When you hear the word “history,” what is the very first thing that comes to mind? Is it that time in class when you were bored out-of-your-mind questioning, “why do we learn this?” Have you thought, “this is such a useless subject”? Or do you view it from the philosophical point of view, the point of view that’s most presumptively correct, the view that can most certainly help you improve your life and character?

Throughout the years, history has gained a reputation for being boring. I, like many others, have noticed that history just isn’t taken seriously sometimes. 

However, I’d beg to differ. My argument is that history is the absolute most important subject, for it bestows many different situations and stories. You can take success stories and incorporate them into your life, you can use history as a pathway towards a successful career. You can take the failures of history and learn from them, click here to see more.

History is a giant cheat-sheet about how you can improve your life, and how you can learn from past mistakes and successes. It is just waiting to be learned from. In fact, the word history originates from the Ancient Greek word for “to know”. It is called this because you can find solutions to any of your problems by just identifying the lesson to be learned from each different story. History teachers can attest to this.

Many history teachers demonstrate a passion for history.  All the history teachers I’ve interviewed have agreed that history is important, because we can learn many lessons from history. 

History teacher Ms. Melissa Davenport states that, “history is the key to understanding the world around you. I think history is amazing, inspiring, fascinating, and at times tragic, and without it we would not understand why our world is the way it is.” 

Whilst history teacher Mr. Thomas Gervasio states that, “I believe it is the most important subject, because whether or not you enjoy history it’s always applicable to the rest of your life.” 

Both history teachers agree that history is important and have numerous reasons for this belief. When asked “what do they believe history is for?” They both agreed that history is for learning from our mistakes and being able to understand things. Finally, both strongly agreed that history most certainly should be taught in schools; Mr. Gervasio goes as far as to say that history should be taught as a four year (mandatory) course in high-school, which I very much agree with.

However, many students may feel differently. Students tend to recognize that it’s important but not the most significant thing. I found that within my survey of 45 Roxbury High-school Students, the overwhelming majority believed that history is in fact an important subject. 

However, opinions about the purpose of the course and how long it should be taught are shambolic. Many said how they don’t necessarily enjoy the subject but realize the importance of it and that many of the students have lightly brushed over the reasoning behind why history is so important.

Some don’t realize the significance that is right in front of them. Many suggested that history is to prevent future mistakes or learn some lessons. But student opinions certainly contradict the opinions of history teachers.

To recap; I personally believe that the overwhelming majority of students have the truth to history right at their fingertips but don’t realize it. I wholeheartedly believe that history is important because you can learn lessons for everything. 

It is important to observe the failures and successes of others, take morals and themes from huge lessons like war and the military, and countless other stories and topics. Without history we’d be making the same exact mistake over and over again-whether it be in a matter of years or a slow process overtime. As of right now, practically all human-made-mistakes are just a continuous slow process of the same old mistakes of the past. 

If we want to move forward and create a better future for not only ourselves but all living creatures, we must learn from our past mistakes and where we can improve. Students don’t have to enjoy history, but they should recognize it’s very useful to know it. As a lesson from ancient humans to the readers here, the Ancient Greek word “to know” evolved into English’s “history” because history is the gigantic list of events that helps you to know what and what not to do in order to be a better, more successful and healthier person. Learn from history.