Category: Blog posts about General Principles of Historical Knowledge

Comparing student performance in history to other social studies fields

Not only do American students perform much worse in history than in other core school subjects on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), students also perform worse in history compared to kindred social studies fields.

The most recent NAEP assessments in social studies were conducted in 2018 among eighth graders. Fifteen percent of these students performed at or above the proficient level in American history, compared to 24 percent in civics and 25 percent in geography.

Considering that American history has long been the most prominent social studies subject taught in the nation’s schools, one might expect history to easily outperform these other school subjects. What factor can possibly explain why history education consistently performs so poorly?

The probable answer: Other school subjects—including social studies fields—are based on imparting an established set of coherent general principles for students to learn and remember, whereas history schooling is comprised of an amorphous collection of sundry events devoid of any unifying structure to render the knowledge intelligible, meaningful, or memorable.

How long can we continue to accept this lamentable and embarrassing state of affairs when an obvious remedy is readily available? Our schools can and should teach students about Recurring Dynamics of History, which are equivalent to the general principles that define other academic fields and virtually all productive fields of human endeavor.

With help from a few old and new teacher friends, I’m in the process of developing a lesson that demonstrates how Recurring Dynamics of History might be taught in the classroom. The lesson is titled: “Democracy is fragile; it has fallen repeatedly to authoritarian rulers.” Stay tuned for further information.

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Recurring Dynamics of History…or General Principles?

Since the publication of my book Future-Focused History Teaching in 2018, it has become apparent that some historians will remain uncomfortable with the idea that general principles can be derived from the subject matter of history. Perhaps these people might find it easier to support the sensible concept of future-oriented history instruction if the term recurring dynamics of history were substituted for the term general principles of history.

Recurring dynamics in history are equivalent to the general principles that define other academic subjects and virtually all productive fields of human endeavor, and no one can reasonably doubt their existence. We need only look to major events of our time—the problem-plagued U.S. invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Great Recession of 2008, or the COVID pandemic of 2020—to recognize contemporary instances of often-repeated dynamics of the past.

Such dynamics may seem obvious to those well-versed in the subject of history, but they may go unrecognized by the general public and by the nation’s leaders unless pointed out, which can leave our society surprised and unprepared when these dynamics recur again. Pointing them out should be a primary function of history education. What historical knowledge could be more important?
-Mike Maxwell

Weeeee’re back!


The historically weird school year of 2020-21, with its closings, openings, online teaching, and masked crusaders is over and done with. Hopefully teachers are taking a well-deserved break before thinking too hard about the next school year.

We chose this pause between show times to bring back the Future-Focused History Blog from its pandemic hiatus. “Hello” old friends, and “Welcome” to the new folks who signed up to join us during the interregnum.

At this time, I would like to propose a significant modification to our terminology.

As you are likely aware, general principles of history constitute a central component of our conception of future-focused history teaching. However, it has become clear that many academic historians will remain reluctant to accept the idea that general principles can be derived from the subject matter of history. This is important because these are the people who teach history teachers.

Consequently, I have begun to emphasize an alternative term: recurring dynamics of history. No one can reasonably doubt that recurring dynamics of history exist. To do so would be to deny that deadly epidemics, discrimination against minority groups, and failed foreign invasions have occurred repeatedly over the course of human history.

More on this later, but for now, enjoy your summer.
-Mike Maxwell

Awaiting normalcy

Hello friends-
I probably should have posted this message before now, but like a lot of people I’ve been waiting to see what’s next.

This blog has been essentially dormant since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, which is pretty much consuming all the air in education circles. With concerns about closing and reopening schools and how to conduct on-line learning, I doubt there’s much bandwidth left just now to consider reforming history education.

Recently I’ve been working on some updates to my two books on history education. Both now include references to the term “recurring dynamics” of history, which some historians might prefer to the term “general principles” of history. The Student’s Friend Concise World History now sports a snazzier cover and a topic index.

I’ll be back at the blog when the pandemic is under control and we’re on the road to normal schooling again. In the meantime, let’s all plan to stay well.

Best wishes, Mike.

Best wishes for the new decade

Will it be another Roaring 20s?
The flapper era brought a new spirit of independence to young women, but let’s hope this go-round is not—like the last 20s—an interlude before a cataclysmic war and a time of stock market excess that brought on a Great Depression. Let’s hope we have learned something from history.

Speaking of useful knowledge gained from prior experience, I recently heard a brief but enlightening (4 minutes long) radio broadcast about what might be “human kind’s greatest strength,” the power of generalization. If interested, click here.

Speaking of the power of generalization, if any of you teachers out there are experimenting with teaching general principles of historical knowledge in your classrooms, please let us know how it’s going. In any case, I hope your new semester is getting off to a real good start. -Mike

Feeling like a pioneer?

For any teachers who might wish to begin experimenting with adding principles of historical knowledge to their instruction, we now have a sample set of 11 recommended principles available for use second semester. Being timeless and universal, principles of history should be suitable for both U.S. and world history courses. (More about general principles of historical knowledge here.)

Early adopters are the intrepid pioneers willing to enter uncharted territory to explore how Future-Focused History (FFH) can be taught effectively.

Teachers who are not in a position to modify their instruction for the second semester of this school year can begin to think about how they can incorporate principles of history next year. To assist with this process, we have added two new areas to the Future-Focused History blog: “Classroom instruction Posts,” where the latest developments in FFH instruction can be found, and “Classroom instruction Pages,” a place where teachers can share their ideas and experiences and assemble a useful collection of knowledge. 

Visit the Classroom instruction Pages for some preliminary thoughts about how to teach general principles of history.

If you are willing to take up the challenge, and plan to teach general principles of history in your classroom, please let us know by adding a comment below or by emailing Mike at max@studentsfriend.com.

Eleven key principles of history chosen by readers

The votes are in. From a list of 38 suggested possibilities, our readers were asked to choose 10 general principles of historical knowledge they considered most suitable for teaching to students in school. Identifying a sample set of enduring principles of history is a preliminary step in preparing to experiment with teaching such principles in classrooms.

General principles of knowledge form the basis of learning in school subjects other than history and in virtually all productive human endeavors. General principles of history (which might also be termed historical tendencies, recurring patterns in history, or lessons of history) are a key component of Future-Focused History teaching, which is designed to fulfill the fundamental purpose of education by imparting knowledge useful in the future

Four principles of history tied for first place in our survey, and seven tied for second place, leaving us with a recommended list of 11 key principles of historical knowledge. Fourteen people participated in the survey, casting 119 votes. While the 11 leading picks represented only 29% of available selections, they garnered 53% of votes cast, indicating solid support for these choices.

Teachers wishing to experiment with bringing Future-Focused History into their classrooms now have a curated set of general principles they can draw from. Teachers may wish to teach any or all of these principles or to teach other principles of their own choosing. Next, we can consider how principles of history might be taught effectively.

ELEVEN SAMPLE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE CHOSEN BY READERS:

  • Humans have long manifested an instinctual yearning to explore, to learn, and to develop new technologies to improve their lives.
  • People tend to promote their self-interest and the interest of their group, so bias is all around us.
  • Humans tend to position themselves along a political spectrum that ranges from conservative to liberal.
  • Major events usually result from multiple causes, some long-term and some more immediate.
  • Taking control of the media makes it possible to brainwash large numbers of people.
  • When a country’s government is toppled by internal revolution or an external enemy, civil war may break out as factions in the country compete to fill the power vacuum.
  • Humans exhibit an instinct to resist external control.
  •  Humans exhibit a propensity to fear, dislike, kill, subjugate, and discriminate against people from groups different than their own.
  • Government actions tend to produce unintended consequences.
  • Major cultures and empires have followed a general pattern of growth, flowering, and decline throughout history.
  • Mismanagement of the environment will be paid back by loss of resources.  

See also:
Mike’s five additional principles of history
Original list of 38 suggested principles of history
More about general principles of history
The power (and peril) of generalization
“Historical Thinking Skills: A Second Opinion”

Blog followers: We need your help.

Choose 10 important and enduring principles of historical knowledge that we can begin teaching to students in school.

To make your selections, visit this page in the blog’s Classroom Instruction section: “Help us identify 10 key principles of historical knowledge.”

Thanks for your valuable contribution to advancing the goal of Future-Focused History education. -Mike Maxwell

Where do we go from here?

Hello again. In a blog post about five weeks ago, I raised the question of where to go from here in advancing the goal of Future-Focused History (FFH) education.

In the intervening weeks, I was distracted by technical problems with this blog, the publication of my recent article in the NCSS journal, and personal projects. I’m back now, and plan to concentrate on discussing with you the future of FFH schooling.

Here’s where we stand at the moment. There is the book I published last year that documents the declining role of history education in our schools and colleges and outlines a hopeful vision of historical learning that can be useful to peoples’ lives. And there is this blog, which has been in existence for three months (and summarizes some of the main points raised in the book), and there are the 78 souls who are interested enough in this vision to sign up to follow the blog.

Most blog followers are history teachers, an exceptional group of educators who have moved beyond the concerns of day-to-day classroom survival to consider the fundamental questions behind history schooling: Why does it exist, and how can it best fulfill its mission? I am honored to be in the company of such people.

Over the past few weeks, it’s become clear to me that the FFH vision needs to move beyond theory to practice; teachers want to see a curriculum. Fred, a follower of this blog, wrote, “Mike, so just as an example of FFH, if I am teaching the Age of Exploration to my grandson through homeschooling, how would I implement this system?” 

Veteran teacher Chase Parsley suggested that we try to identify “the principles, cognitive learning strategies, and historical knowledge we think are important (like suggested in the book), and go from there? Maybe… producing some sort of canned curriculum?”

On the FFHistory Facebook page, a thoughtful teacher named Justin Schwenk also asked about identifying principles of history, which are a cornerstone of FFH education. He writes, “Who gets to define…what a comprehensive list of “principles of history” are, and how do we arrange them into a curriculum?” 

The final chapter of my FFH book (most of the book, actually) discusses in a general way how FFH education might be implemented in the American system of schooling. But for FFH schooling to become a reality, it will need a classroom-tested curriculum that features effective lessons.

So, we need come up with volunteers who are willing to pioneer the FFH concept by experimenting with FFH in their classrooms. Some of you have already graciously volunteered to help—which is terrific. But perhaps we need to first identify, as Chase and Justin suggested, a set of important general principles of history that can be incorporated into a history curriculum.

I don’t know what an optimal number of general principles would be, but I’ll make a suggestion that we begin by identifying ten principles of historical knowledge. What do you think? And which principles should be chosen? Well, a sample of six principles, and related historical events, are available on the “More about general principles” page of this blog.

I’ve just added another blog page that lists 23 principles of historical knowledge mentioned in my FFH book, certainly not an exhaustive listing. Please feel free to suggest any other principles of history that you feel are worth consideration.

If we can pin down a suitable list of general principles of history to start with, maybe we could begin to experiment with adding them to the curriculum by next semester. As always, your input is welcome. Nay, it is essential. -Mike