With the new year upon us, it’s hard to avoid reflecting back on 2015, both in terms of personal experiences, but also the changes we have seen impact our world. It feels like more than ever the social studies are needed. And no, NOT because history repeats itself.
My problem with the answer is, I feel, it lacks substance. I probably need to work on my response to hearing this as the reason one studies history. I am a fairly expressive person, so when people say “history repeats itself,” I noticeably wince. Whenever I have asked students why we study history, this is the boilerplate response.
No, history does not repeat itself…time keeps moving on. No two situations are ever identical. People acknowledge the importance of learning from the past, but nonetheless show an inability to articulate why that is so important. Simply, this is the answer that has been taught as correct. I think it is too easy of an answer. If I ask follow-up questions, students are often in silence, searching their brains for a reply that is not simply a rephrasing of their original answer (though we know, that is what will often result).
Ultimately, a reconsideration of the way(s) in which history is presented to students, young and old, informs how students perceive the purpose of the study of history. Last month, my post discussed articulating the larger significance of an inquiry. If the significance to historical study is limited to, “history repeats itself,” I believe, subconsciously or not, critical reflection can be stunted.
This idea is not completely without merit – history may not present identical situations, but the human experience surely shows commonalities. This all goes back to the purpose of historical study. It is not because we are going to see George Washington be president again. But, just as we need to consider the historical significance and purpose of any lesson, we need to think about the enduring lessons that reflect the common human experience. Issues of progress, freedom, justice, fairness, prejudice, etc. – they exist now and they persist throughout historical eras.
Looking back over the progression of the C3 Framework since I came on board, not least of which being the NY Toolkit Inquiries (with more state hubs to come!), one strength of them is their ability to pinpoint an enduring issue at the center of the topic. As I wrote last month, there was always a way to connect the Inquiry, whether ancient history or current event, to something relevant to modern society.
Knowing the “story of us,” of one’s personal, national, and international narrative, needs relevance, not just for the sake of knowing, but for informing one’s actions, as someone who is civically-engaged, locally and in a greater world community.
So, for 2016, let’s remember that history does NOT repeat, but there is a purpose to our job as educators. We need to help students make sense of the world—learn from the lessons of the past, recognize the parallels and help them understand how this can inform their actions in the future.
