Justify the Inclusion of History in the Sdcipline- Based...

JUSTIFY THE INCLUSION OF HISTORY IN THE S\DCIPLINE- BASED SECONDARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM. The presence of History in the discipline-based secondary school curriculum is to a larger extent necessary. The subject satisfies the need for identity; enhances professional thinking; demonstrates what it means to be human; improves judgment; provides instructive examples; promotes democracy; gives pleasure. To a lesser extent, though, there are a few views from the critics of the subject who feel that it does not possess sufficient value to warrant formal instruction in secondary schools. They feel that History is acceptable for the privileged few; is full of memorization and rote learning; and they argue that objectivity is unobtainable. In the†¦show more content†¦History also shows a human what it means to be human. Historians call this ‘human self-awareness’ and it is probably the very essence of history. According to Krug (1967:04), A historian is interested in the past because he is interested in life.† For that reason the subject helps in quenchi ng a deeply felt thirst to discover human life and its meaning. Reviewing the stories of past personalities and circumstances also allows a student of History to check his or her own moral compass by honing it against some of the real complexities faced by real people in the past. Stearns (1983:32) uses the phrase History teaching by example to describe this ethical use of a study of the past. So the teaching of History is acceptable in that it performs one of the most important roles of education, that of human self-knowledge. Yet another point of significance about the History subject is in improving judgment. Ravitch (2000:12) affirms that History doesnt tell us the answers to our questions, but it helps to inform us so that we might make better decisions in the future.† As people are the ultimate guardians of their own liberty, History will enable them to judge of the future by apprising them of the past. This discipline avails to the people the experience of other times and other nations and, according to Jefferson (1998:144), â€Å"it will qualify them as judges of the