In any educational setting, teachers must be mindful of the different ways students learn. The greatest asset of an education in history is the understanding of the manner in which the events of our world connect and reflect one another. Instructors explain trends, shared perspectives, and power dynamics witnessed in very different parts of the world to help contextualize and bring value to the study of history.

Far too often, however, our overwhelming focus on such trends and broad patterns of society washes away the finer details of our learning. The most important context for any event is the time period in which it took place, as the minds of rulers and revolutionaries are shaped by the peers of their time.

In the upper school history department, I oppose relentlessly quizzing students about precise dates and other metrics of fine print when investigating historical subjects. However, I do believe more should be done to encourage students to memorize the geographical and chronological location of such events.

Although the ability to make connections between history’s trends is highly valuable, such a skill is all but worthless if one cannot point to a nation-state on a map, or locate an important event on a timeline.

Our teachers should reward students for understanding these finer details; if this additional context is widely promoted, many new possibilities open up for discussion and analysis.

History is constantly being added to; students need the skills to keep up with the change.

The upper school history curriculum has moved away from pure memorization and lectures to a curriculum that encourages more synthesis and discussion over the last eight years. History teachers now focus on explaining cause and effect and social dynamics to help students contextualize history.

Some students have felt that the shift of priority has left them unprepared or unaware of history that has been taught to other students the same age, such as dates or timelines.

“As phones became more and more powerful tools and information, we just started to really look at whether memorization was really a good use of our time…because historians also look stuff up,” US history teacher Mollie Ward said.

This is not to say that learning specifics such as dates and timelines are unimportant. But in a class that meets two to three times a week for just over an hour, history teachers need to spend their class time wisely.

The current curriculum puts an emphasis on teaching students the skills they need to interpret and discuss the material they are being taught. This way of teaching establishes the college prep reputation the school has.

Students also have the opportunity to research dates and timelines given the information they are taught on their own time, as a hobby. Teachers don’t eliminate context in class; they give students a great place to start if they want to take their learning further.

Learning dates can also be tedious and boring work that doesn’t resonate with students (or teachers) as dates often get lost in the sea of information taken in after tests or quizzes have passed.

Learning history holistically allows students to better retain patterns and outcomes in history.

Despite students’ concerns about dates not being ingrained in their learning, the history department should continue to prioritize teaching the skills needed to digest and present information.