Subject: Things that history can teach you
Posted by: Ozay
Date: Oct 26 09
It is amazing what history can teach you. I went to an alternative school and the history we did learn taught me virtually nothing about the united kingdoms past after the industrial revolution or even the industries just before that time. So when i did study social and economic history at college in 1992 it was a shock and i couldn't take it in and failed. I think what i found miserable about it was it was all text book talk and i hadn't been taught this way at school i found it just dehumanises the subject and didn't inspire me it was very boring.
Years later i know read History books that i get out from the Library that are a lot better than text books and do inspire me and fill me with awe and i have learnt some fascinating things about the united kingdoms past as a result. Until recently i didn't even realise that there was a wool industry thriving in the south before the industrial revolution.
Posted by: Ozay
Date: Oct 26 09
It is amazing what history can teach you. I went to an alternative school and the history we did learn taught me virtually nothing about the united kingdoms past after the industrial revolution or even the industries just before that time. So when i did study social and economic history at college in 1992 it was a shock and i couldn't take it in and failed. I think what i found miserable about it was it was all text book talk and i hadn't been taught this way at school i found it just dehumanises the subject and didn't inspire me it was very boring.
Years later i know read History books that i get out from the Library that are a lot better than text books and do inspire me and fill me with awe and i have learnt some fascinating things about the united kingdoms past as a result. Until recently i didn't even realise that there was a wool industry thriving in the south before the industrial revolution.
15 replies. On page 1 of 1 pages. 1
Cymruambyth 
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What's that old saying: "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat its mistakes" (attributed to George Santayana). I was doubly blessed in my early years to have a father who was a history buff and a history teacher who didn't deal with dates/monarchies/wars/treaties but taught history as it related to ordinary people and their lives. Both my dad and Mrs. Day gave me a lifelong love for studying history. Reply #1. Oct 27 09, 1:57 PM |
daver852
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Wars are a natural part of the human condition. Capitalism is the only viable economic system. Great civilizations are more likely to fall from internal decay than external aggression. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Reply #2. Oct 27 09, 10:15 PM |
romeomikegolf
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Owen, I've found the best way to learn social history is to visit the places where it happened. We now have plenty of heritage sites and living museums that can teach you about how our ancestors lived. Reply #3. Oct 30 09, 2:20 AM |
skumma
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Maybe I'm weird, but history has always been a living thing to me, it's there with older family members, the streets I walk down(both here in France and before in England) It's really just a case of opening your mind and eyes. Reply #4. Nov 01 09, 11:17 AM |
Arpeggionist
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What history has taught me was this: People are fickle, nature is eternal, and the underestimation of the latter or the elavation of the former can lead to extremely dangerous situations. Hero worship in general, I've learned, is by nature a bad thing, since all heros die, and more often than not they take take to the grave whatever they stand for. Reply #5. Nov 06 09, 11:01 AM |
Pagiedamon
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Nicely said, Arpeggionist. Reply #6. Nov 06 09, 10:16 PM |
poneke
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History has taught me that when we fail to learn from the errors of our ways we are doomed to repeat them. Each generation ignores the mistakes of their elders at the peril of their children. Reply #7. Jan 15 10, 6:20 AM |
howdyitsme
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the problem with popular history books in general is just that, it is popular history. to really know the subject you need more than that. often the books are poorly researched, highly biased and not referenced. Also one has to look at who, if anyone, commissioned the book. Sometimes too a biography is written by an admirer and the not so nice bits are glossed over. This happens particularly in autobiography (with or without a ghost); you can see this clearly in the "Res Gestae" as it is popularly known (Augustus' own encomium). Reply #8. Mar 21 10, 8:46 AM |
C30
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That the history books are written by the victors! Reply #9. Mar 21 10, 3:16 PM |
| howdyitsme
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generally C30 you are correct, it is indeed a wonderful occasion when we find material showing the other side of the question. Reply #10. Mar 22 10, 10:27 AM |
| naerulinnupesa
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"That the history books are written by the victors!" I nearly failed the course on Estonian history after the WWII. The textbook was written by the same author whose textbooks had glorified communism about 20 years ago when my Mom went to school. He'd changed his tune but I didn't feel I could trust this source of information. My Grandma was was born between the two wars and sometimes she would tell us about the Second World War (communists called it the Great Patriotic War, by the way) and events after that. She could never forget that retreating communist troups poured kerosine over live cattle and set fire to it (that's something you don't read in a random book). Her brother was among the thousands of people who were deported to Siberia in cattle wagons - and died there. So I will never believe the ludicrous arguments claiming that deportation never happened. Reply #11. Mar 31 11, 2:29 AM |
euab
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History helps us understand the past in connection to the present. I don't get bored reading history books especially ancient history, the only problem is, I'm getting tired borrowing books from the library I get frustrated for not acquiring one since books here in our country are too expensive. Reply #12. Mar 31 11, 8:24 AM |
| Cymruambyth
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One of the things that we should have learned from history and obviously haven't is that war doesn't solve anything. It just creates more problems. We still haven't learned that the colour of a person's skin is immaterial. Nor have we learned that if we all minded our own business the world would be a better place. Reply #13. May 12 11, 4:48 PM |
houston1127
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One way to learn history in an interesting way and to give it a personal perspective is to read historical fiction. "The Baroque Cycle" by Neal Stephenson helped me learn about a myriad of subjects: Isaac Newton, coinage, alchemy, Charles I through William of Orange, cryptography, Roundheads,the Restoration, whig politics, the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution, economics, Leibniz, the Royal Society, and a host of other things. The Flashman series of novels were also helpful in understanding the basics of nineteenth-century British imperial history. I had recently read one Flashman book about the First Afghan War when the events of 9-11 happened. So I knew a little background of the Af-Pak region that I never did learn in Florida public schools. Reply #14. May 12 11, 6:18 PM |
Mixamatosis
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History has taught me that we got where we are now because our ancestors fought for rights and justice. They fought better working conditions. They fought for the vote and they defeated Hitler. It taught me that we get most of our ideas about the ideal society from Greece which had the first (albeit limited) democracies. It taught me how various countries at various times have established empires where they increased their wealth by exploiting other countries but all empires fail eventually. It's good new because it's a progressive story where living conditions and our ability to protect ourselves, lead healthy lives and survive gradually improve. Reply #15. Jul 24 15, 5:58 PM |
15 replies. On page 1 of 1 pages. 1
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