Is History For Grown-Ups?

I was in a bookstore this afternoon, and as I was checking out the clerk (a woman who appeared to be in her mid-50s) noted that all the titles I was purchasing were history-related.  She gave a loud sigh and said "You know, I absolutely hated history in school.  But now I can't get enough of it.  That's strange, I guess."

I assured her that it wasn't.  This is a conversation I find myself having all the time, with both random people and people from my community.  To me, what's strange is that I have never heard a person say "I hated math as a kid but now I adore working fractions" or "Couldn't stand science when I was in college and recently I've become addicted to Discovery and the National Geographic channel."  The only thing that comes close is literature.  I've heard people of my generation talk about rediscovering books they avoided reading in high school and finally understanding why they're considered masterpieces.  (With one exception.  I have never heard anyone, anywhere, say they've come to a deep appreciation of Moby Dick after being forced to take multiple exams on it in school.  Sorry Mr. Melville.)

I'm not exactly sure why history seems to get better with age.  I suppose it has something to do with maturity, and with experiencing history on a personal level.  When you've lived through presidential scandals, overseas wars, and both boom times and recessions, you begin to have a better perception of things that were only "boring stories" to you when you were 15 or 21.  

There are exceptions.  Obviously, our Wofford history majors understand, appreciate, empathize, and critique. They love history so much they don't wait to grow into it.  But I do think, for most people, history finally clicks when their own lives really start to get complicated and interesting.  I often wish we had more non-traditional students at Wofford for just that reason, because those people would bring a higher level of interest and involvement than the average college freshman---eager to get through this 'junk' and onto his or her 'real' major---can conjure up.  Our students would learn from them, would see what's ahead.

I was a freaky kid who loved history and didn't care much for any other subject.  But the older I get, I do appreciate literature more, and recently I find myself genuinely interested in science (as long as no dissection or bad smells are involved).

But math?  Sorry.  I guess my brain, young once but now increasingly growing older, will always drop the ball on that one.

Comments

[jon doe]

History is for everyone. I was this bully type of person when i was a kind (teenager)but i always loved history class, maybe because my father is a history buff and was always telling me about history. I always thought that some thing that really had happened past was so amazing also because the truth is always more amazing than the fiction.