HISTORY is boring. Dead boring.
That's the refrain of concerning 0.5 a dozen lycee students I've talked to within the course of my work.
History
is simply a couple of bunch of facts and dates we've got to cram for
exams, they say. And what is the significance of those facts and dates?
They shrug; they are not positive.
Never
mind that a part of their O-level history examination is
'source-based', that is, testing their ability to assess the aim,
arguments and credibleness of a historical supply, like a text excerpt,
speech or interview.
Everything
still boils all the way down to facts, facts and additional facts. If
you do not hit the books and apprehend what happened at this date, you
are in hot water.
With
simply 2 or 3 faculty periods every week - that is no quite 11/2 hours -
given over to history, the beleaguered teacher has very little time or
incentive to create the lesson additional fascinating. The priority
still remains ensuring the scholars apprehend what is going on to be
tested within out.
No surprise history simply becomes another boring subject to urge over and be through with.
So what, you will raise.
The
long-run repercussions could also be severe: a generation of
Singaporeans with very little information or interest in however
Singapore came to be, and small understanding of the planet around them.
In
2005, eight 15-year-old students at a college band leadership camp
named their team 'Hitler' as a result of they loved the dictator's
leadership qualities.
In
savvy, academics same, their support for the person answerable for the
death of millions throughout warfare II was a mixture of mental object
and a scarcity of understanding of history.
When
institution father S. Rajaratnam died the subsequent year, several
young Singaporeans were left scratching their heads on UN agency he was,
despite the fact that they recited each morning, hand on heart, the
Pledge that he had enclosed.
Do we actually need such mental object and apathy?
The
Government needs kids to stay unmoving to the land within which they
were born, long once they fly the coop. This was one in every of the ten
challenges Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong threw to policymakers last
month.
A
strong grounding in history could also be the fertile soil for those
roots. A keen interest in Singapore's history and world history normally
helps one perceive this country's place within the world.
Learning
from past mistakes and taking a essential approach towards all'truths'
ar alternative helpful facet edges of a fruitful time spent on history.
What's the answer, then?
To me, nothing in need of Associate in Nursing overhaul of however history is tutored in colleges.
Make
history exams open-book. A radical move however it will take a look at
what is most crucial: the analytical skills that not simply a student of
history, however any student, wants - not his ability to con facts and
dates.
With
this transformation, the history textbook can morph from Associate in
Nursing enemy into a lover, to be consulted in the slightest degree
times - and students can realize it less heavy to browse.
The
program should additionally move faraway from the raw presentation of
events to the discussion of historical problems and strategies of
history, called historiography.
Many
historical facts will ne'er be controversial - for instance, the actual
fact that Raffles established a port in Singapore in 1819, or that 2
atomic bombs were born on Japan in 1945.
But constant facts are often utilized to color totally different narratives.
Depending
on that sources one appearance at, it may well be argued that 1819
publicized the start of recent Singapore - or was merely the beginning
of the most recent in a very series of mercantilism emporiums on the
island.
The
latter thesis are place forth in Singapore, A 700-Year History: From
Early retail store To World town, a replacement book by historians Tan
Tai Yong, Derek Heng and Kwa Chong gallinacean.
Only
then can students realise that historical texts ar written long once
the actual fact as a way to Associate in Nursing finish that varies with
the author and also the society he comes from. it'll foster the
beginnings of a healthy unbelief and sense of reality.
Is it too early for lycee students to know such concepts? It's value a attempt to grab their momentary attention.
The alternative could be a womb-to-tomb rejection of something to try and do with history.
And
oh, please do devote a minimum of Associate in Nursing hour additional
every week to history. Take it as Associate in Nursing investment for
our future.
This article was 1st printed within the Straits Times.
Source: http://getyoursearching.blogspot.com/