History /
Why do schools teach "The battle of Warsaw" but not "the history of communist Poland?" [16]
It's generally because of the way the subject is taught. It's made as dry as dust. There needs to be a strong element of social history and local history incorporated and used as a basis, for teaching the national and political history. Also, reliance on textbooks as the chief source of learning material for students is not the way to go. Plus, history needs to be set within a wider context. The timeline is an important tool for that. Huge chart,one whole wall of your classroom if necessary,the students help to create it, countries across the top, dates down the side, and main points of importance readable across and down the columns so that one can see the history of one's own country in relation to the rest of the world at any given point in time. So, if we take a random date, 1447, what was happening in that decade in Poland, in France, in Italy, in England?
In that year Kazimerz became King of Poland
The Hundred Years War was going on between France and England
In Italy, the rebuilding of Rome as part of the Renaissance, began in 1447.
England, whilst engaged in the Hundred Years War with France, also stood on the brink of the Wars of the Roses.
Now, let's say the student is studying in a present day school in Warsaw on the east side of the river ,they're looking at the timeline, getting a feel for what was going in a global context - what was happening in eastern Warsaw in the 15th century?
You can also create individual timelines for the development of science, industry, religion, art etc. Once kids have a broad grasp of history, they could choose an area of special interest in their senior years of secondary school and devote themselves to the study of that.
And so it goes on........but it takes a big shift in teacher training and curriculum design to implement something like that. And above all a will to do it.
@just saw your post above Pawian :-)) great minds..........!!
