Critical thinking requires analysis to develop an understanding of the world we see.  Question what you see, hear and read. Always ask “why?” Don’t be sheep!

Whose history is it anyways?  In order to for us to learn history we must become engaged and interactive with the subject.  In an effort to do so, we must question the importance of the information, its bias, impact and relevancy then and now.  History comes alive when we understand and utilize the following six critical thinking concepts: historical significance, evidence, continuity and change, cause and consequence, historical perspective and moral judgment. 

Historical Significance– behind the selection of what and who should be remembered, researched, taught and learned is the issue of historical significance.  Questions of significance are foundational to thinking about history because historians cannot include all that has happened in the past and students must be concerned to learn about and appreciate the most important event.  But what is important, historically speaking?  How do we decide whether an historical event is significant for everybody or just for some people?  Whose history is it?  Thinking about significance helps students learn how decisions about what to report and study in history are made and to recognize that the very nature of historical inquiry is open to ongoing change.

Evidence – the concept of evidence is concerned with the validation, interpretation and use of primary and secondary sources of historical information in the construction of history and historical argument.  Issues of evidence invite questions such as: How do we know what happened?  Which version of events should we believe?  Is this a reliable source of information? Issues of evidence invite students to scrutinize the information found in various kinds of sources, and to explore the role of primary and secondary sources in constructing accounts of the past.

Continuity and Change – the concepts of continuity and change confront two historical stereotypes: either nothing really changes over time or events that occurred long ago must by definition be completely unlike modern time.  The former misconception has been called “Flintstone history” – the notion that the only real difference between ourselves and people in the past is that they wore funny clothing.  The latter is a form of radical relativism.  Students need to investigate what has changed or stayed the same? Is history repeating itself, if so why?  The concept of change and continuity can be difficult to discern, depending on our individual life experiences and worldview.  A student who has come from a country where profound change has taken place in a short period of time may view change differently than a student from a more stable environment.

Cause and Consequence – the concepts of cause and consequence focus on the contributing influences in history.  Understanding these influences makes it possible for students to see the structural and individual factors that shape their world and to begin to imagine their own role as citizens in shaping history.  Questions of cause and consequence:  In what ways were events influence by prevailing social, economic and political factors? How would the events of history been altered if Hitler wasn’t born or if more world leaders were women?

Historical Perspective – entering into the perspective of historical individuals and groups requires understanding the social, cultural, intellectual and emotional contexts that shaped people’s lives and actions.  Without an appreciation of how people in the past saw themselves in time and place, students will be trapped in a simplistic viewing of the past, seeing events exclusively through present experiences and values.  This problem of “presentism”  does not allow a more sensitive understanding of the realities of another time, and students can mistakenly impose their frames of reference upon the actions and belief of historical figures or events.  Cultural mosaic or melting pot, would Blacks, Chinese, East Indians, First Nations, French or the Japanese agree with how Canada built itself as a nation?

Moral Judgement – moral judgements in history arise in the context of drawing ethical conclusions about historical actions and people or in assigning moral culpability to historical figures or to contemporary individuals and groups for past actions.  Students must learn to consider the complexities and dangers associated with passing judgment on historical events and people.  For example, “was Louis Riel a Traitor or a Hero?” the answer might vary depending on if you take a European, French Canadian or First Nations perspective.  What responsibility if any might contemporary institutions and groups who have benefited from this conquest owe to descendants of First Nations people who suffered losses because of it?  These are the kinds of moral judgments that students must learn to make thoughtfully and cautiously.

Source: TC2 Teaching About Historical Thinking

Don’t Be Sheep; Be Ewe!