ancient is history

i'm done teaching ancient history, and seventh graders.

right now, i should be tweaking their semester exam.  i have to give it to them in the morning.

it's really funny that i'm a teacher, but far more humorous that i'm a history teacher.  there's only a few people who can really appreciate that...  less than 12 months ago, i clearly recall making fun of my friends who were history majors.  for a few weeks after graduation i thought it was hilarious to introduce Brian with "he was a history major, but he regrets it."  even though it was completely untrue, he had to start off a few conversations by asserting his interest in history.

i had a four-year class in high school called "History of the Christian Faith" (HCF), and it covered medieval history in depth.  i'd never studied ancient history, officially or not, before this year.  since i have an excess of college credit (including 24 of "history"), i didn't have to pass any tests to become a "highly qualified" history teacher.

you can't teach a subject that you're not interested in.  you just can't.  my first dilemma this year was finding an angle to become passionate about history.  my angle, unsurprisingly, is economics.  i love cause-and-effect, and individual decision-making, and probabilities, and significance, and irrationality, and ALL of those things can connect to the study of history.  it took me a while to figure that out, though.

once i started teaching, i realized that i needed the students to be interested in what i was teaching.  i was not okay with anyone being apathetic.  i took it personally.  this led to a hilarious double-standard — i'm on record as saying history isn't particularly interesting, yet i expected my students to be fascinated.

so, the first semester was a journey to convince myself history was interesting, as much as it was anything else.  there were more than a few moments in class when i was trying to convince students something was cool or interesting, and i realized that i had successfully convinced myself.    it was probably visibly noticeable to a perceptive observer.  i've never been able to fake enthusiasm well, or had any desire to, so these moments of discovering genuine enthusiasm were incredibly important.  

by Christmas, i was a believer.  in the second semester, i didn't have to force my own interest, and i could focus on sharing my enthusiasm with my classes.  this made me a better teacher, but it also an important testimony that your attitude towards particular subjects (and education in general) really matters.  i hadn't allowed history to be interesting, so i never found it interesting.  furthermore, my economically-biased approach forces history to have meaning.  i've had several students tell me that i make history "deeper" than other teachers they've had.  focusing on significance leads to questions and discussions about what really matters, instead of simply memorizing facts and forgetting them.  it's a somewhat philosophical approach.

even though i'm incredibly excited to teach economics next year (i've already started planning lessons and projects and assignments in my head), i'm undeniably sad to be leaving ancient history in the past.  that's strange.  the cool thing is, i now have all that "ancient" knowledge to incorporate into my other subjects.  i try to make connections between things whenever possible, if you haven't noticed.