History: the Lost, Neglected and Forgotten School Subject

There is no doubt that history as a distinct academic subject in our primary, secondary schools and even in at the university level is a lost, neglected and forgotten topic. It appears that even though research has shown that historical research can imbue students with critical-thinking skills useful to any profession, including science, technology, engineering and math, schools  at every level are singularly focused on the latter subjects with scant or no attention to history.

Many educators believe that history and social studies have been marginalized since the passage of the “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001” which requires students to be tested in mathematics, science, and to a lesser degree, English and Reading.  It seems that history is not directly tested in the common core and that clearly implies that it is substantially less important than math, science and literacy. A big part of the problem is that parents and political parties of every stripe are not as supportive as they might be for the inclusion of history in school curriculums. The common refrain of parents is that History is not practical and that it does not lead to a good paying job. The politicians and school board members on the other hand want to be responsive to parental preferences and they commonly point to statistics that show that students in certain Asian and European nations score better in math and sciences than U.S. student. In 2009, Congress slashed for the teaching of History including a total cut off the annual appropriation of $500,000 for National History Day school projects and  the Funding for the Teaching American History (TAH) grant program was not included in the FY 2012 budget because of Congressional opposition.

The Ossining Historical Society Museum (OHSM) has an informal arrangement with the Ossining School District to encourage class trips to the Museum this even includes an orientation for newly hired teachers each fall. However, funds for this have been steadily cut over the years and at the present time amounts to about $1500. OHSM would like to expand this and is looking into getting a grant from New York State’s “Path Through History” program. However it seems that most if a not all the $six million allotted will go to  the hotel, restaurant and travel businesses to encourage people to come to the various historic sites and museums but little if anything for the latter places themselves.