HISTORY!!

There's a quote from Huxley I liked that explains one of the reasons why a foundation in History may be beneficial:

"Are we then doomed never to understand our history and therefore never to profit by the experiences of the past? The answer is that, although understanding will probably never be complete, we can yet understand enough for some at least of our practical purposes. For example, we can probably find out enough about the causes of our recent catastrophes to be able (if we so desire) to frame policies at least a little less suicidal than those we have pursued in the past."

from Grey Eminence by Aldous Huxley, page 15.

In grade school, I hated history classes. It was boring trying to memorize names, dates and places in a one dimensional learning class.

Now, I am very much in "love" with history, because I travel all over the world, and learn about the people and its history - not only dates. I read up on the places I will be visiting, take notes while on tour provided by the local guide or our tour director, and look up some of the information on the Internet after I return. When one travels and sees the historic sites and museums, it's much more rewarding and interesting.

My recent trip to the Balkans included the countries of Albania, Macedonia, Greece and Bulgaria. The trip title was "Following the Footsteps of Alexander." We were able to see the birthplace of Alexander the Great, his father's tomb, and learned about his accomplishments as a young man. He was a conqueror of the Ancient World by his early twenties, and learned his military skills from his father, Philip II, who was considered a genius. Alexander was also a student of Aristotle.

I have traveled several times with grade school teachers and college professors who have told me they wished they had visited the places before they taught their lessons to their students. Their perspective of teaching history changed by their visits.