HistoryNow a days some students take learning history for granted and think it's not important, but in reality it is. It is important for students to learn about the past; some of the things that history teaches students is the importance of decades past and how they shaped our country, and world, into what it is today. At DeKalb High School there are two history teachers: Mr. Wildhaber, who teaches middle school World History and American Government, and Mr. Wardlow, who teaches high school American History, American Government, World Geography, and Contemporary Issues. Both teachers know how important it is for young adults to know and understand history.
Mr. Wardlow, who has been teaching history for the past six years, knows how important the subject is. He believes that it’s important for high schoolers to learn history “so history doesn’t repeat itself.” Every teacher has one part of their subject that they love or enjoy teaching. For Wardlow, that part is American history, the colonial times, and the world wars. Every teacher has their least favorite topic as well. Mr. Wardlow says his least favorite is world history, because “there is so much of it, but it’s important because life is bigger than America.” Students can be divided on their opinion of history class and whether or not they enjoy it. Junior Jeanette Decker says, “Some kids….think it’s a waste of time, and…..they think what is in the past they aren’t going to need in the future.” It’s not just high school kids who need an understanding of history; younger students need it too.
Mr. Wildhaber thinks that it’s important for middle school age students to learn history because it helps them build a foundation and to become a functioning citizen. When asked what the world would be like without history he says, “Without a focus on history we will just repeat the same mistakes.” Communication Arts teacher, Mrs. Hershley, also thinks that history is important, because we need to know where we came from, how it was made, not to repeat the past and to learn from our mistakes. When asked how students learning history helps in other classes she says, “You have to have lots of history to understand literature.” It's important because there is some sort of history in each subject.
History class is an essential part to our education, so we can avoid making the same mistakes again. We want to learn from events like The Civil War, Holocaust, and 9/11, as well as know where we came from and the troubles our country went through to be built. History may be in the past, but it’s what creates the future.