However, I would have been smart to also drop out of AP History. But, stupidly enough, I didn't.
I have to admit, I have never liked history. I'm totally bored by it. The information goes in one ear and out the other. However, since my friends were taking the class, I decided to jump on the peer pressure bandwagon and take the class too.
I didn't like the teacher. I didn't like taking notes. I didn't like reading the textbook. I didn't like writing papers. Basically, I hated every single thing about that class.
One day, our teacher asked us to write a 3-5 page paper on the oppression some group forced upon some other group (if I liked history, I would have actually remembered which groups of people I am actually referring to. However, I am being intentionally vague because I didn't care then, and I don't remember now.).
As always, I procrastinated writing the paper, and then agonized over it the night before it was due. The next morning, I handed it in, relieved that one more paper was finished.
A few days later, our teacher told us he had duped us. The one group hadn't actually been oppressed by the other group. He said out of all of the papers we wrote, only one person said they weren't oppressed, and one other person suggested that the oppression wasn't as, well, oppressive as we might think.
So, in other words, we all spent time agonizing over a completely b.s. paper.
At the end of the school year, I got a 1 (out of 5) on the AP final, completely failing the exam, and getting no AP credit toward my college education.
Does anybody out there hate history more than me? Is there anybody out there I could challenge to make me like it?
21 people wanted to leave a comment:
I have always loved history, but I understand why a lot of people don't. However, now that you have expressed just the tiniest bit of interest in trying to like it, I'm going to be giving you book recommendations until you hate me.
Challenge accepted.
The whole in ear out the other, I can totally relate:). My favorite class at BYU was church history, and it was also the only class I ever got a C in my entire life. But, until then, I didn't like any history classes. I think a huge part of liking history comes from how it is taught, however. My church history teacher was really enthusiastic and made it really fun. It could be that the history was more interesting to me though. Wish I could help, but I can't!
I think liking history is just seeing it in a context that is interesting to YOU. I never liked history classes, because I thought they were dry and completely devoid of any human emotion. But taking ART history classes completely changed that for me. I became a lot more interested in the history and politics of a certain region/time period because the art was a reflection of what was happening, so I got drawn in that way.
I took three AP classes in High School. Spanish, which si a joke now, European History, which I love, and Art History. I believe the only test I passed was European history. Because I'm awesome like that.
I HATE history. Blech. The only history lessons I have enjoyed were the American history documentaries, The Story of Us that the History Channel did last year. Those were fantastic!
I took AP classes my senior year, too (physiology, psychology, biology, and English). Lots o' credits for me!
I got peer-pressured into AP English. I passed the class (got maybe a B), but I didn't even bother to take the AP test because I knew all that stuff was over my head and beyond my ability to care enough to study up. What a waste, eh?
I never liked history classes at school, but I have to say: I love the History Channel. They make things fun - plus, who wouldn't like the history of a Twinkie?
Um, yeah - I even dislike church history. There, I said it.
I love history. I'm the person who took a history class just for fun in college and I would rent historical documentaries. Unfortunately, I also have the worst memory on anyone I know. Ya, I can't remember hardly any of it now.
I'll just stick with historical fiction.
ha ha ha..... I feel your pain. I really used to hate my history classes in school, but now the older I get... I just can't get enough of history. I love it! You know, when it's presented in fictional history type movies and books that are entertaining of course! :)
I love history but I am HORRIBLE at remembering dates. So that is what tripped me up in most history classes. I do like to read historical fiction and then go read up on the time period to see how it was the same and how it might have been embellished. I think that history is much more interesting if you think of it in terms of people's lives and their stories, not just names and places you have to memorize.
I never liked history in highschool and publicly admit I cheated off of my super smart boyfriend half of the time because I was too lazy and bored to actually pay attention and do the work myself.
Funny though, as an adult, I kind of like it! I always feel mad at myself for not trying enough in school.
Ha! This is funny.
I have to suspect though that you like history more than you're giving yourself credit for. I know you love Paris as much as I love Madrid, and those cities are just teeming with history. All the monuments, art, etc. have such fascinating stories behind them.
Now, the "study" of history... maybe not so fun, but history itself can be quite intriguing.
I like history just fine but there's just too danged much of it. Can't ever remember the dates and get names/locations confused.
So glad I didn't jump on the AP class bandwagon in high school. I've heard the history one is the WORST!
The hardest class of my college career was History of the Renaissance and Reformation, which I only took because I needed upper division credit. It blew my mind how the professor could stand up in class and just rattle off names and dates the entire time. I barely passed.
If you want interesting American history, try watching a few documentaries by Ken Burns. He does a good job.
I'm not much of a history buff. I prefer it in small doses, and like some of the previous comments..I agree that The History Channel makes it fun.
I was never even smart enough to take an AP class, let alone pass it. You are looking at someone that had to take alegra twice..TWICE. Lame. I know!
What an awful story! I have never cared for or against history. My husband would make it his life if he could. Sigh.
It's interesting that you wrote this right after the "Friendships" post. I've been packing all week, so I just read them both. I think the key to liking history is "becoming friends" with the people you're learning about. History IS awful if all you learn is dates and places. But if you really learn about the people, it can be really fun.
Try historical fiction. That's my favorite way to learn history. (The Work and the Glory. The Kingdom and the Crown...)
You need to watch Ancient Aliens on Netlfix (or the History Channel I think). It will change the way you look at ancient history. It's fun. Or I recently saw a book at Sam's Club called something about History's Greatest Lies. That one looks fun too.
I like history, but only when it's taught right. Meaning, fun!
Oh, history! I never cared much for it until AP US History my junior year. MAN was that awesome. Our teacher LOVED history and always told us funny or interesting stories about the world leaders or battles or whatever we were talking about. SUPER interesting. I loved it. Plus we always re-enacted court cases or played a game that taught us how hard it was for farmers to predict what would be successful to plant etc. He just made it so awesome, and I've liked history ever since. Then I married a guy that REALLY loves history (minored in US history) and knows his Church history really well, for which I am very grateful. (He knows so much that I don't and he can help me understand so many things based on things from church history/revelations etc.)
I always think it's sad when people hate history because it means a teacher (or teachers) ruined it for them. So unfair. Sorry you were such a victim.
Karen E. is a proffessor of French History, so hopefully she can help you. :)
I don't mind history. I like knowing historical things. But I agree that it's boring. I think that you would like first-had history. History books are boring because they're so vague and general. Reading first-hand accounts and journals and documents would be cool.
I would also like to point out that as opposed to you, I was a genius about AP classes. I only took AP English, which I loved with all my heart and got an A in. (only got a 3 on the AP test, but I did get 12 credits out of it!) My friends also took AP civics and free enterprise, but I took the regular old government class. They spent the year agonizing and stressing and working and barely managed C's (which translated to B's since they were AP) I sailed through my class barely doing any homework and got and A. Ha! (I also think I learned more than they did because their class was over their heads and too confusing, and mine was just basic stuff.)
Oh, one more thing. I love that you, like me, were peer-pressured into doing things like taking AP classes. I hope my kids end up with friends like that too.
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