STANDARD COURSE OF STUDY

HISTORY

The study of history places human beings and their activities in time. Knowledge of history cannot enable one to predict the future, but it can reveal how other people in other times have dealt with problems and the success or failure of their solutions. It is unique in that it teaches the impacts of the past in shaping the world of today and in determining the options open to us. History can teach both the burdens the past has placed upon us, and the opportunities knowledge of the past can provide.

Human beings seek to understand their historical roots and to locate themselves in time. Such understanding involves knowing what things were like in the past and how things change and develop. Analyzing patterns and relationships within and among world cultures, such as economic competition and interdependence, age-old ethnic enmities, political and military alliances, and others, helps learners carefully examine policy alternatives that have both national and global implications. Knowing how to interpret and reconstruct the past allows one to develop a historical perspective.

Elementary Grades
Learners in early grades gain experience with sequencing to establish a sense of order and time. They enjoy hearing stories of the recent past as well as of long ago. They enjoy learning about history through the autobiographies and biographies of historical personalities. In addition, they begin to recognize that individuals may hold different views about the past and to understand the linkages between human decisions and consequences. Thus, the foundation is laid for the development of historical knowledge, skills, and values.

Middle Grades
In the middle grades, students continue to expand their understanding of the past and of historical concepts and inquiry. They begin to understand and appreciate differences in historical perspectives, recognizing that individual experiences, societal values, and cultural traditions influence interpretations. They discover that science and technology bring changes that astonish and even challenge beliefs and values.

High School
High school students engage in more sophisticated analysis and reconstruction of the past, examining its relationship to the present and its implications for the future. They integrate individual stories about people, events, and situations to form broader concepts in which continuity and change are linked in time and across cultures. At the high school level, students are able to think systematically about personal, national, and global decisions, interactions, and consequences, including addressing critical issues such as peace, human rights, trade, and global ecology. Students also learn how to draw on their knowledge of history in order to make informed choices and decisions in the present.

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