We've got to raise the bar.

So today, while I was sitting in my APUSH Class, I thought to myself "W-T-F! Why is it that every history class I've had since like 3rd grade simply focuses on politics and wars. I mean think about it, most of your American history textbooks probably discuss the annoying political bitchiness of Jackson, Calhoun, Webster, and of course Henry Clay, for over 100 pages. Seriously, think about it. History isn't just about different governments and their interaction with each other, its really about the time period as a whole.

There are thousands of facets that are left unexplored by the common history teacher. I think its sad that most classes are now taught in a realist (no, not the literary term. Realist as in a theory of international relations) perspective. This teaching method loses sight of many of the things that are actually important. Things like an era's societal movements, family lifestyle, popular literature and art, etc. We forget about the famous American authors of the 1800's such as Poe, Hawthorne, Emerson, and Thoreau. Or great American painters like Charles Wislon Peale and John Singleton Copley. I bet most history students don't know what type of music was most common among the people in the late 19th century. Both art and music have a significant impact on our society today. Rap, Hip Hop, and modern Rock have shaped modern society, and I'm positive it did then too. Yet we know nothing about it.

And although, I've only been comparing this to U.S. history, it definitely applies to World or European history, if not more. The more countries that are designated for study, the more the class is about war. Most of the focus is on aristocratic politics, wars, and treaties between them all. Actually, they are often dominated by Western thought and expansion. Think about world history for example. Probably, the most neglected continents are South America and Africa. Why? Because they haven't been involved in either World Wars, Vietnam, Korea, etc. If anything, the only times we talk about Africa was when Western Powers like Britain, Portugal, and France colonized it. We don't learn anything about African culture and tradition, yet most people might know about Greek or Roman philosophy. Why? Well because Western history is more important/interesting. Really.... Really... Come on. Now South America, The only time I think South America is every spoken about in World History, is the Native Americans, i.e. Incas, Mayas, and Aztecs. And Why them? Because the Spanish conquistadores came to America and wiped them out. Once again, South America was only spoken of because it was conquered by the West. Never have I heard of a class that talks about the development of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, or Colombia as nations.

We BARELY focus on these kind of subjects, and instead are forced to memorize a laundry list of battles and military leaders. I will say, however, that there are a few things I appreciate that are discussed. For instance, discussing women's rights or unionized labor movements have all been educational because they describe the activism of the people in that time period. Unfortunately, I see my classmates sigh when we reach these topics because they think these issues are "boring". It kind of makes me cringe to know that people would rather study the political bickering of Jefferson and Hamilton than learn about the economics and labor methods of early industrial society.

While I still agree that politics and things like Western Colonization are important and that they have an enormous influence on history, I think we have simply focused too much on it. The classroom has once again, lost sight of the entire forest and only focused on a few trees. If we stay on this path, I think all those important aspects of history could really be lost. Students and teachers need to seek a balance of learning about all the fundamental aspects of history. Soon. Like Now.