Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions of students and parents.
- Will you accept late work?
- How can I contact you?
- Why do I need to know anything about history? It isn't that important.
- So, how can my knowledge of history help me today?
- Big deal! There ain't no slavery no more.
- Really? I didn't know that!
- No it can't.
- Ok. So history might not be so bad. But I hate the boring stuff.
- Alright, I'm convinced. History might not be so bad. What do I have to do?
- I hate to read! It's (fill in the blank)!
- What about the History Channel (C)?
- That's it! I want to study the cool stuff. Why don't we do that?
- Can I learn about what I like?
- How do I do it?
- Now what?
- Then what?
- Alright, what's the bottom line?
- Is America in danger?
Will you accept late work?
Late work will only be accepted according to the policy outlined in the
student planner/handbook. Late work may be turned in within 24 hours of an
excused absence.
How can I contact you?
980-1300 extension 61-2163
ken.ferguson@blountk12.org
Why do I need to know anything about history? It isn't that important.
Well, I might tend to agree with you except... Imagine that every day when
you awoke you had to learn how to brush your teeth all over again. This
goes on day after day. One day, no one is there to remind you to brush your
teeth. As time goes on your teeth begin to rot and fall out. Eventually
you have no teeth and have to gum your food or sip it through a straw!
It sounds silly, doesn't it? I use this as an example because it seems that
a person should remember how to brush his/her teeth after being instructed.
Learning to brush your teeth is part of your history. If you forget your
history, in this case how to brush your teeth, you run the risk of losing
your teeth. In other words, failing to learn from an event in your past
(brushing your teeth) leads to an unfortunate long term problem (lost teeth;
eating mashed food for the rest of your life). The same thing happens when
a people forget their history. History is the story of the struggles,
mistakes, and triumphs of those who came before us. Those who fail to learn
from their history are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. History
doesn't repeat itself, but failure to learn from history will lead to our
people having to go through the pain of making the same type of mistakes.
So, how can my knowledge of history help me today?
The study of history is, amoung other things, aquiring information about the
past. How the information is used determines its importance. Stock
brokers study the history of businesses in order to determine if the things
the business has done in the past has prepared it to deal with future
developments.
Historians gather information from the past, study it, interpret it, then
try to draw conclusions about how that information might affect future
events.
For example, historians study slavery during the 1600s and 1700s in order to
understand events and decisions that led to the American Civil War.
Big deal! There ain't no slavery no more.
Oh contrare! Slavery is rampant throughout the world today. It still
exists. A study of the history of civilizations great and small shows that
slavery has been with us every since the first caveman picked up a stick and
wacked someone on the head, took him home, and made him go to work for him.
Really? I didn't know that!
That is the value of history. It is the study of people throughout recorded
history, and in the case of anthropologists, before recorded history.
History can be fun!
No it can't.
Yes, it can. EVERYTHING has a history! Outhouses, cars, machine tools,
furniture, anything you can think of has a history. I'm sure that if you
think for a moment you have read about something that interests you from the
past. For many students it is usually dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are
prehistoric, nevertheless, it is the study of the past in order to find out
what happened and why. Wouldn't you like to know for certain why the
dinosaurs died out?
Ok. So history might not be so bad. But I hate the boring stuff.
Well, so do I. Sometimes to understand the exciting stuff you have to learn
about the boring stuff. Almost every little kid wants to learn to ride a
bike. They want to pop wheelies, jump off of ramps, and do cool tricks.
That is the fun they are after. Yet, no one jumps on a bike and does crazy
tricks. They have to go through the boring stuff like learning to balance,
pedal, turn, and stop. It isn't nearly as fun as riding full speed and
locking up the brakes to make a long skidmark, but you have to do those
things in order to get to do the cool, crazy tricks. That's life. There
are no shortcuts!
Alright, I'm convinced. History might not be so bad. What do I have to do?
Number one is read. History is recorded in the pages of books. Some are
exciting. Some are interesting. Some are downright dull.
For this class that means reading the textbook as well as other assignments.
I hate to read! It's (fill in the blank)!
There are no shortcuts. Have you ever been assigned a book to read in your
language arts class? But insted of reading the book you rented the movie
and watched it. Pretty cool: you can eat popcorn, drink a Coke, and
complete the assignment at the same time. Except... the movie wasn't the
same as the book. When you took the test over the book or discussed it in
class you found it the movie left LOTS of stuff out. OUCH!
What about the History Channel (C)?
The History Channel is a tremendous development. There are many students
who will not admit to reading about history, but watch the History Channel
all the time. That's a good thing. If you have watched it enough you know
that there is a history to everything. And you know that history can be
cool... if you like what they are talking about. However, the History
Channel is not the final authority on any subject it presents. If you find
something interesting then find out more about it.
That's it! I want to study the cool stuff. Why don't we do that?
We can. And, we do. But to cover the period of history we cover, there
will be some not so cool stuff. You have to learn and understand the
not so cool stuff in order to learn and understand the cool stuff.
Can I learn about what I like?
Absolutely! You live in a time of wonder. Technology gives you access to
information that just a few years ago was unthinkable. Modern libraries,
the Internet, books, and magazines give you access to more information than
has ever been available in the history of humankind.
How do I do it?
Complete this statement in order to begin your journey: "That's so cool. I
want to learn more about ________ (fill in the blank)!"
Now what?
Go out and find the answers. The first place you will probably look is the
Internet. You can use Google, Yahoo, Ask, and numerous other search engines
to find information on the thing(s) you are interest in. Go to a bookstore
and look for books and magazines on your subject.
Then what?
Learn! Think of it as getting information that no one else knows. That you
are the discoverer of secrets known only to a few. Then find other people
who are interested in the same thing. Talk to them. Get excited that
someone else is interested in learning about the same thing. The ability to
share knowledge and experience is fun and exciting. If it wasn't, you would
never tell your friends about your weekend. Think about it.
Alright, what's the bottom line?
The bottom line is this: the study of history is what you make of it. It
can be exciting like unwrapping presents on Christmas morning, or it can be
dull like looking outside and finding that it is raining for the third
weekend in a row.
In the end, we hope that learning about the past will enable you to apply
the lessons, good and bad, to decisions you make in the future. Because in
order to secure the future, in order to live free as American citizens, it
is vital to learn about our mistakes.
If you don't want to loose your teeth, then remember to brush them. If you
don't want to loose your freedom as an American citizen, then learn our
history.
Is America in danger?
These are the best of times and the worst of times.... The greatest threat
to our freedom is from ourselves. We The People seem to be more interested
in being taken care of rather than caring for ourselves. Security, it
seems, has become the overall concern of most Americans. Many are ready to
surrender their freedom to in order to have freedom from.
What do I mean? Well, our forefathers saw freedom as the freedom to do
things. What kind of things? Well, own land, work a job, start a
business, protect ones self and family and a multitude of other things.
Today, We The People seem to be focused on freedom from things. What kind
of things? Well, how about this little list. Freedom from: hunger, harm,
illness, injury, painful words, images, hate, discomfort, insult, and
thousands of other things.
The bottom line is that many in America prefer to be free from
responsibility rather than having the freedom to be responsible. The former
requires that the government, through laws, restrict people in order to
protect us from ourselves. The latter requires that people behave in a
moral and ethical way, respecting the rights of others and expecting others
to respect their rights.
The abdication of personal responsibilty is by far the greatest threat to
our freedom and the freedom of our posterity. Those who surrender their
freedom to the government deserve the results. Be careful what you wish for!