were boring, mostly about battles, when they occurred, and who won. I had an American history teacher in 11th grade who spent most of every class talking about himself, his student days, and his children. Then at the end of class, he would give us a memorization homework assignment, like memorizing all the of the US presidents in order.
I got exasperated and challenged him to actually teach something about the time period and each administration. His response was that he was teaching us to use our minds with memorization homework. He said the mind is a muscle that needs exercise. I countered that the mind is not muscle but a network of neurons. The bell rang then. Nothing changed.
I discovered history later, first from historical novelists like James Michener and Leon Uris, then learned about Barbara Tuchmann. When I got involved in genealogy, I learned more about history than in any high school or college course. Tracing one family branch to New England Puritans and their British ancestors led me to read up on the religious movements in Britain, the British civil war(s) and dynasties, the customs carried over to the American colonies, the early American colonists, early slavery in the North, the Revolution, etc.
I already knew something about my Native ancestors from my family, but learned more about them through reading, visits to the reservation, and online records where I found photos of some Native ancestral relatives.
I already knew from my uncle and grandfather about why my maternal great grandparents left the German Empire as political refugees, but read up on the period and the movement that they were part of. That led to more reading of German history back to the tribes that invaded Rome. I understood better the background setting for Nazi Germany and how nationalism and racism can lead to the destruction of democratic governments.
Most of that should have been taught in schools.
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