History books need to revamp
Apart from what is being taught in history textbooks in school, one doesn’t find many “tech savvy” kids today picking up a history journal. In a bid to revive the culture of reading about our rich ancestral tales, the Archaeological Survey of India recently compiled a children’s book on Humayun’s Tomb.
With colourful illustrations and simple narrative, the guide which reads more like a storybook for children is sure to equip your kid with knowledge that many others at his or her age would not have. The move, however makes one think if more such books should be introduced to keep kids in touch with history and be part of school course?
“All kids read these days about is corrupt politicians, so history will keep them rooted not only in their nation’s past but also in the glory of the whole world in general. History is a subject that should be taught in a more interesting manner with more books like this one,” says Sunita, a government schoolteacher.
But CBSE counsellor Dr Geetanjali Kumar begs to differ. She says that the curriculum of any given subject is decided keeping a child’s overall development in mind. “What is important is that how much knowledge is useful at the school level. We have to keep a balanced approach while deciding on syllabus. School is not the right time to give children such detailed historical accounts. They always have an option to take up the subject that interests them at the college level,” she adds.
But youngsters are not really convinced with that approach. Content writer Meru, says unless they introduce such books at the school level, children will never be interested in history. “I never liked history in school, thanks to the ‘boring’ textbooks we had. For kids to remember a subject in depth, pictorial illustrations are very important. I don’t remember what I read in history at the school level, but later when I read interesting books on the same subject, it held my interest. So the schools can take cue from these books and atleast redo the presentation bit,” she concludes.
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