Teaching of History in Schools

This is the English translation of my Urdu book "Tareekh Kaise Parhaien" that was published in 1975 and was reprinted in 2011. Every school teaching subject has four dimensions: objectives, teaching methods, curriculum, and evaluation, around which all knowledge of teaching that subject is communicated. Though there are chapters more than the needed four in this book the extra chapters have been added for their relevance to the subject of history. History itself has established its need by continuing its single or partial inclusion in school curriculum. Let us remember that cultures and civilizations have emerged from their past and so have a history. If we want our oncoming generations to know their cultural, social, and economic roots we have to transmit the knowledge of their history, and earlier it is done in their educational phase the better. Hence the need of teaching history at school stage. Examples are given from medieval history of India at different place in this book. I have done my masters in medieval Indian history, and naturally feel comfortable to give examples from that period. But the subject of this book is not history as such, it is teaching of history. Student teachers can replace examples of medieval Indian History by examples of any other period of Indian history. Dr Masroor Hashmi Retired Dean Faculty of Education Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.