Getting Re-acquainted With History Class

If I can accomplish anything here, I want students to see that history isn't all that bad as a subject, and it has certainly gotten the short end of the stick on how it's portrayed in the media. However, I also know that most students, even with tips and tricks to make the class EASIER, will still not believe that history class is FUN. That's completely fine. But I've always wondered about adults well into their own Middle Ages who suddenly find themselves wanting to know more about history; either they had blown it off in school and never understood it fully or they had an idea of historical events but were simply not interested in their contents. Basically, these adults have decided to re-acquaint themselves with history to discover once and for all if it was fun. I have no choice but to support them 100% of the way, and I've devised 3 things to do if you suddenly want to break out that old dusty college textbook again.

3. Sign Up For Community Classes

The biggest part of learning history was that it took place in a classroom. The difference between school and now, though, is that your boring history teachers have been replaced by volunteers (usually historians or history majors) who actually ENJOY teaching you about history. Welcome to Community History Class 101! Communities will always offer opportunities for adults to learn, be it night classes, seminars, or simple group meetings so people can enjoy a subject they may have always had a small interest in in their lives. In my community alone, there have been at least 4 history-related night courses/groups that have been offered for the citizens to attend in the past year (I unfortunately couldn't, because I was enjoying vacation). As previously mentioned, the teachers of these courses usually have a better understanding and love for the course they teach, and can make the classes really fun. So if you want to find out if you really should've been paying attention in history class, the best place to find out is your community center.

2. Watch Historical Media

In the decades following the Internet and home computer, millions upon millions of websites have been created to gradually close the distance between our vast cultural societies. One of these websites was YouTube, a video streaming service unlike any of the past decade. For over ten years people have been uploading, and it should be a given that some of those "Youtubers" were history buffs. There are so many historical videos available to everyone that several of my teachers actually used some of them to teach classrooms subjects without having to use a textbook. My personal favorite of these Historical Series would have to be John Green's "Crash Course World History" (yes, that John Green). Not only does it accurately and explicitly go into detail about the history of the world, Green makes it fun with his own little twist of comedy and sarcasm, and you'll interested in even the smallest of historical happenings. In fact, I watched all of his videos in preparation for my AP World History Exam, and got a 4 (this included normal studying as well, lazy students!). Another series I'd recommend is Dan Carlin's "Hardcore History" and a channel on YouTube called "the Great War" that is releasing videos about WWI in correlation with that event's 100th anniversary. Whatever you choose to watch, you won't be disappointed in what you learn.

1. Read a Historical Book

No, I don't mean a textbook. I mean actually reading a book based on historical events, be it real or fictional; one of the best ways to learn more about history is to hear it from someone else's point of view. While there are too many books out there to count, you can search "historical fiction/nonfiction" on Google and it will usually lead you in the right direction. The reason I want adults coming back to history to read more is because reading is a main part of understanding history/historical context; many events were not recorded by camera and may only be documented by word or word of mouth. Reading can also give one a better sense of understanding when they come across the event in the future; what better insight to history is one that you make yourself? That's why I consider reading the best way to re-acquaint yourself with history, because it IS history.

For many, history is a dead end. But I hope that for those of you who are making an effort to reintroduce the subject into your lives, that you have success and enjoy your findings! I'd love to hear if any adults out there have changed their minds on history after following these three steps!

Here are links to the historical media. Crash Course belongs to John Green, Hardcore History to Dan Carlin, and the Great War to Patreon.

http://www.dancarlin.com/

https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGreatWar

-Pharaoh Noh-Tyep