History Tuition

The following post I recently wrote for the website of my daughter’s new business, Star Tuition.  I feel passionately about history and hope that as many students as possible have the benefit of a teacher that opens the door to a world full of fascinating stories for them.

where history comes to life

When it comes to history, most people fall into either of two categories: they either love history or they hate history. Those who love it usually do so because they had a teacher or another person in their life, who made the subject come alive. Unfortunately, those who hate it usually missed out on such an experience. This is where history tuition by Star Tutors will make a difference – they make history come to life.

History is so much more than dates and battles and possibly some rulers. History deals with the lives that people like you and I would have led, if we had been born in a different period. Their experiences and development influences the way we live now.

History teaching in Australian schools places a lot of emphasis on the history of Australia after European settlement. While this is certainly important to understand where we are now in the Australia of today, we must not forget that all settlers brought their history from somewhere else, making their history our history.

Our political system of today is based on developments of antiquity. Just think of the words we use: ‘democracy’, from Greek meaning “government by the people”; the ancient Roman republic had a ‘senate’ with ‘senators’; ‘referendum’ comes from Latin; ‘plebiscite’, also Latin meaning “a decree by the common people”; and these are just a few examples.

This year, when we celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, this important medieval document is remembered everywhere, and rightly so, as many of the rights we take for granted have been enshrined in this document.

The 1297 Magna Carta at Parliament House, Canberra

The medieval period left many traces in our daily lives. We all have read books and newspapers. This wide dissemination of knowledge is only possible because of the invention of the printing press with movable type by Johannes Gutenberg in the 1450s. Think of the Renaissance with its re-discovery of the knowledge of antiquity and its thirst for understanding. This led to the discovery of – for Europeans – new worlds, like the Americas and eventually Australia.

There is a vast world waiting to be discovered. History tuition by an enthusiastic Star Tutor opens the gate to this world and takes you on a journey of discovery.

Bibliography:

Turner, R.V., ‘The Meaning of Magna Carta since 1215’, History Today, Volume 53, Issue 9 (Sept. 2003).  URL:  http://www.historytoday.com/ralph-v-turner/meaning-magna-carta-1215  [last accessed 26 Aug. 2015]

Magna Carta (Great Charter), 1297, Parliament House, Canberra.  URL:  http://www.magnacarta.senate.gov.au/ [last accessed 26 Aug. 2015]

Eisenstein, E.L., The Printing Press as an Agent of Change. Communications and cultural transformations in early modern Europe.  Cambridge University Press, 1997. http://www.langtoninfo.com/web_content/9780521299558_frontmatter.pdf  [last accessed 26 Aug. 2015]