Choose History as the Hook!

Several years ago, when I thought of history, if I thought of it at all, I imagined a huge darkened classroom; movie flashing on the screen; boys, heads down on the desks, sleeping; girls, whispering and passing notes in the semi-blackness. I thought of globes and maps and wars and foreign countries. I thought, “Yuck.”
 
Now when I think of history, I think of globes, maps, wars, and foreign countries. I think of people and ideas and causes. I think of children listening with rapt attention while I read and protesting when I stop for a drink of water to save my voice. I think of hiding from pretend Nazis, building Stonehenge with blocks, recreating scientific experiments, and painting pictures al fresco. I think of youth, desperate to know what happens next in Les Misérables. I think, “Yay!” 

One remarkable experience with history changed my feelings so drastically I decided to choose history as the focus of all my teaching and learning. It began in an adult education Art History course a friend and I took at the local high school. As I learned about art chronologically, I also learned politics, geography, culture, and much more. I have come to believe that all “subjects” can be learned through historical study. Moreover, educators can use chronological history as the foundation for all academic learning, character development, and cultural education. ​

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