Why do we continue studying history? Why do we spend so much time picking apart events that have already occurred? How does peering into the past add value to the present and impact future decisions?

There’s a common assumption among high school students that studying history adds little value to a student’s academic education and future; it is a useless subject. Instead, many students prefer classes in the sciences and in math, citing these courses as curricula that would be more applicable and practical, and ultimately teach them knowledge and skills that would be relevant for their future careers. 

This view on studying history is part of a notion that reviewing the past has little use. Henry Ford famously once said, “History is more or less bunk,” and this belief is apparent in the amount of history majors in college these days. As reported in a 2018 report by Benjamin Schmidt, “with slightly more than twenty-four thousand current history majors, it accounts for between one and two percent of bachelor’s degrees, a drop of about a third since 2011.” Part of the reason for such a massive decline in this field during the 2000’s was the 2008 financial crisis which pushed students to pick a major that offered a steady job. Since 2013, majors like nursing, engineering, computer science, and biology, have seen a massive increase in student interest. 

Another reason for the declined interest in studying history is the way that it has been taught and introduced to students. Larry Cuban, a scholar in promoting history education, states that the subject is taught “​​in ways that makes students think that history is a turgid list of names and dates”; many history classrooms emphasize taking notes without break and the perception that cramming facts from a textbook just to reverberate them on tests is not singular. There has been a lack of meaningful discussions about historical events and their implications to today’s world, and this is undeniably a root cause for the scarcity of students enthusiastic about history.

Despite a decline in the number of history majors and a continued approach that makes the past seem “boring,” learning about and analyzing history is still relevant and important. According to an article from Teaching American History, “History, both objective and subjective, is ever becoming — never completed”– it allows for a better understanding of past time periods and of individuals who contributed greatly to shaping and changing society. The subject is more than just memorizing facts, it can be the examination of movements and how they pushed to make a legal and social impact. History is not simple. It is complicated with opposing narratives but also inspires pushes for progress.

Corrections & Amplifications:

“There has been a lack of meaningful discussions about historical events and their implications to today’s world, and this is undeniably a root cause for the scarcity of students enthusiastic about history.” A previous version of the article mistakenly said “for the scarcity of students unenthusiastic about history”. (Corrected on May 30)