Why should we study history?
Everyone has a "story". The students to your left and right have stories... and you have a story.
What is that story? Where are you from? What's your past? Who's in your past? How different is your story from the people around you? Have your paths ever crossed before?
Your story is being written every day of your life. Your actions, your behavior, and your decisions all influence your "story". Some stories are ones of hardship. Some stories are ones of triumph.
Embrace your story. Share it with the world. Never be embarrassed by your past. It's part of who you are. It's a component of your story. It's a component of your life. In the end, it's your story.
Not his story... not her story... but your story.
Dr. Steven Kreis pointed out in an article in his History Guide, "Perhaps the best answer as to why we should study history can be summed up in a phrase used by the Greek philosopher Socrates... 'Know thyself'. To know yourself means to be aware of what it is that makes you who you are. And in this respect, history is the one thing that allows us to reveal this knowledge. But people do not live alone, they live in society. And it is in society that the individual comes into contact with other individuals, all of whom are on the same quest, in varying degrees. Indeed, your experience with (and understanding of) history will be a much richer one if you keep in mind that history means self-knowledge. As students, that should be one of the most important things to you."
What is that story? Where are you from? What's your past? Who's in your past? How different is your story from the people around you? Have your paths ever crossed before?
Your story is being written every day of your life. Your actions, your behavior, and your decisions all influence your "story". Some stories are ones of hardship. Some stories are ones of triumph.
Embrace your story. Share it with the world. Never be embarrassed by your past. It's part of who you are. It's a component of your story. It's a component of your life. In the end, it's your story.
Not his story... not her story... but your story.
Dr. Steven Kreis pointed out in an article in his History Guide, "Perhaps the best answer as to why we should study history can be summed up in a phrase used by the Greek philosopher Socrates... 'Know thyself'. To know yourself means to be aware of what it is that makes you who you are. And in this respect, history is the one thing that allows us to reveal this knowledge. But people do not live alone, they live in society. And it is in society that the individual comes into contact with other individuals, all of whom are on the same quest, in varying degrees. Indeed, your experience with (and understanding of) history will be a much richer one if you keep in mind that history means self-knowledge. As students, that should be one of the most important things to you."
