Why don't students like to study history?

Yes, relevance is a very important issue with students however, a good history teacher will have differtiated instruction to ensure that students have this. Additionally, students hate learning and memorizing dates. When I taught history, I used TIME LINES. I found that masses of information in groups and placed on a time line was much more interesting. History can be boring if you only use a textbook. All the good stuff is written outside. I used the Discovery and History channel videos for a lot of my teaching and had students get involved by actively participating and acting out period roles. When teaching certain skills and facts, I would use outside sources to help. When discussing Anne Frank, I was able to locate some former Jewish families who went through the Holocaust; we travelled to museums to see; we have plantations right here in our city, where black and white students could envision what slavery times were like. I taught my kids that they were writing history from the moment they were born and our Civil RIghts presentations, Civil War presentations, Native American visitors, etc. keep our history department full and interesting. Next year, we hope to take a trip to the White House so that we can see some historical events there - and up into Boston to see where the 'witches' were tried and hung.

You have to make history interesting and involve the students in everything they do. They can't sit idly by and 'read' - you have to be a part of history.

I may be a bit biased because I'm a student at a public high school know for its good history department. But we did learn about British history, starting with King Henry VIII and the English Reformation and going forward from there. They covered Elizabeth and the war with Spain, the English civil war and the Georgian Era (which is very important to American history), and we talked quite a bit about Queen Victoria and Disraeli and Gladstone. But we didn't cover too much after that, aside from a little bit on Churchill. Unfortunately, they didn't say much about Clement Attlee or Margaret Thatcher or anything that recent. Than again, my experience was different because my high school is known for a good history dept.

Hi Barb,

I am a teacher and a learner and I agree with all the above replies to your question - a very relevant question in fact.

Some years ago I became aware of two authors - Hopson and Scally.

In 1981 two educators in the UK wrote a manual titled Lifeskills Teaching; I have given the ISBN reference below in the Source Box. The two authors are: Barrie Hopson and Mike Scally.

This is an extract from one of their Manuals:

Quote:

“We Are All Learners and Teachers”1

“There is no individual who knows everything; there is no individual who cannot offer others learning from his / her experience.

Teacher and learner are not permanent roles and unless they are interchanged frequently then it is good for neither teacher nor learner.

Arrogance for one and depowering for the other could result.

Teaching gives status and esteem and the possibility of teaching should be available to every individual at various stages.

Students should have frequent opportunities to see teachers as learners and to teach other students and teachers."

Unquote.

1. Hopson and Scally – Lifeskills Manuals.

.Example: When I was teaching adults I invited my students to become 'teacher' for 5,10, 15 or 20 minutes and talk about any topic of interest that I must vet to ensure that I would not get in strife with any third parties.

One morning a student brought a perforated cardboard box into the classroom that contained two racing pigeons. No one in the classroom or myself knew anything about pigeons. In ten minutes my student explained all the finer points about his birds. We learned the difference between their Primary and secondary feathers, the use of the birds tail feathers, how the birds found their way back to the pigeon loft from hundreds of miles away and the type of feed and maintenance they required to remain healthy. He replied to questions and in all - the teaching time went to 30 minutes. Needless to say, the students and I saw him differently following his presentation and he enjoyed a new 'learning' experience.

This was one of many enlightening educational experiences with this group.

I hope that helps you and would recommend that you see if your local City Library has any of Hopson and Scally - Teacher Manuals

I believe students would appreciate history lessons if they could be coupled with videos that depict historical events even though these have been made in the 20th and 21th Century. Example: Reading about Robin Hood and watching a film about that period in history would probably be more educational and palatable for students. If both could be combined to present the lesson, then that would be helpful.

As a student, I'm remembering a lesson about the fact that the world was round. There were no teaching aids and no satisfactory explanation as to what was supporting the earth. We were informed that the earth rotated on an imaginary axis. One student volunteered that 'if his bicycle wheel' had an imaginary axle (he was confused too) that the wheel of his bicycle would fall out! He was being practical, our teacher saw it as being argumentative and we all paid a price.

Students need to know, not just the relevance of information; they also need to know how it will benefit them in their careers. The example that it (education) provides for a 'rounded education' does not sit well with many students; they see it as time-wasting.

Videos such as - Video Visits China - ISBN 1-56855 934-8 Provides a wealth of historical information that I believe is more acceptable than purely text book studies. I'm just using these for comparison/example purposes only. You may have video resources that suit your purposes.

It is wonderful to see that you care enough to seek students contributions to your education programs. I wish you every success.

Based on my observations as one who also has a degree in history, one of the most common complaints that I have heard is that the subject matter is not relevant. Making things relevant is all that matters to the 21st century student. If they can't relate what they are studying to their lives, then they show little to no interest in it.

The reason a lot of students, including myself, don't like studying history is because EVERY teacher teaches it the same way: the use of massive, boring textbooks, with long, boring lectures. How many days in a row do you expect us to sit in front of a desk and listen to your voice go on, and on, and on. History is a very important subject and i think that teachers need to do a better job utilizing all of the various tools out in the world today. and it would also help if teachers would SHOW us how it relates to situations today, instead of making us think and wonder about it. one teacher i had gave all of her notes out on a giant timeline, which helped me remember things in chronological order, thus making history make complete sense.

I am not a student, and I have an M.A,. in American history, but when I, was, I found history in HS and as an undergraduate real boring, especially when it was a survey-type class, because it was much too general: 1,000 years of Chinese history in one book, one semester, for example. History is much more interesting when teachers concentrate on people, social issues, customs, personalities.and analysis. Unfortunately, most history courses try to pack way too much information into much too short a period of time, and it all becomes a useless blob of irrelevant facts.

as an 8th grade student, I dislike history when its completely irrelevant to our everyday life's, eg. black death and why people where hanging ''witches'' like 500 years ago, I mean who cares? If you want to make the lessons more fun it would be rather hard as in history you are suppose to learn what already happened, something what happened around 21st century would interest us much more than some boring stuff.

In my experience... I hate memorizing dates. There are just too many of them mentioned in one class.It requires a lot of concentration. Too much information is given in one class, It s just too much for me to process. I don t know how true these stories are either... People could write whatever they want in these textbooks for all i know.