All Ages Keeping subjectivity in mind when teaching history

JohnSpencer28

JohnSpencer28

Legacy Member
There is an interesting discussion to be had about this topic. When teaching history, should the teacher in question reiterate the importance of having differing points of view on a particular set of historical facts? I remember my history teacher would always ask us what we thought of certain events in history, whether they were justified or not.

What do you guys think? Should a teacher remain objective and detached from the historical facts he imparts on his students? Or should he invite the students to judge and maybe expose his own judgement on the matters?
 
while the dates and events of history remain unchangeable, the impact and repercussions are constantly changing. Our society's mores change as well. There are fashions in the study of history just as in anything else. One hundred years ago events such as Columbus coming to the continent of America was viewed in a totally different light as it is today.

There must be some objectivity, such as when regarding indisputable and evidenced facts but subjectivity has a very important role in out interpretation of those facts. It aligns with skills like critical analysis, which many would argue younger people today are comparatively poor at and should possibly be introduced to our modern curriculum.
 
To be objective or subjective in teaching history will also depend on the topic being discussed. But most of the time, based on experience, it would be best to include students ideas or perception on the matter as it will enhance students understanding of why or why not certain event happened. It is also valuable as a teacher to understand how your student felt about the subject as it could also give a peek of how their thoughts work, which may also validate that they are interested in learning history.
 
I think this one of the most important things while teaching kids especially , cause generally speaking and from a state point of view and a political one, the historical truth is fairly a variable depending on the point it serves, let's just take the American school for example, there is a million historical fact that have been kind of twisted to fit the general political image, and what makes this important is that it have a direct link with the morals that a kid of that age is building, it's kind of not easy to explain, but generally speaking a white supremacist for example is a product of a lot of wrongful ideas including justification of non human acts of a nations history.
 
We certainly didn't know what truly happen in the past because we are not there to witness it with our own eyes so I think it is best to be objective about it. Though it is not bad to share your thoughts about it, you should not be so strong about it.
 
I believe subjectivity when it comes to teaching needs to be executed depending on the situation. Teaching history would mean affording student the ability to express their own perspective therefore allowing them the use of critical analysis. The past is a part of our future, whether we are going to be subjective or objective regarding the teaching of history depend upon the circumstances.
 
Back
Top