Sometimes a student, usually a smart student who is bored or lost will ask,

Mr. W, why are we doing this?

Or

Why do I need to know this?

Those moments are a great opportunity to step back and lead students to the purpose of Social Studies, of history.

The purpose of history is to create stories of our past, to know who we are today, and create the stories of our future.

If a teacher cannot give a response to student as to why they are learning about a topic or theme other than, it’s on the test, or it’s in the text book, then why is the teacher teaching it?