History matters. It matters not only because people can learn from the past, but because the present and the future are connected to the past by the continuity of a society's institutions. Today and tomorrow's choices are shaped by the past. And the past can be made intelligible only as a story of institutional evolution. This story focuses on the…

Offers the opinions of four high school students about the importance of United States history. The students express opinions regarding teaching practices, course content, course requirements, and the sequencing of history courses within the high school curriculum. (JDH)

Criticizes the National Standards in World History because they do not consider what American high school students need most to learn about world history given the limited time allotted to each subject. The author argues that the standards minimize the intellectual and political history of the West, poorly conceptualize the 20th century, and…

Explores what assumptions, specifically cultural memories and identity components, students bring with them into a world history course. Focuses on such topics as "Western" values and the two possible candidates of memory issues in world history (gender and idea of "modern"). (CMK)

Japan has often been criticized for allegedly teaching its schoolchildren about the history of Imperial Japan 1895-1945 in selective and misleading ways. Is this criticism justified, and how does it compare with the record of another former colonial power in East Asia: England? International criticism of history teaching in England has been…

Provides background information on the life of David Van Tassel and discusses his role in the founding of National History Day. Includes tributes written by people affected by National History Day, including students, teachers, parents, and colleagues. (CMK)

In this article, the author describes his use of an old obsolete and quaintly archaic form of entertainment in order to create a more lively academic discussion. He introduced the songs of Scottish folk/pop singer, Al Stewart, as an effective teaching tool in his class. Students listened to several Al Stewart songs: (1) "A League of Notions"--a…

In this article, the author suggests that teachers of history have not only professionally "challenging" and socially "important" jobs, but immensely "pleasurable" ones as well. He emphasizes not the pleasures that "all" teachers, whatever their subject, enjoy from time to time, but those particular to teachers of "history". Here, the author…

At Del Norte Independent School District (DNISD) (El Paso, Texas), Mexican American students are the majority ethnic group, but their history and culture have not been incorporated into the high school curriculum. Hence a goal of citizenship education, to increase student understanding of their own ethnic heritage and its part in U.S. history, is…