“Some people find history a fascinating subject.

Others say it is dull and has no place in

Points to develop
l History shows human progress
l History gives us our roots
l History means past, the focus should be on future

History has always been, starting from the Ancient Greeks and even before, a fundamental
aspect of human life.
It is not case, in fact, that the study of certain and important events from the past was greatly
valued as a fundamental part of the education of millions of students around the world for
centuries and was held in great consideration by the most important pedologists and educators.
This view on history has changed radically in the last decades, with the golden period of rebirth
of the 1950s, to the point that a few percentage of people globally find history boring and
useless, unproductive for the education of the new generations, that should instead focus their
minds to more practical subjects and interests, such as technology, mathematics and science.
There are many advantages and disadvantages of the study of past events that could be listed
and discussed and I am going to develop some of these points in this essay.

The first argument in favor of the study of history by the new generation is that it shows human
progress. In the Italian educational system, the teaching of this subject starts from the third year
of elementary school until the last year of high school, therefore is taken in great consideration.
The program to follow starts from prehistoric age and the study of the biological evolution of
man from the monkey to "homo sapiens", or our species.
Even though it has recently been proposed a reform on the history program to be followed
throughout the preparation of the children in school, such a vast study plan is actually essential
and fundamental to better understand where certain things we use daily come from, starting
from the evolution of mankind.
Hereafter, the invention of the wheel, for example, that can result as a banal thing to most
people, but it actually revolutionized the ancient world and set the basis for greater inventions
that would become essential in our lives later on. Only by learning the basics first and their
origins we can hope for a better world for ourselves and our descendants and future
generations.

The second advantage of history and the importance of it as a school subjects is that, through
the learning of past events, we also know more about our homeland and our ancestors, giving
us our roots. The cultural attachment to a certain territory and a specific ethnical group has
always been an important aspect of man’s life; the desire to better understand one’s origins and
historical and cultural background is intrinsic in the human soul.
Even the ancients myths, especially the greek and latin ones, valued the importance of
apprenticing their own origins, especially since it was common belief that important politicians
figures were descendants of heroes or demigods.
Even though this is an example of folklore and often related to political propaganda,
humankind has always wanted to understand themselves and the others better, and this can be
done starting from researching one’s origins.
Nowadays, the majority of people still significantly value their roots and connection to their
ancestors and homeland, especially if they are children of immigrants or that have moved to
anther country due to various reasons. In today’s society, there are many initiatives that involve
many people around the world associated by their nationality and cultural background, such as
the Black History Month, celebrated worldwide in the month of February.

One point against history I will develop in my essay is the belief that by studying events from
the past, leaving aside their importance or greatness, we are wasting our time, that should be
rather spend on focusing on the future.
This opinion is largely diffused in today’s society and amplified through social media,
especially by younger people, who in most cases do not understand the importance of history
and the power held by someone who knows this subject very well.
However, the new generation cannot either be blamed for having this opinion on history, since
they are born in the Internet era, and are educated from a really young age to focus on te most
practical aspects of life, how to obtain an economic gain from everything and how to exploit
social media to became famous and successful. In this view, it is almost natural that history is
now seen a second-class subject, that should not be obligatory in school but only be mastered
by few people, who had previously developed a passion for it.

In my opinion, I find the study of history and the past fundamental for the education of every
one, even in a world so technologically advanced, where almost everything is controlled by
artificial technology and computers. My belief is influenced by the education I have been given
and my personal interests and passion, as well as the professional career path I would like to
follow in the future. Despite this, I am of the opinion that the study of past events and ancient
population, their social systems, politics and cultural backgrounds is important to better
understand our world and prevent certain things to happen again, since history is the greater
teacher we can ever have and we human beings can only learn for previous mistakes.