The Importance of History

What is History?

There are many important steps that lead to the conclusion that all of history is an interpretation. Because history is an account of what happened in the past, we cannot know anything else but what was recorded. So, in reality, the only real factual history is what the witness of an event writes or says. This is known as first hand. However, because only an infinitesimal amount of history was actually recorded, this leaves historians to guess and write their interpretation. This proves that all of the history textbooks we read are only interpretations of the real events.

Another step that led to the conclusion that all of history is an interpretation is the fact that when historians write textbooks, only a limited amount of facts can be written. At least a fraction, if not, much of the actual information is excluded. A historian’s view of what is important and not important is also considered an interpretation. If any factual information is left out, it cannot be the account of the actual event. On the contrary, if a historian writes all the facts into one book, it would not sell.

The last piece of evidence of all of history being interpretations given by the book is different viewpoints. There are many books based on history and some of them may be biased. For example, a Republican author of a book based on politics may try not to take the Republican side of politics, but it is what he believes in and he may very well subconsciously lean toward the Republican side. A biased book is an interpretation from one viewpoint. The reliability is considerably low on such a book.

The reason why we should not just look up the definition of something is because even what the dictionary says could be an interpretation. Dictionaries are also written by humans, and therefore they are also susceptible of being interpretations. A dictionary is also just one source. Instead of just looking some up from one view, many viewpoints should be compiled and taught about.

Besides looking for possible bias of an author, other useful techniques historians may use when they read or write history is using many sources. When writing history, using different perspectives can abet writing a paper or a book that is not biased. When reading history, using more than one source can help get a better idea of what actually happened, safeguarding a historian from having a biased idea. Another benefit from using more than one source would be having a much more robust opinion, having read many views. As much as reading more than one source can take up more time, it will be mitigated to bias.

If history is only interpretation, the ultimate goal of work in a history course should be finding the truth. History is like an enigmatic puzzle except that it has missing pieces. Interpretations are merely what other people speculate the missing pieces to look like. The goal of a historian is finding the truth or the rest of the missing pieces. Of course, this daunting task cannot be achieved overnight or by one person, but by a union of historians.

The Importance of Understanding History

Understanding history can help us to better understand the world of today. Studying the history of education helped me understand the cultural implications that affect our education, as well as how education has changed throughout the years, and how it can continue to change now and in the future. It opened my eyes to why some things are done, and why we might want to change them. A student needs to know about the the world around him before he existed and the current state of events during his lifetime. Events of the past, shape the future of the events in which that’s person is experiencing. As a society if you don’t understand you’re country’s history, the same mistakes will be repeated. There’s is a need for young people to know history.

Knowing where education started and where it is going helps me and how I can make education better for myself. It helps me be a better person.

History is important 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. 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 as 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.

Therefore history does have the ultimate power how the people learn and do apply them in their respective cases in realtime scenerios. Education has some rich historical turns and twists.We have to know them first. Such as androgogy for adulys and pedagogy is for the young people. Both styles have the historical data to discuss.

History tells us how people react in a crisis. It also tells us what personality types are dangerous for certain types of jobs, the dangers of war, which systems of government work and which are dangerous, the folly of religion, the importance of trade, the dangers of relying on arms to keep the peace, the huge advantages of education, how to successfully organize a government, how to govern and many more things.

Works Cited:

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