History study is for show offs
Greetings!
It is said that every subject studied in school has some importance, especially in the field where it’s applied. There’s no lie about that because I’ve seen people who studied courses we once deemed irrelevant, and they’re using those to earn a living. However, in some countries, some subjects being studied in schools are rarely applied in real life, and one such subject is History. From what I know, History was introduced to give students a broad understanding of their country, especially regarding past events. Surprisingly, this knowledge is often used as a form of "show-off," particularly in competitive settings.
What do I mean?
Well, I didn’t have the opportunity to study History in school, which I don't regret because I wouldn't have loved it. Instead, I studied Social Studies in high school, where the curriculum covered the history of many things in Nigeria. Do you know the primary use of this knowledge back then? It was to make us excel in "Current Affairs" quizzes. Anyone who couldn’t keep up with those quizzes was seen as not being a brilliant student.
As for me, I’m the type who never liked to cram things, so I didn’t pay much attention in this subject. Cramming all those years, names, and legends was tedious. A typical example was being made to memorize names, years, dates, days, and times of specific events. It was amusing because if you missed a single detail, you’d missed the whole answer.
Another area this is applied which is during interviews for job seekers. You see, it's still on a competitive ground. I hate to be asked historical questions during interviews. It sucks!
Is this subject worth taking seriously?
Aside from some of the basics that one should know about their country—like the date of independence—I don’t see much need to study History in school. Interestingly, even if someone doesn’t know these dates, the commemorative events attached to them will remind them.
From what I’ve observed in my years on earth, studying History in school feels more like a waste of time. It should be limited to high school, as it’s now mandatory in Nigerian high schools. The world has grown and advanced so much that every piece of history or significant event is now available on the internet, and that’s where many of us pick up ideas and knowledge that seem worth knowing. I must admit, we were taught a lot in high school, especially about events in Yorubaland that led to major developments in Nigeria.
But those stories never stayed in my mind until I stumbled upon them on the internet, where I could read and enjoy them for fun, without bothering to memorize dates.
For instance, I remember being taught the date the Nigerian flag was implemented and who proposed the color combination, but honestly, I don’t remember the date or the people involved. If I ever get curious, I’d just quickly Google it, and that would be that—no stress.
As long as I’m not preparing for an exam or interview, I don’t see any reason to memorize these things.
Thanks for reading.
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The memorising of dates of past events is a problem aot of people had with history and it made them hate it.
That's just me. I hated that compulsory part of history... because those questions in exams always came out in this area🥲
History is not about memorizing dates, but about understanding how a country got to where it is. That is a great failure of educational systems. I really remember my history teacher who always told us the events in an interesting way and that is why the class was always entertaining for us.
Yeah, it supposed to be an entertaining and fulfilled class with those stories but the area where memorising dates always spoil it