Teaching History- The Study of Stories Written by the Victors by Isra

Teaching History- The Study of Stories Written by the Victors by Isra - August 2017 Scholarship Essay

If I were a college professor, I would be a history professor. More specifically the required US history courses that practically every college student has to take in order to graduate.
I absolutely love history. I love learning about what the people who occupied this planet before us did. I love understanding how our customs and traditions evolved over the years to get to where they are today. I love learning about what caused events to happen and studying their aftermaths. As a history professor, I would get a chance to not only continue learning and being a student but also share my love and passion for this course with others.
History can be complicated and I am sure that the learning never really ends. And it is not only about just learning about things that already happened, it's also about understanding things that are happening now. The minute you just spend reading this essay is now a part of history! In addition, history helps us predict and prepare for the future because as any good history student knows, it repeats itself. By understanding history, we can make our lives better and teaching the course would allow me to help that process at least get started. It’s important for students to understand why the history course is required in the first place and to appreciate it, instead of just taking it as a class for easy marks and to fulfill a requirement.
As a history college professor, I would also get a chance to challenge the perspective of students. History encourages critical thinking in a completely different way from science or math. People who have lost and suffered over the years did not get the privilege to write down records of what happened and more importantly, they did not have a way to preserve those records. The people of the losing side were too busy trying to survive as best as they could in their circumstances, whether that was during a war, in slavery, famine, or even illness. This means that most of the books and records we are lucky to have found were written and created by the loyalty and the elites of society. Of course, there are exceptions but in US history they are extremely rare compared to other parts of the world. When history is written by the victor, the events that happened do not seem so bad. The bad events are usually not described in detail and the sacrifices and suffering are hidden and minimized as much as possible. In class, I would get a chance to ask the students to think about the other side, the one that is not mentioned except in a negative light.
Some history is quite fresh and there are some who have grandparents that are still alive from that time. These lucky students would be the best part of being a history professor because then the entire class could hear from the person of what really happened. Although the grandparent may be biased or not remember exactly what transpired, it would really help us realize that history was something that really did happen and not a story that no longer matters. We could discuss what the effects of those events where and whether the effects can still be seen and felt today. This would be the best part.
US history can be quite depressing but it is important for students to know. As a professor, this class would give me the chance to inform them of what happened in the US and how that affected the rest of the world. I love world history just as much, if not more but I would not be able to reach the same amount of students and would thus have a lower impact on how history is perceived and understood today.
As a history college professor, I would continue to try and instill the sense of adventure of learning that most professors have forgotten to do today. I could take my students on field trips to museums and other historical places to remind them and really drive home the real impact that history had on yesterday, on today and will have on tomorrow too. The benefits of being a history professor are bountiful and I would never choose any other class.