Reflecting on BSSS History rationale

The BSSS's rationale for the study of History in years 11 and 12 makes perfect sense to me. I like that emphasis is placed on the role of history in shaping an individual's sense of where they fit in the world, as well as shaping their understanding of cultural heritages and why values and beliefs vary from one culture to another.

I'm also pleased to see that the rationale calls attention to the fallibility of history, its flexibility of interpretation and that various theoretical approaches to history, be they feminist history, Marxist, post-colonial, marginalised, indigenous and so on, can both illuminate history from another angle and problematise some elements of history.

The rationale compares quite closely with my own reason for teaching history. I've always found it an interesting topic and one that sheds light on the modern world and how we live today. I like that looking at the world through an historians' eyes helps us to be more accepting of different cultures, more tolerant, and yet at the same time more critical and analytical. The old adage rings true: "Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it."

A definition of History

Reading the NSW Board of Studies History syllabus, I quite liked the introduction to the discipline of history. It's not often I actually am struck by an eloquent, all-encompassing yet realistic piece of text like this in such formal documents:

"History is a disciplined process of inquiry into the past that allows students to locate themselves in the broad continuum of human experience. It enables students to appreciate and enjoy the human endeavours and achievements of the past, both for their own intrinsic interest and for their legacy to later generations. History provides opportunities for students to explore human actions in a range of historical contexts and encourages them to develop understanding of motivation, causation, consequence and empathy.

The study of history provides the intellectual skills to enable students to critically analyse and interpret sources of evidence in order to construct reasoned explanations, hypotheses about the past and a rational and informed argument. History also enables students to understand, deconstruct and evaluate differing interpretations of the past. The cognitive skills of analysis, evaluation and synthesis underpin the study of history and equip students with the ability to
understand and evaluate the political, cultural and social events and issues that have shaped the world around them.