Should History Be Made a Compulsory Subject?

History: A noble subject without doubt. But should it be made mandatory and, in a way, thrust upon all, desirous or not? The two sides to this argument are so clearly unbalanced that a fair view is often a rarity. Most of the opinionated public state that further streamlining should be promoted in education and that history has little place or importance in the modern world. The opposition rebut the claim, saying that a subject as simple, interesting and generally beneficial to the layman as history should actually be considered sacred in a way and should definitely form the basics of any education.

Among all the division of views on the importance of history, the most important factor which is usually synonymous with the view itself is age. The younger generation is all about doing what is only strictly necessary, and doing it fast. An overwhelming majority of the younger generation openly subscribe to the view that history is useless, time-consuming and a genuine waste of hard work. Somehow or the other, the view is often directly linked to the fact that most young people simply think the subject is boring,, which is definitely a popular individual viewpoint, rather than an obvious fact. In opposition to this movement of the young and the restless, there is a knowledgeable, experienced and deeply thoughtful group of people who are often senior citizens and leaders from a wide range of subjects and institutions. Their view is that history is a subject worthy of studying, even if a career is not to be pursued in the field in professional life. They believe that history plays a major role in mental development of a human being and that it serves more to the society than it does to the individual in most cases.

Beyond the educational curriculum, history serves an important role in politics and nationalism which is often ignored. The fact that politicians and diplomats alike are students of history has much to do with how the modern day world is run. These men and women who ask for votes and decide upon important policies and matters are keen upon learning from history as it provides a platform to learn from previous rulers' mistake. History also creates a sense of pride, confidence and identity of a people from a particular region. Knowledge of how a homeland was created and moulded into what it is in the present day world works wonders and creates unity of minds.

Even less noticed is the concrete social upliftment history has provided. With history present as a popular subject, the horizons for employment are broadening and the fact that history virtually spawned professions like archaeology and palaentology is a major point to be taken.

The entertainment value of history has not yet been recognized to its full right by far too many. With media becoming more and more influential in the global village that is our modern world, the creation of new movies, dramas, channels and documentaries on historical events has to be attributed to history and study of the subject as well. Much of present day folklore and tradition would simply be erased into oblivion if it were not for history.

With all the reasons looked into, I can confidently claim that I support the designation of history as a mandatory subject, as the benefits that it provides to all spheres of life are too widespread and significant to be recognized by a group of young people who have the audacity to simply dismiss it as 'too boring'.