PragerU recently released a video asking University students to rank pictures of famous people including Hitler, Stalin, Donald Trump, and Jesus, from “worst” to “best”. For some, this was difficult because they couldn’t identify these famous people. They didn’t know history. Others had been so indoctrinated that they ranked Trump as worse than Hitler and Stalin. This was filmed in the United States, but one suspects it wouldn’t be much different at a Canadian university..Canadian students aren’t taught history. They are taught social studies; a smorgasbord of history, geography, ecology, economics, law, philosophy, political science and other social science disciplines. This mélange is so ambitious that it’s impossible for students to get more than a cursory overview. It’s a mile wide, and an inch deep..Social Studies jumps around through space and time with no clear rhyme or reason; ancient Athens one year, confederation the next, and finally the Renaissance. Stories are easiest to understand when they start at the beginning and finish at the end. Events do not happen in isolation. It is difficult to understand the present, to think critically about the issues facing the world without understanding how we arrived here in the first place. How can one understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict without some knowledge of the Second World War, the Holocaust, the Ottoman Empire, and the Roman Empire? .When people cannot make sense of events in the world around them, fears arise and individuals seek security in belonging to a tribe. This tendency towards tribalism means dividing the world into us versus them. Hutus versus Tutsis, or Muslims versus Jews. ‘Us versus them’ thinking is the first step in dehumanizing others. One need look no further than Antifa thugs on our campuses that regularly employ violence to silence others they view as less than human. .There’s reason totalitarian societies both real and imagined limit what history may be studied or published. As Orwell said in ‘1984’, “Who controls the past, controls the future.” Our democracy is poorly served by failing to teach history, producing less than informed voters. Knowledge of history doesn’t lead everyone to the same conclusions, but it equips students with the ability to reach independent judgments on current issues. When citizens in a democracy lack knowledge and understanding, rational thought is the first casualty. Elections devolve into popularity contests based on who has the best hair, looks or charisma. It also leaves people vulnerable to demagogues who use emotional appeal to promote their own interests. Debates degenerate into ad hominem attacks, polarizing and dividing nations into hostile camps. .Teaching history is not just equipping students with a series of facts. It provides context to measure today’s challenges, giving meaning and richness to life, and provides motivation to do good deeds and act with courage. As Malcolm X said, “History is a people’s memory and without a memory man is demoted to the lower animals.” .In contrast, Isaac Newton, said, “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.” He was referring to the idea that with knowledge of the past we are like dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants. We can experience a more expansive view than our predecessors, not because we have greater height or keener vision, but because we are lifted high on their colossal stature. This is only true however, if we are familiar with our predecessors and their thoughts, insights and discoveries. In short, only if we’re familiar with history.. Trudeau on WE scandal: Case closed .When David faced Goliath, he was likely comforted by his belief in God, but also in recalling the courage of Moses facing down the Pharaoh. .The Roman historian Livy said, “The study of history is the best medicine for a sick mind; for in history you have a record of human experience plainly set out for all to see; and in that record you can find for yourself and your country both examples and warnings; fine things to take as models, base things, rotten through and through, to avoid.” .Our children grow up in a world lacking context and rich history that can feel like a vacuum. They need to understand history’s battles with Goliath’s past to face their own today.
PragerU recently released a video asking University students to rank pictures of famous people including Hitler, Stalin, Donald Trump, and Jesus, from “worst” to “best”. For some, this was difficult because they couldn’t identify these famous people. They didn’t know history. Others had been so indoctrinated that they ranked Trump as worse than Hitler and Stalin. This was filmed in the United States, but one suspects it wouldn’t be much different at a Canadian university..Canadian students aren’t taught history. They are taught social studies; a smorgasbord of history, geography, ecology, economics, law, philosophy, political science and other social science disciplines. This mélange is so ambitious that it’s impossible for students to get more than a cursory overview. It’s a mile wide, and an inch deep..Social Studies jumps around through space and time with no clear rhyme or reason; ancient Athens one year, confederation the next, and finally the Renaissance. Stories are easiest to understand when they start at the beginning and finish at the end. Events do not happen in isolation. It is difficult to understand the present, to think critically about the issues facing the world without understanding how we arrived here in the first place. How can one understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict without some knowledge of the Second World War, the Holocaust, the Ottoman Empire, and the Roman Empire? .When people cannot make sense of events in the world around them, fears arise and individuals seek security in belonging to a tribe. This tendency towards tribalism means dividing the world into us versus them. Hutus versus Tutsis, or Muslims versus Jews. ‘Us versus them’ thinking is the first step in dehumanizing others. One need look no further than Antifa thugs on our campuses that regularly employ violence to silence others they view as less than human. .There’s reason totalitarian societies both real and imagined limit what history may be studied or published. As Orwell said in ‘1984’, “Who controls the past, controls the future.” Our democracy is poorly served by failing to teach history, producing less than informed voters. Knowledge of history doesn’t lead everyone to the same conclusions, but it equips students with the ability to reach independent judgments on current issues. When citizens in a democracy lack knowledge and understanding, rational thought is the first casualty. Elections devolve into popularity contests based on who has the best hair, looks or charisma. It also leaves people vulnerable to demagogues who use emotional appeal to promote their own interests. Debates degenerate into ad hominem attacks, polarizing and dividing nations into hostile camps. .Teaching history is not just equipping students with a series of facts. It provides context to measure today’s challenges, giving meaning and richness to life, and provides motivation to do good deeds and act with courage. As Malcolm X said, “History is a people’s memory and without a memory man is demoted to the lower animals.” .In contrast, Isaac Newton, said, “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.” He was referring to the idea that with knowledge of the past we are like dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants. We can experience a more expansive view than our predecessors, not because we have greater height or keener vision, but because we are lifted high on their colossal stature. This is only true however, if we are familiar with our predecessors and their thoughts, insights and discoveries. In short, only if we’re familiar with history.. Trudeau on WE scandal: Case closed .When David faced Goliath, he was likely comforted by his belief in God, but also in recalling the courage of Moses facing down the Pharaoh. .The Roman historian Livy said, “The study of history is the best medicine for a sick mind; for in history you have a record of human experience plainly set out for all to see; and in that record you can find for yourself and your country both examples and warnings; fine things to take as models, base things, rotten through and through, to avoid.” .Our children grow up in a world lacking context and rich history that can feel like a vacuum. They need to understand history’s battles with Goliath’s past to face their own today.