When I was in school, I thought I hated history. A lot of it was about war. Who won or lost each battle. Which general outwitted the enemy?
Why would most of this matter to me? I was certainly not interested in a military career! The rest was mostly about government and politics. OK, but it was still too much detail for me.
Later on in life, I realized that I love history. I was always excited about discovery, invention, creativity, and breaking new ground. It turns out that I was studying plenty of history, I just didn't call it that. In junior high school, I was often in the library after school, reading all about the discovery and use of electricity, radio, electronics, computers, engines, motors, the power grid, movie production, audio and video recording, and so on. All of these things are intimately connected with art and culture as a whole.
As I looked back I felt cheated by the public education system (and yes, I went to "good" schools). I never got any grades or credit for what I was doing. I realized that all the things that I was excited about have had a significant impact on life today, but were omitted from the history curriculum, and still are, even today!
In a moment of anger and frustration a few years ago, I devised this test. It's a PDF file, so if you want to download it, print it, or share it, that's fine. There is a link below. Please just make sure you give credit to me when you do.
Why would most of this matter to me? I was certainly not interested in a military career! The rest was mostly about government and politics. OK, but it was still too much detail for me.
Later on in life, I realized that I love history. I was always excited about discovery, invention, creativity, and breaking new ground. It turns out that I was studying plenty of history, I just didn't call it that. In junior high school, I was often in the library after school, reading all about the discovery and use of electricity, radio, electronics, computers, engines, motors, the power grid, movie production, audio and video recording, and so on. All of these things are intimately connected with art and culture as a whole.
As I looked back I felt cheated by the public education system (and yes, I went to "good" schools). I never got any grades or credit for what I was doing. I realized that all the things that I was excited about have had a significant impact on life today, but were omitted from the history curriculum, and still are, even today!
In a moment of anger and frustration a few years ago, I devised this test. It's a PDF file, so if you want to download it, print it, or share it, that's fine. There is a link below. Please just make sure you give credit to me when you do.
| historytest.pdf |
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