historian must continuously make a decision whether a text or folk story depicts a real happening or a fictional one. They must determine whether the affirmed motive of why something happened is actually the real reason.
3. All historians therefore can be termed as exact opposite of a conspiracy theorist whose work is to dig out the past truths that were previously hidden. A historian has to evaluate the substantiations and make an attempt at an unbiased representation of how events occurred.
4. Therefore History as a subject is extremely indispensable, not just for historians, but for anyone who cares about truth.

MANY PEOPLE THINK THAT HISTORY IS A USELESS SUBJECT AND HAS NO RELEVANCE TO JOBS OR PRESENT DAY CURRICULUM

This is a totally erroneous attitude.

• Just like acquiring practical skills enable the students to earn a living in the same way knowledge of history makes the students understand the shackles of bondage and enable them to understand the importance of and to value freedom.
• Nations are fundamentally togetherness of people who are bound by a common narrative. In the ancient times, that narrative was essentially the story of small groups, tribes or regions. But today the concept of modern nations have much bigger and broader story line i.e. history.  Therefore studying History is important as it often crosses ethnic and religious limitations that form the foundation of national identities, and for understanding the global world.
• It is very important for the Country’s Governments to push history as a subject in schools because it helps to preserve, if not influence, their narrative, and thereby conserve their authority. History satisfies the yearnings of the people for understanding their place and the place of their country in the world, and a background for their future possibilities.
• A country where academic freedom is present can vouch for continually improving our understanding of history over the times. It encourages the compilation and recording of papers and artifacts, and the conception of challenging narratives steadfast with the historical evidences. The better that machinery works, the more the society taking it  up will be able to learn and progress.
• If academic freedom is absent especially in dictatorial countries, history lessons would decentralize into programming and that’s all. It will have the negative effect of leaving the citizens susceptible to the narratives of charlatans who would have the power to use the benefit of ignorance to gain political points and maintain power, thereby further reducing the scope of actual freedom.
• If today you observe the political scenario you can very well gauge that every political party or movement works hard to thrust their own narrative of history in order to win the loyalty of their countrymen.
• Most would impose their narrative by force in opposition to “dissidents” or “heretics”.
• For example: Even in ancient Athens which was considered the most civilized and prosperous city-state of its epoch, its leaders like Socrates who were their supreme thinkers were executed  for “corrupting the youth.”
• All totalitarian governments know that  to be in command  of the narrative means control of the people, which is why they work so rigidly to dictate their line of  “history,” and reserve severe  and harsher punishment for those wanting to break off  from that narrative by calling them traitors or fanatics.

FINALLY…..

My view point is that there is lot of social advantage of history subject being taught in schools. I am often asked as to why I am so into history?

I hope this saying by some great historian will answer your question.

“One of my main misgivings about having a restricted lifespan is that I will miss out on all the things that will happen after I am gone. There is nothing I can do about it. I can, however, learn as much as possible about all the things that happened before I came into this world. History, for me, is a way of coping with the inherent, regrettable limit of my own experience”.