Written by Professor Peter Baganz
In the 5th century BC, the ancient Greek Olympics not only featured athletic competitions, but Herodotus, often considered the first historian, read his Histories aloud to a great crowd of people. In 1893, the Chicago World’s Fair not only featured the marvels of technology for that time, but Frederick Jackson Turner presented his famous “Frontier Thesis.” When I mention these famous historians, I tell my students that they had the greatest gig ever, to have crowds gather to hear them talk about history. Then after pausing, I point out, “Wait, that’s what I get to do, to spend each day talking with you about history. I have the greatest gig ever!”[1]
History Education Is Under Attack
I hope that those of you who have the opportunity to teach history at any grade level feel the same way, because history education is often under attack. To some, the increasing emphasis on STEM education means de-emphasizing the humanities. Students are choosing college paths that they think will lead to “practical” career preparation and higher-paying jobs. Since 2011, the number of students majoring in history in American colleges has declined by 33%, even though the overall number of college students has risen.[ii] The University of Wisconsin Stevens Point made news in 2018 by eliminating the history major, although they later decided to “restructure” the program to permit a degree for teaching history. The University of North Dakota eliminated the graduate program in history in which I was enrolled as a doctoral student, even though the history graduate program was the oldest at the university, offering graduate degrees in history for 109 years.[iii]
So why do we even bother teaching history anymore? Even in our circles, some teachers have stated that students can just look up anything on the internet anyway. Based on that theory, it is time to close schools altogether, because math, science, and even religion can be looked up on the internet also. But what “facts” are students looking up, and who chose those facts? Would you really want children to base their religious beliefs on the first few hits on Google? I would not want my son basing his historical beliefs on the first site that pops up either.
The Importance of Teaching History
History is so much more than just a collection of facts. For R. G. Collingwood, who wrote one of the most influential 20th-century philosophies of history, history is an inquiry into the past, interpreting evidence for the sake of knowledge of past human decisions.[iv] To Peter Gay, author of a four-volume anthology of the greatest historians, history is critical thinking about the past.[v] Historians pose questions. They search for resources that provide the most pertinent evidence to answer those questions. They formulate answers to those questions. Then they maintain an ongoing dialogue with others to test those answers. These all use higher-order thinking skills that we value in education, and history is one of the best fields for developing those skills in children.
Those who devalue history in favor of more “practical” job skills are missing an important point. Jobs in today’s world are changing at an ever-faster pace. “Practical” skills are sometimes for positions that will not be needed in another five years. Meanwhile, research and critical thinking skills are beneficial in many types of work. Evidence shows that while students with business degrees often earn more immediately after graduation, students with degrees in the humanities catch up to them in salary within a few years. Many top leaders of Fortune 500 companies have stated that the soft skills of the humanities are far more beneficial in the long run than a business degree. A Time magazine article showing that the CEOs of Hewlett-Packard, YouTube, Chipotle, and other major corporations all had history degrees supports this thought.[vi]
In addition to the skills history education provides individuals, it is also important to remember the values history education provides for our society. History teaches us what we have and how it was developed. It develops a greater appreciation for what others sacrificed and achieved to create today’s freedoms and technologies. A good history education also provides students with experience at reading and comprehending multiple perspectives. Today in America, it seems that few people are willing to listen to the viewpoints of others anymore, much less try to understand them. A good history education may help bring some of those qualities back to our society.
Far more important than any of these earthly factors are the blessings of seeing God’s will carried out throughout the history of the world. As the sainted Professor Theodore Hartwig put it, “God has made us human beings to share in the management of his creation. We serve as cooperators in this way, that he exercises his lordship through our freedoms to think, to act, to make decisions. He hides himself behind our activities.”[vii] Through history, we can see how God gives us free will as humans, yet ultimately makes sure that his will and purposes are still carried out in this world.
This is why I feel I have the greatest gig ever, the chance to not only share the stories and lessons of history daily, but also the opportunity to discuss how God has guided it all. It is my fervent hope that all of you who have the opportunity to teach history at any level have the same love for your subject and for the students you are preparing for the future.
Peter Baganz (DMLC ’87) serves as professor of history and social sciences at Martin Luther College.
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[1] What are these strange things at the bottom? They are footnotes, because this document is about history, and footnotes are what historians use for documentation.
[ii] Benjamin Schmidt, “The History BA Since the Great Recession,” Perspectives on History, November 26, 2018, www.historians.org.
[iii] William Caraher, “History at the University of North Dakota, 1885 – 1970” (Unpublished history of University of North Dakota History Department, 2009), 29-30.
[iv] R. G. Collingwood, The Idea of History (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946), 9-11.
[v] Peter Gay, Historians at Work, Vol 1 (New York: Harper & Row, 1972), xi.
[vi] Jack Linshi, “10 CEOs Who Prove Your Liberal Arts Degree Isn’t Worthless” Time (July 23, 2015) Time.com.
[vii] Theodore J. Hartwig, “The Christian Understanding of History as Mystery,” The Lutheran Educator (October 2002), 23.
I share your concern about the teaching of accurate history, hence my statement about not wanting my son to just learn his history from Google. Today we have so much more information available than ever before, and more competing claims to have the “true facts.” That is why it is so vital for our students to learn to select the best evidence, and so important for our teachers to also select the best evidence to teach in the classroom. Unfortunately, that may not include textbooks today that are crafted to appeal to the desires of selection committees in certain states. I could easily identify at least 10 items in the last textbook I used while teaching at the high school level that were misleading or just plain wrong. Our teachers need to know history themselves to point out these inaccuracies to their students.
Thank you, Prof. Baganz. We also need history to put things in perspective, especially to avoid hyperbolic and inaccurate whining about this or that being the “worst ever.” Former Texas basketball coach Abe Lemon was an Iwo Jima veteran and used history to protect against this kind of thing, as shown here —
Sometime in the early 80’s John McEnroe was complaining to the press about the pressure he was under being the #1 ranked tennis player in the world. He was crying that no one understood that kind of strain, day in and day out. Lemon’s response:
“You’re right about that. I know when I was 18 years old and lying on my belly on Iwo Jima, I used to comfort myself by thinking, ‘Boy, am I lucky not having to deal with the pressures of big-time tennis.'”
Thanks for pushing the study of history! One item I find especially valuable is reading trustworthy historical biographies of significant people. We can learn so much on a personal level from these individual histories.
Prof. Baganz writes that “History is so much more than a collection of facts,” and that it involves also “research and critical thinking skills (that) are beneficial in many types of work.” Prof. H. Klatt (DMLC) said, if my recollection is correct, “Facts are the hooks on which to hang your thinking.”
May the history taught in our schools be accurate. How many of us were taught that we are a democracy, when in fact the founders despised democracy, and wrote into our Constitution every conceivable stipulation to assure that we would not operate like one?