It Ain’t Ancient History

Since the fall of Apartheid in the early 1990s, teachers have had to transition both their thinking and their methods. The current curriculum promotes democracy and citizenship, including a “large emphasis on human rights” (Horn, 2017). Dr. Karen Horn discussed the importance of teaching students, or learners, to understand history as opposed to learning it.

At the early elementary levels, learners are taught the principles of studying history. Topics such as chronology, or history of communication and transportation, are learned on a broad scale. The curriculum is more skills-based at this early level. Learners analyze sources and learn how to develop an argument. For example, in grade 4, learners ask the big question, “What is a good leader?” This fosters a knowledge of what makes a true democracy.

Dr. Horn emphasized the importance of approaching history objectively. As a teacher, she said it is easy to portray a personal story, to offer anecdotes and impassioned rhetoric. The challenge, instead, is to show passion about the topic in general as opposed to passion about a particular side of history. With a topic so divisive as Apartheid, it is easy to fall into an “us against them” rhetoric. Instead, Dr. Horn emphasized avoiding blame; learners cannot be the perpetrators or the victims. Rather, it is vital to teach the topic as a case study, and to treat the learners as objective learners.