During the school day, most students have at least one class that they dread. For some, like myself, this period is history. Many students dread the focus put on the American Revolution or the Continental Congress, believing it isn’t enjoyable learning facts about something that doesn’t pertain to them. The thought, “when will we need this?” often crosses students’ minds. The answer to that depends on what the student intends to do in the future. The goal of history class is not just trying to teach you about the discovery of America and other countries. Teachers are trying to teach you about different cultures, critical thinking skills, and mistakes of the past. Even after knowing that why do we need all of those skills?

Culture

Culture is one of the main topics discussed in history, aside from historical events. We learn about cultures all over the world. We also learn about American culture and how it has evolved. Culture is an important part of learning history, because it allows us understanding and insight into people’s lives around the world. Culture is a big part of everyone’s life because it is the way people live. Understanding culture helps us understand people. 

Helps Us the Understand the World Today

Studying history gives us an understanding of the world today. It gives us answers to questions, such as: why are airports so strict with security? The answer is past events, like 9/11. History helps us understand why the world is the way it is today. Studying history helps us make sense of the present because of situations in the past. 

Learning From Mistakes

History helps people learn from the mistakes of the past. It can help provide insight into how to handle situations. Studying history provides the skills that help us notice mistakes that happened in the past to help realize and understand your own. 

Appreciation of the Past

Understanding the past can help humans recognize the struggles that older generations may have faced and what life was like in that time period, instead of solely focusing on the present. Having an understanding and appreciation will broaden the mind to experience compassion for situations and people of the past. 

Inspiration

Knowing history can provide inspiration for the future. Taking old situations, products, works of art, or even nature and making your own and gaining ideas from the past is another reason to study history. Some inventions like Velcro, adhesives, and grid systems were all inspired by nature.

Predictions Based on Past Events

History shows trends. Data collected throughout the years makes it easier to predict events—such as sports winnings, political elections, and other future events—through data collected by past events. Studying trends in history appears in many fields from science to literature. 

While there are so many more academic reasons why history is essential, these reasons give us an idea on a day-to-day reason on why you need it. Even though learning about the American Revolution and Continental Congress might not be the most enjoyable topics to learn about, hopefully next time you find yourself bored in class you can think about how this could help you in the future. History class isn’t meant to bore you; it actually has a purpose that makes an impact on the world.