Teaching of history ; the paedo centric approach

Weperhaps forget, that if the interest of the learner is aroused in the subject and if he is inspired to act as a discoverer orexplorer then the pace is automatically quickened and the l

The Teaching of History The Paedo-centric Approach

ii iii

THE TEACHING OF HISTORY

The Paedo-centric Approach

S.P Pathak

KANISHKA PUBLISHERS, DISTRIBUTORS

NEW DELHI-110 002

iv

KANISHKA PUBLISHERS, DISTRIBUTORS

4697/5-21A, Ansari Road, Daryaganj

Published by Madan Sachdeva for Kanishka Publishers, Distributors, 4697/5-21A, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New

Delhi-110 002; Typeset by Sunshine Graphics, Delhi, and Printed at Nice Printing Press, Delhi

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It gives me great pleasure and a sense of fulfilment to acknowledge the inspiration which I received from my teachers —Professor A.B.L Srivastava, an eminent historian and a lighthouse of knowledge, as an M.A student, and from Prof D.N.Gaind who taught me about the nuances of the methods of teaching history It may be stated that these two eminentscholars perhaps never knew as to what sort of spark they had kindled in me

I am also beholden to my wife Smt Kanchan Rani Pathak who always stood by my side and constantly encouraged me tocomplete this assignment and my grandson Ashutosh Trikha who typed the manuscript on computer

I am also thankful to my publisher Messrs Kanishka Publishers, Distributors to give the final shape to this endeavour

In the end I also thank all the scholars and friends from whom I borrowed ideas directly or indirectly

monotonous and a subject concerned with rote memory Students feel that they are supposed to mug up facts and thenvomit them out at the time of the examination So where is the question of enjoying or imbibing or assimilating them?The present book is, therefore, an answer to this false perception of this lively subject An effort has been made to suggest

to the teachers to follow the paedo-centric approach so that children may become co-travellers in the journey to discoverthe facts, so that they may be inspired to think about the situations and the problems in a logical way and then come outwith their well reasoned out reactions This active involvement of children at every stage of learning history will surelyinfuse in them a positive and strong liking for the subject This approach — to think, to reflect, and attempt a solution in agiven situation, is sure to place the subject of history at its high pedestal It is said that history is the queen of subjects,and this place, due to her, can be won back by her once again, if we sincerely and honestly follow this approach

Here, I may assert that this approach is not time-consuming as is feared by many practicing teachers On the other hand, ifteachers adopt this approach sincerely, then they can cover the whole course in the prescribed time allotted to them Weperhaps forget, that if the interest of the learner is aroused in the subject and if he is inspired to act as a discoverer orexplorer then the pace is automatically quickened and the learning so

Present Concept of History

Is History Science or Art

History as Art

History Both Science and Art

Message for Teachers

Chapter 2

HISTORY AND ITS RELATIONSHIP

WITH OTHER SUBJECTS 9

Introduction

History and Geography

History and Civics

History and Economics

History and Literature

History and Science

Message for Teachers

Lecture Method

Project Method

Unit Method

Source Method

Some Practical Difficulties

Message for Teachers

Kinds of Material Aids

How to Use the Material Aids

Message for Teachers

Chapter 7

CULTIVATION OF TIME AND SPACE SENSE 72

Introduction What is Time?

How to Develop the Time Sense Space Maps

How to Use the Map Use of Roll-up Maps Globe Conclusion Message for TeachersChapter 8

Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation

In a curriculum we include several subjects and history is one of them For our purpose it would be worth

while to address ourselves to the question as to why should we have history in the curriculum? It is a very valid andpertinent question But to comprehend this issue properly it would be advisable to consider it in a wider perspective.'Broadly speaking, education aims at the development of man's personality to the maximum But this development is to beattained in some social context This context has been amply explained and stated in our Constitution, which in mostunambiguous terms says that we want to build a society in which each individual will be granted EQUALITY, LIBERTY,EQUAL OPPORTUNITY and JUSTICE and inculcate in him/her a sense of FRATERNITY So the mandate for

education is as clear as crystal Education, therefore, should help the child to grow to his/her maximum potentiality so that

he may be fully imbued with the above ideals Here our intention is not to philosophically analyse or discuss the aboveideals, but to broadly highlight this universally accepted aim of education - growth to one's maximum potentiality Nowhistory is included in our curriculum because in its own inimitable way, it also helps us to realise this goal We shalldiscuss it at appropriate place in this book However, presently we shall focus our attention on "What is history"?

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WHAT IS HISTORY?

History has been defined by different scholars in different ways If we look at the genesis of the word "history" we willfind that it has been derived from the Greek word "Historia", which means "information", or an inquiry to find out thetruth Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines it as "an account of past events and developments; a methodical account

of origin and progress of a nation, institution, the world, etc." It is an account of the growth of man from the day when heappeared on the earth It is a record of what man did or thought

We can give many definitions of history as given by great historians or scholars, but for our purpose it will be sufficient tosay that it is the man's story in different facets of his life It is not confined to the story of the kings, nobles, the rich orhaves but it is the story of all of us in a wider sense It gives us information as to how a savage - a food gatherer became

a food producer; how the settled life began and, how progress

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was made in different fields of life - social, political, economic, cultural, etc., and how man arrived at the present level ofthe so-called growth or development So in short it is a narrative of the deeds, actions and thoughts of our ancestors rightfrom the past to the present and this we study so that we may further build upon what they have left for us

HISTORY OF HISTORIOGRAPHY

Since we are dealing with history as a discipline, it is all the more incumbent upon us to have a brief but passing look atthe history of historiography Western scholars say that Herodotus, a Greek scholar who lived in 5th Century B.C is thefather of history He was the first person who tried to give a systematic account of the happenings of his times He

travelled to different countries and carefully observed and collected information about people He also tried to gatherinformation of the past This information he compiled in a systematic way and narrated it in his own words He simplytried to reproduce the information as it came to him He did not dilate over it

Thucydides, another Greek Scholar, a contemporary of Herodotus, also collected information, but he narrated it with his

own interpretation He tried to give his own considered views and comments on what he had gathered So he was not amere chronicler.

However, slowly history was written to please the rulers or the patrons who employed or patronised the so-called

historians To illustrate what has been said here, it would be not out of place to refer to Minahaj-us Siraj, the historianduring the reign of Balban He painted Riyan who ousted Balban in the blackest of the black ink but when Balban wasrecalled he used hyperbole in his praise because he was a protege of Balban Khafi Khan the historian of Aurangzeb'sreign condemned Shivaji whereas Maratha historians eulogised him So history by and large was not the real reproduction

of what had happened, but what suited the historians to please their patrons In Europe too, by and large history waswritten in this very

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vein Napoleon, perhaps because of this, remarked that history was nothing but a 'fable agreed upon' So history was thehandmaid of the ruler's wishes and objectivity or empiricism was by and large conspicuous by its absence

It may be noted that because of such a state of affairs it was held in very low esteem It was regarded as a subject

containing many lies It was considered as a figment of imagination on the part of the historian who was believed toweave fanciful stories around his patrons It is said that a king in a lighter vein asked his attendant to call his liars

(historians) So history was considered as a tissue of lies, but in spite of it, even these writings contained some usefulmaterial and information for the discerning scholars to build up a true history from the narrative Anyway till the end of18th Century history was not held in high esteem

But in the 19th Century a perceptible change occurred Two German scholars, Niebuhr and Leopard Von Ranke tried toput history in its rightful place They pleaded for empiricism and objectivity in history They tried to make it scientific.They applied scientific methods in the writing of history They wanted facts and information to be collected in a scientificway, properly and systematically classified and arranged and then interpreted not as per liking of the historian but as perthe evidences culled from the information in a logical and dispassionate and objective manner In this context Ranke'scontribution was very significant He emphasised on, finding out the veracity and validity of facts through a very closescrutiny His aim was to find out something particular or special from the common run of facts or from the general store-house of truth His purpose was to reproduce the events scientifically in the form in which they happened As said above,

in this process he would try to find out something special in these facts through analytical approach and impartial researchand would then try to present facts which are neither painted nor tainted Ranke himself tried to practise it while writingabout France, the avowed enemy of his country — Germany; his patriotism did not come in his way of calling a spade aspade So the 19th Century witnessed a sea change in the writing of

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history A beginning was made to write history without injecting any biases into it

However, in India, history continued to be written with a tangent and bias to serve the purpose of English rulers Englishhistorians in most of the cases painted Indians as backward, barbarians and uncivilised They regarded us as inferiors inevery respect and called India as white man's burden James Mill's history of India is a compendium of vulgar abuses anddenigration of Indians However, as discussed above in West a beginning had been made in the 19th Century to make itscientific

PRESENT CONCEPT OF HISTORY

History in its true sense is a study of man, his growth and development in all aspects — political, economic, social andcultural etc It is a true unalloyed account of what he has done and thought It is a scientific description of his

achievements, successes, failures and shortcomings It is not confined to a region or a nation, it is concerned with theentire human race right from the day when man appeared on this planet It is a continuous and unending stream tracing theman's growth from barbaric stage to the present day

Actually it is the memory of the race It is a continuum from the past to the present with its sight fixed on the future too.History is not only confined to the political aspect of society It is not restricted to major political events or the

achievement or great deeds of reputed conquerors, kings and rulers Now the history takes in its compass also the historyrelated to the common man-history of the life style of people, their economic and social life too and its effect on theoverall political life So, in brief, in the present-day-world, history has a very broad canvas and it takes in its embrace theprogress of the man or the society in its myriad fields

IS HISTORY SCIENCE OR ART

A very interesting controversy about history is - whether it is Science or Art? For a student of history, it is essential tounderstand the implications of this controversy If we properly comprehend it, then our role as teacher will become veryclear and our path to interact with children in the classroom will become easy and effective too

One school of thought considers history to be science As stated earlier, Ranke of Germany was the advocate of this ideabecause till the 19th Century, history was written by and large, as a piece of fiction and the so-called chroniclers

impregnated the facts and events with their biases and prejudices So it was more of a fiction It was not a true account ofwhat had happened It was more of a distortion of the truth

Naturally, this invited a lot of criticism and many an eyebrow were raised against it Many historians raised the banner ofscienticism and empiricism in the writing of history According to them the role of historian was to reproduce the events

as they occurred in a detached and unbiased manner They should be neutral in their approach History should not bewritten to please or displease any one It should present the past "as it actually was" So like a scientist he should collecthis data, classify it and then interpret it in an objective and detached manner It is possible that truth may evade historian,but he should cling to truthfulness to the best of his ability in a relentless manner In short history should be given thetreatment of a science

HISTORY AS ART

But a very strong reaction to scienticism in history also started in 19th and 20th Centuries Macaulay ridiculed this

scienticism To him to collect the boney and lifeless events of the past and reproduce them in this lifeless way had nomeaning In a way the scientific approach gives us the skeleton and skeleton never attracts any one, on the other hand it isrepelling and abhorring If history is only to reproduce the facts of the past then it would

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never attract the young children pulsating with life because the dead presented in the dead form have no appeal Thecorpses do not inspire Therefore the job of the historian is to infuse life into the dead skeleton which is the gift to us byour scientific approach We have to make it breathe, act, talk, dance, cry and relive The historian with his powerfulnarration, imagination and understanding of the human psychology can delineate the human emotions and motives whichmight have prompted the characters to act in a particular way, of course within the parameters of the facts collected byhim The historian therefore must possess the most effective and powerful trait of weaving a powerful and interestingstory pulsating with life around his facts in a captivating and fascinating style Johnson, perhaps, stated half the truth when

he remarked, "The historian tells either what is false or what is true; in the former case he is no historian; in the latter hehas no opportunity for displaying his abilities for truth is one; and all who tell the truth must tell it alike" But here hestopped half-way and did not take the argument to its logical conclusion We all know that the truth is one, but take theinstance of an accident being witnessed by two people at the same moment from the same angle, but their descriptionwould vary considerably One endowed with a powerful expression and deeper understanding will delineate the same in acolourful and absorbing style, whereas the other one will present it in a lifeless and listless manner And so the difference

is there Therefore a historian has got to be an artist He puts colours in a very skilful manner in the outline of his

painting, the smile on the lips, expressions in the eyes and the glow on the cheeks, whereas the same painting will be alifeless object in the hands of the other, because he simply reproduces the figure without putting life or expressions in it

So a historian has got to be an artist Toynbee, therefore very aptly remarked, "Dull history is false history" In sum thescientist in the historian gives him basic facts and information, the truth, a clear outline of the past unalloyed and

untainted, but the artist in him makes it lively and vibrant as it was when the event or the fact occurred

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HISTORY BOTH SCIENCE AND ART

The above discussion amply proves the incontrovertible fact that History is both Science and Art The science part of itgives the facts in their original and pure form They are unalloyed and without any biases or prejudices But the art part of

it, paints them in the most presentable form without distorting the truth The art makes the facts vibrant with life

MESSAGE FOR TEACHERS

The above discussion has not been made only for academic purpose or information It has a clear and very articulatemessage for history teachers, who, in their classrooms, reproduce facts after facts, stuffing children's minds with them,with the sole purpose to finish the course in time, with the fond hope that they would mug them up and reproduce them inthe final examination, which has become the only aim of our education In fact, it may be admitted that this causes

irreparable harm to the subject, the child and to the society As we are talking about history, let us confess to the fact that

if history is considered as a dull and boring subject then the blame lies on us - teachers Therefore, we the teachers ofhistory must in our classrooms, through our approach as an artist, choosing the choicest of words and phrases and

delineating the situation or events, in the most absorbing way, should infuse life in the subject matter

We must realise that our task is most challenging as well as interesting and absorbing

EXERCISE

Q.1 What is History?

Q 2 Give a brief history of historiography

Q 3 'History is a combination of art and science' Discuss Q 4 What is the modern concept of History? Discuss

by the geographical environment too So history which is a part of his very being has relationship with these aspects.Koerner brings out this fact very well when he says, "Occupying as it does an intermediate position between the

humanities and the social sciences, and employing both the qualitative approach of the humanities and the quantitativedata of the behaviourist, it serves as a medium through which students can learn something of literature and arts on theone hand and politics, economics and social behaviour on the other" In sum it can be argued that history is a very

important subject at the school

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stage and that it has relationship with other subjects which touch our life very significantly in one way or the other

HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY

History tells about man's progress with reference to time on this planet, whereas Geography studies about the planet Weknow that entire progress or development of man has occurred on this earth, which has been the stage for him to play hisvaried roles Thus history provides us with the action and Geography with the stage The influence of the space or thegeographical environment on man is a common place knowledge We learn that civilisations grew near the banks of rivers.The Indus, the Nile, the Euphrates and the Tiber rivers etc saw civilisations growing along their banks To take anotherexample; the Turks, the Afghans etc from the Central Asia attacked India continuously, because India was a land ofabundance, whereas in those regions life was very hard and tough Moreover our way of life, our social formations, ourfood habits, clothing etc too have direct relationship with our physical environment The effect of living in an island onthe British people is well known How this tiny island was saved from Spain, France and Germany because of a smallstretch of sea separating it from the main land is a well known fact of history and the contribution of its Geographicallocation too in this regard is an accepted fact Why did Shivaji take to guerrilla war-fare has much to do with Geography.Hence space is inextricably related with the history of man and so there exists very close relationship between History and

So the message for history teacher is loud and clear He must understand that without showing the space i.e., withoutshowing the relevant location on the map and also its effect on the people, teaching of history would be a meaninglessexercise, because without showing the students the stage on which the action took place would be tantamount to teaching

in the air So this relationship which is in the very nature of this subject must be continuously and carefully established bythe teacher in the classroom situation

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HISTORY AND CIVICS

Civics deals with administrative set up of a country, its various administrative institutions, its Constitution and also withseveral theories of the origin of State its functions etc and also everything related with our civil life Naturally, we get theinformation about the growth and development of all these institutions from history and also the way the rules functioned

or could function under different dispensations History also gives an insight into the weaknesses and shortcoming ofvarious types of administrative institutions and their strengths too We know through our study of history the despotism,dictatorship and monarchy tend to become very tyrannical; that when the ruler gets absolute power, then by and large, healso becomes absolutely corrupt and people suffer at his hands Then how the feudal system in league with the monarch orroyalty exploit the subjects, is also a well known fact of history History tells us that capitalist system also fleeces thepoor and then finally it brings home to us the fact that a Democratic set up with its weaknesses and shortcomings is muchbetter a political dispensation than other dispensations though it is also used by the haves to meet their narrow ends Socivics gives us an insight into various types of political set up with their merits and demerits and history by supplying thefacts substantiates or refutes it Besides the political theories describing different set ups - like monarchy, dictatorship,capitalism, democracy, totalitarianism etc explain their effects on the people's life, and history once again supplies theproof in terms of what happened under their dispensation History delineates or describes what actually happened In thisway we find that civics and history are very intimately related with one another In short today's administrative structuresand institutions and their actions would become the history of tomorrow, whereas their history would give us a better,deeper and thorough insight into their merits and demerits and thus help us to improve upon them Professor Seeley,therefore, said "History without Civics has no fruit, Civics without History has no root"

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HISTORY AND ECONOMICS

History brings out the fact that among other things, one of the constant struggle of man has been to improve his economiccondition The fight between the haves and have-nots is a perennial one It started from the day when man became aproducer of food and started hoarding it and began a settled life Karl Marx very rightly says that history of man is thehistory of class struggle or for that matter economic history It is the history of gaining more power and one of the

attributes of power is the possession of wealth So economic gain is the root of all struggle To gain more and morewealth has been the constant endeavour of man, and this urge prompted him to wage wars, conquer new lands, establishcolonies, make new discoveries and inventions The entire history of colonising other countries, and fleecing them

shamelessly is a living proof of economic roots of history For instance, it was not for the sake of discovery alone, butalso to find new markets, that the white man navigated the high seas putting his life at stake The white people startedwith the trade - an economic activity, and then gradually annexed the new territories, and turned them into their colonies,

so as to get an absolute economic hold over them The underlying but clear purpose was to gain economically Sittingacross a big table, the European powers with a pencil and measuring scale in their hand divided a big map of Africa intovarious regions and then shared them among themselves The purpose was plain and simple - to gain markets and also touse the wealth of these lands both in the form of natural resources and, for their own economic upliftment If we carefullyread the slogan "No taxation without representation" raised by the American revolutionaries then we clearly see its

economic overtones Even today man is waging the economic war relentlessly and the world is divided into the

developed, developing and under-developed nations and the undeveloped nations are fighting hard to become developingnations and the developing ones are making efforts to become developed The ploy of liberalisation and globalisationtoday is also a covert step to exploit the under-

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developed and developing countries economically The attack on Kuwait by Saddam Hussain and its defence by the USA,resulting in the Gulf War is another proof of economic undertones behind these events of great significance in our history.Hence economic factors are also, inter alia, at the root of shaping the history of man To understand and comprehend

history properly and in a befitting manner it is incumbent upon us to read and understand the currents under currents andcross currents caused by economic factors, because, by and large, they have also been at the root of many or most ofchanges and developments in the history of man The incontrovertible inference is that history and economics are veryclosely interrelated.

HISTORY AND LITERATURE

History has also very close link with literature Historical novels, stories and dramas etc contribute to history in a

substantial manner Sir Walter Scott's and Charles' Dickens' novels give a world of ideas about the contemporary politicaland social life Voltair's dramas and Alexander Duma's novels draw richly from historical facts War and Peace is anothergreat example of such literary works of the highest order The authors with their powerful imagination and impeccableliterary style infuse life into the story The description, narration and delineation of characters are superb So the historicalevents, with the flair of their imagination as well as input of fiction in them, which is within the purview of man of

literature, have been presented to us Even our own literature is replete with powerful and outstanding novels, dramas andstories based on historical events So in fact literature draws very widely from history

On the other hand, historian draws a lot of information from these historical works, because even though they are fictions,yet sometimes they are based on some historical facts or events Moreover they supply to the historian a lot of informationabout the contemporary social, economic and cultural life A good historian chooses from these write-ups

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the factual information or what can be accepted as truth, being corroborated by other sources, and leaves out what is afigment of imagination of the author Thus in one way the historian supplements his information from these literary worksand sometimes, reinforces his historical facts on the basis of what he finds in the literary works Therefore the mutualrelationship between history and literature is a well established fact To substantiate what has been asserted, let us take one

or two examples While discussing the First War of Indian Independence of 1857 we refer to the statement made byLaxmi Bai the Rani (Queen) of Jhansi — "I shall not part with my Jhansi" So a beautiful description rich in its literarystyle may be given about the thoughts of Rani, and a few couplets from the famous Poem "Jhansi Ki Rani" written bySubhadra Kumari Chauhan be recited to enliven the atmosphere in the class Take another example of French Revolution.While teaching it a resourceful and intelligent history teacher can richly draw from the novel 'A Tale of Two Cities' tobring home to the students how the people were gullitoned in the streets and market places in Paris by the revolutionaries.And all this clearly proves the contention that history and literature are very closely related to one another

HISTORY AND SCIENCE

Earlier it has been remarked that history is at the centre of all subjects We have discussed above that history is closelyrelated with humanities, but if we study the subject closely, we shall find that it has close relationship with sciences too.Actually the man's material progress is the story of his scientific inventions and discoveries too The invention of thewheel, the discovery of fire brought about a revolution in the history of man Invention of spinning wheel and locomotiveetc also had their effect on history, and even in the present-day-world our inventions of nuclear weapons which mayresult in mass destruction and other inventions in so many other fields are affecting the history To illustrate my point, let

us take the case of industrialisation—a gift of scientific inventions which

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ultimately led to colonisation and this changed the course of history of mankind So history owes a lot to sciences andsciences too have a lot to do with the demands of man—the demand of more power and more prosperity which contribute

to history in their own way Hence, we can also say that sciences and history are also interrelated

In sum it can be said that history is at the heart of all the subjects and Ziller did say the same thing, when he remarkedthat history is at the centre of all subjects

MESSAGE FOR TEACHERS

The aforesaid has a clear message for teachers Realising the close link between history and other subjects, they mustreligiously forge link with them as and when called for, and it will definitely add lustre and charm to the teaching-learningprocess To inspire children, the correlation with other subjects is a must, more so because it is the demand of history andhence in the classroom situation this relationship must be forged by the teacher

Q 1 "History is not a subject at all but a house in which all subjects dwell" Discuss

Q 2 Bring out the relationship of history with other subjects of the school curriculum

Q 3 Since history is closely related to other subjects in the school curriculum, bring out the role of the teacher in theclassroom situation to forge this relationship, with appropriate examples

to our actions in the life too so that we may not drift aimlessly on the high seas of life

AIMS OF TEACHING HISTORY

Study of the Past

If we look at the subject matter of history, we obviously find that it deals with the past It studies the past as it happened

It is a systematic and objective narrative of the past But a very

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serious objection to this aim is raised, when it is said, "Of what use it is to study about the past or the dead who havebeen consigned to grave or burnt to ashes? Of what use it is to dig out the dead from their graves and uselessly talk aboutthem?" Such questions are often posed by the critics, but they emanate from their ignorance Actually they do not knowwhat they are saying If they just pause for a while and seriously give a thought to their utterance they will realise howmuch mistaken they are If they put a question to themselves about their dress, their beliefs, their rituals, their food habitsand their day-today life style, they will know how important past is to them All these have been bequeathed to us to avery great extent by the past We are not animals who do not learn or make any progress The lion still stalks and kills itsprey very precisely in the same way in which the first lion on this planet preyed But the progress of man from a savage or

a cave man to the present day is remarkable He has been an avid learner right from the very beginning, and he leaves hisknowledge to his successors We are born with a past and we are the heirs of all the ages Our social formations, politicalinstitutions and cultural life is the gift given to us by our forefathers History is the great preserver of all this treasure Inthis endless struggle for the growth and progress in which we are also engaged like our ancestors, the past supplies uswith proper guideline History is the memory of the race, and we all understand and appreciate the role of memory in ourlife In Gita, Lord Krishna underlined its importance when he said that with the loss of memory the wisdom departs, andwith the departure of wisdom the man is destroyed We also know that without memory a man is like a traveller who findshimself on crossroads knowing not where from he has come and where he has to go He is like a ship on the high seasbeing tossed by high waves, knowing not where-from it has come and where-to it has to go A society not knowing itshistory, is a society suffering from amnesia, and we know that people suffering from amnesia lead almost a vegetative oraimless life

Besides it is an established fact, that the knowledge of the past is extremely essential for our further growth Man learns18

from his failures, and a people who do not learn from their past mistakes are doomed to suffer History is the store house

of our failures and successes too Therefore knowledge of the past is basic to our intelligent existence and history aims attreasuring it for us.

Understand the Present

But while advocating the above aim, it has been emphasised that the past helps us to understand the present We are theoffspring of the past Our present day problems have their genesis in the past In fact the aim of history is to understandour present If we can understand it, then we can lead a good and sensible life It can safely be asserted that the presentwhich is the child of the past, is the real focus of history When we read about the past in history, the underline aim is tolearn about it to shape a better present for ourselves So the aim of history is to have a better and proper understanding ofthe present

Forward Look Aim

But to study the past in order to understand the present is only half of the story We do all this exercise, so that we maylearn from the past, learn from our mistakes and thus be well informed, to make a better present and thus pave the way for

a still better future To recapture or reconstruct the past, for the hack of it, is not the purpose of history; it is done in order

to make the present devoid of our past mistakes and then prepare the way for a better future So in brief, history is acontinuum; it is an unending current which encompasses in its orbit past, present and future The examples and incidents

of the past blunders and mistakes should be an eye opener for us For example we did not properly guard our frontiers inthe past and suffered miserably for centuries In the 1999 because of some sort of intransigence or slackness the enemysneaked into our territory in Kargil area in Kashmir and after lots of sacrifices in terms of man and material we couldthrow them out, so the

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lesson for future is to keep them fully guarded so that no enemy could put his unholy foot on the sacred soil of our motherland Therefore, in short, we can say that history has a wide canvas which accommodates past, present and future In ourclassroom teaching, therefore, a conscious effort should be made to help students imbibe this message of history

National Identity

If we refer to the "National Policy on Education - 1986 -Programme of Action" Government of India, we find that, alia, it emphasises the inclusion of "India's Common Cultural Heritage and Nurturing of National Identity" as importantconstituents of the core curriculum at school stage It recommends that the entire school programme should be pervadedwith the values specified in the core curriculum The message, therefore, for the history teacher is also very loud andclear Through his teaching of history he should consciously try to inculcate the above values in children He shouldinspire them to love their mother land, make them feel proud of their country and also help them preserve its culture.Though we talk of many other aims of education but the importance and significance of these values are immense

inter-Though teachers in other areas of study are also supposed to develop these values in children, the contribution of historyteacher in this regard is to be very substantial, because history is the subject which takes them to their past with all itsglory and all its failures The knowledge of the greatness of our forefathers as reflected in their great achievements shouldinculcate in all of us the sense of national pride and their failures and base acts should fill our minds with the feeling ofnational shame Needless to say that the feelings of national pride and national shame are the greatest factors to inculcate

in children the sense of national identity Study of history also makes us familiar with our culture Truly speaking history

is the surest instrument and means to inculcate national identity in our children and also preserve our cultural heritage asenshrined in our National Education Policy 1986

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DEVELOPMENT OF IMAGINATION

A successful person should also be endowed with powerful and rich imagination A man of imagination can even visualisethe events not seen by him He can reconstruct the past and also fill in the missing links with the help of systematic andlogical imagination Not only this, he can also peep into the future and imagine what would be the possible result or theoutcome of an action or thoughts or ideas in circulation today So to be imaginative is also an attribute of a man of

knowledge and a man of understanding History is a sure means to develop this imagination A good history text or a goodhistory teacher can and should help the children to see with their mental eyes the troops of Humayun fleeing from thebattlefield of Kannauj, or with his imaginative description he can help children see the brute soldiers of Nadir Shah

massacring with gay abandon and fiendish brutality the unarmed innocent men, women, young and old in the streets of

Chandni Chowk, or the conflicting ideas assailing the mind of Shivaji while coming down from his fort to meet AfzalKhan and so forth and so on Besides, about some controversial issues, the student of history evaluates the evidences,weighs them and then with his rich imagination backed by the evidences, tries to reach some logical conclusion In thisway history does aim at enriching and enhancing the imagination of the learner However, this imagination is to be

confined to the parameters of the facts or the data collected empirically and not be allowed to run riot as is the case with apoet or a fiction writer

CRITICAL THINKING

Since history deals with the past, which happened once upon a time, and in many a case painted by different brushes bydifferent people with different perceptions, or buried under layers after layers of the past, it is almost a daunting task toarrive at the truth or unearth it and bring it to light Being besieged by such a challenging situation, it is essential thathistory teacher should develop the critical faculty in the child

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The child should be trained to keep an open eye and open mind and critically analyse the data or the information,

weighing its pros and cons from different angles or points of view Even small children can be encouraged to raise theirdoubts and be encouraged to give their own logical conclusions Hence the aim of history is not to push down the factsthrough the gullets of children forcibly It is essential that they develop their crucial faculty because the nature or thesubject demands it

MORAL AIM

Some scholars say that one of the aims of teaching history is to inculcate moral values in children They argue that history

is a storehouse containing the deeds of great men, religious leaders, saints, nobles and kings etc The history of LordBuddha, Christ, Nanak, Kabir etc lehve an indelible print on our mind The greatness of Asoka and Akbar are the objectlessons in love, piety, kindness, non-violence and secularism etc The teachings of Swami Vivekanand and Gandhiji etc.are the beacon lights for the entire human race Life of Martin Luther has its own message Abraham Lincoln and hiscontribution to uphold the dignity of slaves is another example to raise our spirits from the lowly depths to sublimeheights So the history of mankind all over the world is replete with the noble deeds and thoughts of great men in differentfields of life

But, if history is to be a true account of what happened then in that case history is also full of instances of man's brutality,wickedness, meanness, treachery, caprice, cunning, deceit and immoral acts Actually it also tells us about the beastlybehaviour of people In history we read about numerous instances where vice took better of virtue, where deceit, treacheryand cunning came out with flying colours, trampling under its feet ruthlessly honesty, integrity and uprightness Who canforget the treatment meted out to Jalaluddin Khilji by his nephew and son-in-law Alauddin Khilji, who established adynasty and ruled over India for about 20 years, quite successfully? Who is not familiar with the cunning and deceit ofClive when he conspired with Mir Jafar and Jagat Seth etc

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to bring about the downfall of the Nawab of Bengal and thus laid the foundation of a very big empire for Britishers whichlasted for about 200 long years So history is full of such stories when the unscrupulous had the better of scrupulous, thevice vanquished the virtue and where the kind the noble and the just were humiliated and put to sword in the most

inhuman way And these brutes and savages sat on the destiny of their large subjects for years together enjoying everymaterial comfort of life Therefore, history also tells us that evil mostly gets better of virtue

It is a different thing that through our treatment of the subject matter we may denigrate the success of the wicked person

in spite of the fact that from the point of view of material gains he might have been a great success To give such atangent to history would be giving a tangent which obviously is the product of our age-old belief in the sublime values oftruth, love, honesty and compassion etc But this tangent would belittle the achievements of the tyrants which to a veryextent would mean negating the truth which is the bedrock of history Therefore to say that one of the aims of teachinghistory is to inculcate moral values does not seem to be so easy

Since the ultimate goal of life is and should be moral upliftment, we as teachers should deal with this issue very

intelligently As the votary of truth, we must highlight the successes of monarchs or kings etc., and while doing it, theirachievements and accomplishments, if they deserve praise, should be praised, but if they also acted tyrannically,

unethically or committed atrocities, as has happened in most of the cases, then this aspect of their personality should also

be presented in an objective but clear manner Thus the teacher should give the complete picture, presenting both sides of

the coin, and then leave the judgment to the children The teacher, if he chooses, can give his opinion, but he must ensurethat is no way it should be an imposition on children In short he may give freedom to children to have their own valuejudgment, based on sound and clear logic.

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INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING

Since we also study the history of the world, we learn about men living in different regions of the world and their lifestyle to an extent We also learn that life style food habits, clothing and dwellings etc are very much influenced by thegeographical conditions of a place and that these conditions differ from place to place This knowledge creates

understanding and appreciation of their style of life and this appreciation and understanding is a sure way to the worldpeace or international understanding

History also conveys to us the futility of wars, which result in heavy loss of men and material and almost leaves the entirehuman race bleeding We also know that the continuation of these destructive tendencies will ultimately lead to the

annihilation of the entire human race

We also know fully well that war in future will have "no win" situation for any one Every one will be a loser So history

is a great help to us to bring about international understanding and thus the world peace

INCULCATION OF OBJECTIVITY

With empiricism and objectivity thrown into the subject matter it creates the habit of objective analysis of the content in anon-biased way using our imagination and this helps us to develop an independent and unbiased mind In the present daywhen we live in a democratic set up the inculcation of this trait is extremely needed

SOURCE OF PLEASURE

Study of history in itself gives us a lot of pleasure We are transported to the past and we can see the characters alive,talking and enacting their roles This living contact with the dead is an extremely exhilarating experience and is veryrewarding

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CONCLUSION

In short we can say that the aim of teaching history is to create a world order which may be conducive to world peace andwhich may make this planet a better place to live How far we shall be able to realise this goal, to a great extent, dependsupon our honesty and sincerity in dealing with the subject matter in the right spirit

MESSAGE FOR TEACHERS

The teacher should make a careful note of the above aims of teaching of history He should keep in mind that his teachingshould not be confined to the past alone, it should take in its stride the understanding of the present so that we may build

up a better future He should also strive to realise all the aims referred to above such as development of national identity,imagination, critical thinking, international understanding and objectivity With regard to inculcation of moral values, heshould handle this issue very sensibly keeping in mind the fact that history is replete with such characters and instanceswhere evil triumphed over virtue

Anyway teacher should try to realise the above aims through his teaching in a subtle way

EXERCISE

Q 1 "History is a continuum encompassing past, present and also future" Discuss

Q 2 "The aim of teaching history in our schools is to nurture national identity as mentioned in the core curriculumsuggested in our National Education Policy, 1986" Discuss

Q 3 "The aim of teaching history in our schools is to develop in our children the power of imagination, critical thinkingand inculcation of international understanding" Discuss.

Q 4 Discuss different aims of teaching history in the school

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Chapter 4 SYLLABUS OF HISTORY

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of discussing the syllabus of history here is not to discuss in detail the principles which determine the

preparation of a syllabus We intend to briefly touch upon them and then deal with the ways in which History syllabus isframed

The dictionary meaning of the world syllabus is "a series of topics prescribed for a course of study in a particular class in

a particular subject" Here our focus will be on history

PRINCIPLES OF SYLLABUS CONSTRUCTION

Broadly speaking while framing the syllabus we must keep in mind the age, capacity, capability and total load of differesubjects on the children for whom it is meant Since the basic principle of any or every good education is that it should bechild-centred, it is very essential that in every respect he should be the main focus To give an example, at the primaryand upper primary level history should mainly concern itself with the stories of great men, women, leaders and theircontribution to the society during their times The content should have simple but interesting narrative not demandingreflection However, at the secondary level the content may demand some sort of logical and analytical thinking withmore and more of information keeping in view the capacity of children

The other important principle is, the demand and nature

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of the subject We have to carefully decide as to what should be included and what may be excluded without

compromising with the demand of the subject To give an example, it will be unnecessary and superfluous to give thedetails about the number of soldiers or guns or horses etc used in war or battle For example we can always omit minorincidents in the course of a revolution or a battle such as minor skirmishes between the British army and Indian armedsoldiers during the 1857 war of independence without breaking the continuity of the story In this way we can reduce theload on children and make the learning enjoyable and manageable By and large, the worst thing about the selection offacts in our text-books is that we stuff too many unnecessary facts in too small period of time span and thus make thecontent boring and unpalatable for the young children So an extremely intelligent and judicious selection of the content is

a real challenge for the framers of the syllabus However, with this brief preface with regard to some of the principles to

be followed to make the syllabus, it would be proper to consider the ways or methods which we follow to make thesyllabus of history

CHRONOLOGICAL METHOD

History as we know is an account of the past Now the events in the past happened in a time span and this time span hasits own unalterable order or sequence Hence a popular method is to select the facts and present them in the sequence inwhich they actually happened In this method the content comes before us one after another maintaining the continuity ofthe time or chronology In short what happened first comes first and what happened next comes next

The advocates of this approach say that it is also in consonance with the Cultural Epoch Theory of Stanley Hall Thistheory, in brief says that before attaining adulthood a man passes through several stages of development such as infancy,childhood, adolescence and the adulthood He further says that these stages of development synchronises with man'scultural development as reflected in the history of human race, for

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instance our pre-historic period is his infancy, then the growth of civilisation thereafter, is his childhood, and the medieval

world is his adolescence and the modern period is his adulthood So a child during his growth recapitulates all theseperiods of man's cultural growth as reflected in his history.

However, it can safely be remarked that to forge such a relationship with history ostensibly seems to be an imposed one

By no stretch of arguments or imagination our infancy could be compared with the barbaric or savage state of man duringthe pre-historic period

Moreover our ancient civilisations were highly developed and sophisticated and therefore cannot be compared with thechildhood of man's cultural development Moreover even the psychologists do not give credence to Stanley's theory So it

is better to leave it at that

Merits

However, it would be advisable to evaluate this chronological approach It seems to be a natural arrangement of the events

of the past because here we place them chronologically in the order in which they actually occurred Therefore, thisapproach maintains and ensures a continuity and on the canvas events appear in the order in which they took place Thisavoids confusion

Shortcomings

However, as said above we recount the events in the order in which they occurred, but this does not allow us to build athematic approach For instance it will not allow us to deal with the Religious Policy of the Mughals - a well knit andcomplete theme in a compact form It will no doubt cover it, but it will be done in fragments For instance while dealingwith Babar, we shall study about his early life, conquests, administration, foreign relations, religious policy etc and almostunder the same headings we shall study about other rulers who succeeded him So a student while reading his textbookwill find the religious policy of each king separated from

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others because of the description of so many other events So the religious policy of the Mughals, which could have beendealt as one unified coherent and compact unit becomes disjointed because of the arrangement of the syllabus However, itmay be argued that the teacher should forge this linkage while discussing these topics in the classroom He should fromtime to time, while dealing with each ruler, put an extra brick or storey to complete the edifice Ostensibly it is

challenging and for children to recall every time what was done by earlier rulers, and then reconstruct the theme again andagain will be an arduous task To go back in the memory lane each time, to locate what was done by the earlier ruler andthen to weave the fabric again and again bit by bit will be a difficult exercise for children Therefore the topical approach,about which we shall study in this chapter, may be given due consideration It is also feared that the chronological

approach will result into the reproduction of bare events and thus history will turn into a drudgery

CONCENTRIC METHOD

Under this dispensation entire history is taught to children in a concentrated form repeatedly, though with different levels

of difficulty and with more and, more details thrown in higher classes, for example students are called upon to study theentire history of India at higher primary stage (VI-VIII) then again at lower secondary stage (IX-X) and again at the seniorsecondary stage (XI-XII)

Merits

The advocates of this method say that in our Constitution compulsory education is to be provided to every child till theage of 14 years, that is, upto Class VIII In other words, it can be safely assumed that a large number of our children willleave the portals of schools and enter on the responsibilities of life after Class VIII Keeping this fact in view, it becomesnecessary that every child should be exposed to our entire historical past though in a limited way, and that will be a greatasset for these youngsters — the citizens of tomorrow However, it may be

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once again repeated that the content would be made more and more detailed as children move to higher classes

Since the content is repeated again and again it gets easily stuck up in the minds of children and so history becomes a part

of their personality

Moreover in this scheme the level of difficulty can be raised keeping in view the capacity and capability of children Sothis approach is more child centred and hence psychological in nature.

Shortcomings

But this dispensation has its own weaknesses To repeat the game story again and again means creating no inquisitiveness

in the minds of children and thus boredom is caused The subject matter will appear stale, it will lose its freshness andtherefore its appeal The repetition, as we know, is by and large a drudgery

It is the easiest of all things to say that the subject matter in its graded level of difficulty would be presented before thechildren, but to decide as to upto what extent one should cover the events of history and upto what depth, is a veryintricate and difficult proposition It is very easy to propound this principle but very difficult and arduous to give it apractical shape

Since too much is to be covered in too small a time, it may become a burden for children To study the history of about

3500 years in one go, is a daunting task and the sufferer is the child, more so when history upto Class X is not a separatesubject but a part of Social Sciences which includes Civics, Geography, Economics in addition to History

TOPICAL METHOD

Another method of selection of content is Topical Method A particular topic is taken up and its development in all itsfacets is dealt with, without dealing with the entire history or other events of that particular period For example, let ustake the

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case of the Rajput Policy of the Mughals Here we begin with Babar and go right upto Aurangzeb and in a sequentialmanner we trace the policy of these rulers This approach is quite systematic and presents a well connected and well knitpicture on the canvas without any interference from other events not related to it

Merits

This approach has its own advantages A particular topic or theme or movement is traced throughout the length of time

So a complete and integrated picture emerges in its varied facets and its influence on the society or polity becomes quiteevident It also generates interest in children because the focus on a particular issue is continuous and uninterrupted with

no interference from other contemporary events not related with the topic

Shortcomings

However, this approach has its shortcomings too As stated above the Rajput Policy from Babar to Aurangzeb is traced in

a logical and systematic way but during the same period many other things too happened such as Babar's conquests,Humayun's difficulties, and Sher Shah's administration and so forth and so on Out of such a cluster of important events

we pick up only one important segment, ignoring the rest and so a total picture of the events happening in a particularperiod of time is not taken care of The result is that students do not get the gestalt view of the happenings of that period.And this is a serious handicap of this approach

Besides, this approach generally lays more emphasis on social aspects of history e.g Bhakti movement, condition offarmers or the Agrarian policy, Development of Art and Architecture etc In a way it places the political history on theback burner whereas we know that political history is also very important

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REGRESSIVE METHOD

This is another method to select the content of history In this arrangement the present day problems or institutions are thestarting point We begin with their study and problems connected with them and as these institutions or problems are thegift of the past to us, we make an inroad into the past and study about them in their past setting and thus try to

comprehend them fully with regard to their growth whose culmination is their present'day status

Merits

This approach makes history meaningful and purposeful We can see the clear link of the present with the past We

comprehend the past with more understanding History no longer remains a study of the dead as is labelled by its critics

SYLLABUS OF CBSE

In our country different states have their own syllabus It is not possible or feasible to comment on each one of them.However, an attempt has been made to briefly give the syllabus of CBSE from VI Class to X Class with its appraisal too.Class VI - From Pre-Historic Culture of India to 800 A.D

Lower Secondary Stage - Classes IX and X

Semester I - Pre History to Medieval World

Semester II - Beginning of Modern Age to Imperialism

Semester III - The Contemporary World

Semester IV - India - The Cultural Heritage, Indian Awakening and Indian Struggle for Freedom

ITS APPRAISAL

A cursory look at this arrangement shows that a child upto Class VIII learns about the history of India from pre-historictimes to Medieval India and then to Modern India, with some information thrown in about Europe and Asia and also aboutthe modern world The purpose is clear It is to bring home to him the entire history of India with some rudimentaryknowledge of the world Now as per our constitutional directive every child is supposed to study upto the age of 14 yearsand this generally coincides with the end of Class VIII So a reasonably good attempt is made to familiarise him with ourhistory and a sprinkling of world history so that to a sufficient extent the child may be well equipped to carry on with hisduties as an informed citizen

In Classes IX and X again he is exposed to the history of the world from pre-historic times and then to contemporaryworld and finally to our cultural heritage and our struggle for independence So the child learns about the growth ofcivilisations in different parts of the world and this develops in him the liberal outlook and then his exposure to the

contemporary world helps him to understand to some extent the plight in which the entire human race finds itself in thepresent Along with this he also learns about our cultural

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heritage and our struggle for independence and thus the child gets a brief idea of the history of the world with somewhatdeeper understanding about our own country and this is a sure step in the direction of nurturing in him a common nationalidentity and love for our culture

The selection of content appears to be quite satisfactory, but in passing it may be said that it is too much for the child and

it is a challenge for the history text-book writer to condense the subject matter as much as possible without compromising

with the continuity of the story.

MESSAGE FOR TEACHERS

Teachers must have the understanding and knowledge that the presentation of subject matter of history in the form ofsyllabus can be organised in different ways They should also know about the merits and shortcomings of each approach

He should therefore choose the approach or a combination of approaches, which to his mind will be most effective duringhis interaction with the children in the classroom

EXERCISE

Q 1 What is a Syllabus? Give some broad principles of framing history syllabus at the school stage

Q 2 What are the different approaches of framing history syllabus? Give briefly their merits and shortcomings

Q 3 Give briefly a critical appraisal of the school syllabus from VI to X Class of the CBSE or (of your own State).34

Chapter 5 METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY

INTRODUCTION

Let us first of all realise and appreciate the fact that different methods are employed by us to achieve our aims In ourcontext we have already highlighted the aims of teaching history in an earlier chapter and the methods we employ musthelp us to realise them It is a very sad and pathetic fact that when we talk of methods we forget the basic fact that theyare tools or means to help us realise the goals By and large we talk about methods in abstraction but here an attempt hasbeen made to relate them to the aims of teaching history Later on their real application has been attempted in the chapter

in which lesson plans have been prepared

However, while using any method principles of learning should always be kept in mind and the basic principle is that itshould be child-centred It should generate interest in him It should raise his perceptive mass and inspire him to learn

We all know very well that our teaching should be learning based, meaning thereby, that it must create in the child anurge to learn and imbibe knowledge and naturally it means his full and active participation in the teaching-learning

process Therefore any or every method should cater to this basic principle of learning Besides the method should alsosuit the subject matter

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TEXT-BOOK METHOD

In the first instance let us understand that a text-book is prescribed for a class so that the teacher and the children mayknow the content and its scope It also helps them not to get into digression Besides, it is always available with them and

so they can consult it again and again to refresh their memory

The Text-Book Method — (The Acceptable Procedure)

Text-book method is one of the oldest methods of teaching The procedure is like this — the teacher calls upon children tocome to the class after studying the content at home Thus the students get acquainted with the subject matter When theycome to the classroom, the teacher after proper introduction of the lesson presents the content step by step in a logical,systematic and effective manner or else asks some students to present the events in their sequence, but in between, thenarrative is punctuated with questions Since children are acquainted with the content they can reproduce it But suchquestions will only be the test of their memory so questions should mainly be directed towards their capacity to analyseand critically interpret the facts learnt by them from their history text-book In this way they should be called upon toprobe into the 'why' or 'how' of the event or the situation For instance if the class is studying about Asoka's war withKalinga, then the teacher may put this question to them, "Why did Asoka attack that small kingdom"? In the course of thedevelopment of the lesson they may be asked to answer the question, "Why did a change occur in the perception ofAsoka"? So this procedure would compel children to think to probe and analyse the facts and thus they would become an

active participant in the teaching-learning process This approach will help them to imbibe the subject matter for good, or

in other words the matter will get etched up in their mind because now they see the fact in its proper perspective

Therefore the text-book method can briefly be described as a method which calls upon children to learn the matter athome and then discuss the why of the content in its several dimensions in the classroom This approach is

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the real Text-book method (The acceptable procedure) of teaching history at the school stage

The Distorted Version of the Method

But the ground reality is most heart rending and unpalatable as for decades together the method is being used in the mostdistorted way and countless children of this country, with some exceptions, are being subjected to it The proceduregenerally is somewhat like this — the teacher asks children to open their books and then read aloud the content as if itwere a language class When the reading is over the teacher asks them to turn to questions given at the end of the lessonand tells them to underline the lines or the portion that would fit into the question The students are expected to mug them

up without understanding anything and reproduce them, as such, in the examination So in short the entire procedure isonly content centred The students are kept passive and there is hardly any academic interaction between the teacher andthe class In short it is the very anti-thesis of child-centred approach in education The entire process is monotonous andagainst the basic principles of good teaching

Critical Estimate

(a) The real text-book method (The acceptable approach) to be followed

The real text-book method (The acceptable approach) which calls upon the children to read the content at home and comeduly prepared to the class, and followed by thought provoking questions is quite interesting and acceptable Questionsprompt the children to think critically and systematically and the ensuing discussion helps them to consider things in alogical way It also makes them think about the cause and effect relationship It thus broadens the outlook of children Italso generates a healthy learning atmosphere in the class and this leads to arouse in students a liking and love towards thesubject itself

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But the distorted method, referred to above, is slowly, steadily and surely creating an atmosphere of revulsion towards thesubject Children virtually start hating the subject because the facts of history are presented to them in the most insipidand detested manner through the cold print of the book The words of the print become meaningless to students and thelife, action and vibrancy behind these words get buried deep into the ground because of the inaction of the teacher

Actually the content is forced down the gullets of children and they are forced to swallow it without comprehendinganything

The only purpose is to cover the course, and make them mug up things in a mechanical way so as to reproduce them at thetime of examinations The revulsion towards the subject created by this approach is a common place knowledge In factthis approach is steadily but surely sounding the dealt knell of the subject

Conclusion

In brief it can be said that the teacher and the school system should immediately stop this distorted version of text-bookmethod and bury it so deep that it may never surface again However, the real method, discussed above, may be adopted

by the teacher and for this a teacher should be very well informed so that he may be able to take care of different

perceptions of children which would surface during the thought provoking discussions

QUESTION-ANSWER METHOD

Child is born with an inquisitive mind He is curious by nature He wants to know more and more and still more Hequestions about everything that he sees around him or what he experiences He seeks answers to his questions and hisinsatiable curiosity is the mother of all knowledge

A teacher has, therefore, to make use of this God given attribute of the human nature An eminent scholar highlighted thisphenomenon when he remarked that he had six faithful servants — 'why', 'what', 'who', 'when', 'where' and 'how'

To illustrate the above, let us take an example Suppose we are dealing with the causes of the downfall of the MughalEmpire After a brief introduction the teacher may ask the class, "What was the religious policy of Aurangzeb? What wasthe religious policy of Akbar? What difference do you see between the two? What would be the reaction of the Hindustowards the treatment meted out to them by Aurangzeb? The teacher after receiving answers from the children wouldweave them in the story and maintain the continuity.

For greater clarity let us take another example Suppose we are teaching about Alexander's invasion on India The teacherwith the help of a suitable map shows Taxila to the students and asks them what should the ruler of Taxila do when39

Alexander is ready to invade his kingdom with a large army? Naturally most of the students would say that he shouldfight against him But the teacher while accepting their answer would tell them that Ambhi on the other hand accepted hissubjugation Then the teacher can talk of Porus and ask them as what he should have done in the given situation Perhapsthe children would again say that Porus should fight against the invader A good teacher can also ask them to give thecharacter of these two Indian rulers, on the basis of what they did

And with constant 'give and take activity' in the class the teacher in a participatory way builds up his lesson Children herereact to a situation presented to them by the teacher but teacher supplies them with the fact of history So the entireexercise consists of questions, answers and narrative of the teacher and so almost every one participates in this process

Critical Estimate

(a) The most effective method

The above method does not need any electronic or other costly gadgets, though they are not a taboo The truth is that anyingenious teacher without incurring any extra expenditure on so-called modern costly equipments or apparatuses can use itwith utmost of efficacy In short it is effective without being expensive - the real need of our country

It is child-centred It is a participative device in which child is an active learner He is called upon to critically analyse thesituation presented before him by the teacher He logically thinks over it and considers various aspects of it in his ownway and then reacts to it as if he himself was occupying the centre of the stage

It also develops in him the power of imagination With his mind's eye he can visualise the things happening before himand he virtually gets immersed in the learning process, because he is being asked to actively come in grips with thesituation or the problem

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In short, it can be said that this method is an exercise in joy The child is given the understanding that in the pursuit ofnew knowledge he is a co-traveller with the teacher and this develops in him immense self confidence Moreover thesubject of history becomes a source of pleasure and joy And the greatest achievement of any or every teacher is to makethe learning experience joyous

(b) Some objections raised against this method

But this age old method has fallen on evil days because the teachers assert that this is slow and time consuming Theyargue that it will not permit them to finish course in time.

It is also argued that if the facts are presented in their total setting, tracing their causes, etc then children would not beable to retain the facts of the history and their mind would get entangled in the interesting background only

One more objection to this approach emanates from the fact that the teachers are very much obsessed with the

examination system which calls for facts of history in a cut and dry fashion, so as to fit into the questions set by

examiners An abundance of guides and note books with questions and their crisp answers bear eloquent proof of thephenomenon

Some teachers say that this approach would result in guessing game and children would come out with wild guesses Soaccording to them the net result would be the wastage of precious time and also a lot of digression

However, it may be stated that these objections have hardly any substance First of all, to raise the bogey of finishing thecourse in time tantamounts to the fact that we are not at all concerned with the child "Is our aim confined to pushing thesubject matter down the throat of the child forcibly or to make him a co-traveller in the pursuit of gaining knowledge".The answer is obvious

Then to say that it is time consuming, is ridiculous The boot is actually on the other foot Since the method involves thestudents in the development of the lesson in a very active manner and as it arouses their interest they are able to

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comprehend and understand the things very rapidly and also imbibe it And in any case it is hundred times better thandictating them dull and second hand notes or asking them to read the subject matter aloud in the class and then askingthem to underline the relevant lines which would fit into some questions given by the teacher

Then to argue that this approach to present the fact in its total context with a proper and appropriate background may leadchildren to retain or remember the interesting background only and not the fact of history, has hardly any validity Thisargument hardly carries any conviction If we give some description of Shivaji's state of mind and precautions taken byhim before meeting Afzal Khan then it would help students to retain permanently the fact that "Shivaji killed Afzal

Khan" So this background is needed to bring to the real focus the truth or the fact of history Hence this argument has nosubstance

As regards the compulsions of examination system it has some meaning Actually the school takes pride in flaunting itsgood or excellent result Even the worth or competence of a teacher is assessed on the basis of the result of the

examination In fact examination results have become the sole criterion of the excellence of a school Questions set in thequestion papers, by and large, call for mugged up answers within ten or twenty words Therefore Examination Boards ofdifferent states should bring about a change in their style or approach and see that more and more questions seeking thelogical and systematic thinking on the part of the children find their place in the question paper We must appreciate thefact that we should produce thinking citizens in our country and not the ones who just like machine reproduce what theyhave mugged up

Those who say that it would lead to a guessing game and thus history would become the real sufferer, perhaps do notknow what they are saying History is nothing but a guessing exercise done even by eminent scholars on the basis ofevidences available to them No historian was ever present on the scene when an event took place, perhaps in most of thecases it happened much earlier before he was born But he builds up the story in an authentic way with his rich

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imagination on the basis of the data available to him After all Clio is the daughter of Muse and Memory according toGreek mythology So History which is related to Clio must have a rich incidence of Muse in it and this calls for imaginingthe scenario within the parameter of the facts collected by the historian Therefore if we ask our children also to do thesame exercise on the basis of the situation or facts presented by the teacher then where is the harm? On the other hand bynot giving the child opportunity to muse over the situation we do a positive disservice to him and to the subject as well

(c) Some Precautions to be Taken

This approach needs some precautions In a situation presented by the teacher in the classroom there can be several

responses to a question because human mind is extremely creative and innovative and sometimes most uncommon andincredible answers can come from the children To illustrate this point let us refer to Alexander's advance towards

Ambhi's kingdom with his army In response to the question "What should Ambhi do? A child can say, "He would runaway" Now such an answer does fit into the scope of the question and the teacher should accept it and then tell the class,

"He could have done it but he preferred to welcome him and surrendered before him" As such the teacher should keep anopen mind and receive the wrong or partly wrong or correct answers with grace and put supplementary questions or elsegive the fact of the history in a pleasant and winning way

Secondly the teachers should always keep in mind that these questions and answers should not lead to a break in thecontinuity of the lesson Through his brief intervention he should weave the whole thing in the required pattern Therefore

he has got to be very vigilant and alert and should also be very well informed

Besides this, the teacher should follow the maxims of teaching — 'From the known to the unknown; From concrete toabstract, From particular to general, From induction to deduction' etc However, sometimes he can give the

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consequences of a situation and then ask children to think of the causes In short, the questions should be based on whatthey know or understand and on the basis of it they may be ushered into the world of the unknown facts of history whichconstitute the part of new knowledge

In short, if we really want history teaching-learning process to be a source of joy and pleasure then we shall have to adoptthe above method It will make the subject vibrant with life and vigour which in reality it is, and which we have snatchedaway from it by our most unacademic and lifeless approach

It also gives them training in patience, because they have to listen to the lecture patiently This is what they are expected

to do when they grow up because in a democracy we have to learn to hear the other person with patience

In some cases a good lecture stimulates and inspires children to gather more information on their own It may also inspirethem to learn the art of lecturing with proper pauses and modulation in their voice So it can inspire them to develop thisskill

However, the fact is that the so-called merits of the method cited above have no substance in them To assert that we cancover the course quickly is the gross negation of good teaching It means that the teacher is only concerned with thecontent of the course and not at all bothered about children for whom the course has been prescribed

It is true that many of us may learn more effectively by listening to what teacher says in the class but children go toschool to have interaction with teacher One of the most important function of the teacher is to act as a guide and as aphilosopher and not to inflict lengthy lectures on children To listen to the lecture of the teacher is a punishment becausechildren cannot concentrate too long on talks passively Hence this argument that they can learn easily from the lecturesholds little water Moreover, if it were so, then a teaching machine delivering a full recorded lecture could be more

No doubt a good lecture stimulates and inspires but in order to inspire students, a teacher must seek children's involvementthrough crisp and thought provoking questions It may once again be repeated that question-answer approach does notdeny the opportunity to teacher to give short narratives

Conclusion

In sum it may be stated that at school stage lecture method, as such, should not be used Let students be active

participants in the quest of knowledge and so teaching should be no longer teaching but a teaching-learning venture inwhich both children and teacher actively participate Hence lecture method which is primarily teacher-centred should bediscarded

PROJECT METHOD

Project Method is the contribution of pragmatism — a school of thought In brief it is primarily based on the principle ofutility It says that whatever is good is useful and whatever is useful is good It wants education to be goal oriented Itdoes not subscribe to the adage, "Knowledge for the sake of knowledge On the other hand it insists that knowledgeshould be purposeful

Naturally therefore, it wants education to be activity based to attain our well articulated purpose or goal As such childrentake up a project to fulfil their felt need But before describing the project method let us first of all understand, 'What aproject is'? In this context it would be proper to refer to the definition given by C.V Good He says, "A project is asignificant unit activity having educational value and aimed at one or more definite goals of understanding It involvesinvestigation and solution of problems and frequently the use and manipulation

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of physical material It is planned and carried to completion by the pupils and the teacher in a natural life like manner"

In short it means learning by doing and not through the discourses of the teacher in the classroom The procedure adopted

is like this The teacher looking at the requirement of the course, initiates discussion on some topic Children start comingout with their own opinions and views and thus there is an interaction in the class Suddenly children come face to facewith a problem arising out of their discussion and it calls for sustained work and collection of relevant information fromdifferent sources and agencies Thus a felt need takes birth in the classroom Then children start making a plan to resolvethe problem Various aspects of the problem emerge in the course of making the plan Then children divide themselves indifferent groups, each group taking the responsibility to look after their own small area Details of the execution of theplan are worked out sitting in the classroom by children themselves The role of the teacher is only to help and guide andgive his expert advice as and when he feels its necessity But nothing is imposed upon children After that children

execute the plan Thereafter each group prepares its report and then one whole report is prepared and presented before thewhole class Students again get the chance to highlight their achievement and their shortcomings so that next time themistakes may not be repeated

In history a teacher can think of several projects such as a study of the monuments built by the Mughals in Delhi Forchildren of Delhi schools it would be a very interesting project, then there can be projects like Bhakti Movement, 'TheMarathas after Shivaji to the third battle of Panipat' Of course it would entail a good deal of field work to collect

information but it would be self rewarding and very educative

Critical Estimate

Ostensibly the project method is very effective and useful First of all the learning experience becomes goal oriented tofulfil a felt need It is no longer knowledge for the sake of knowledge Besides, it is learning through self directed activity.47

It also turns the child into a discoverer He is no longer a passive recipient of knowledge, on the other hand he acquiresinformation which turns into knowledge because it is self acquired

Since children work in smaller groups they develop a sense of cooperation They also learn how to interact with oneanother and also with the agencies or people whom they contact to collect information

Children also enjoy freedom No doubt they seek and get guidance and expert advice from the teacher yet they are free tohave their own way Besides they are also free to have their own inferences on the basis of their perception of the

information supported by their own arguments Thus, in short it is a democratic style of learning and so a lesson in

democratic way of life

It is also feared that under this dispensation, shirkers may not work and enjoy themselves by remaining in the background.Moreover because of their zeal and exuberance

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some students may not give opportunity to backward and slow learners to come forward So this is a great danger and askilful and intelligent teacher should take care of this shortcoming

Conclusion

A careful perusal of the above will lead us to the conclusion that in our school setting with its fixed time-table and

schedule it will not be possible to adopt this method, but with a little modification here or there we can adapt it In ourcountry we have short vacations and long vacations In the classroom a teacher can discuss and help children to prepare aplan of the project and then they may be asked to complete it during their vacations In this way the project can be taken

up by children without disturbing the school schedule So history teacher with a vision can give a trial to this methodkeeping in view the constraints in which they work One thing which will always help us and our teachers is to adapt themethods given to us by the western thinkers and educationists and not follow them in to because we have our own

limitations and constraints and therefore a proper compromise should always be made

UNIT METHOD

Introduction

To understand the term 'Unit' let us refer to C.V Good who in his 'Dictionary of Education' defines it as "a major division in history, Practical arts or sciences" So unit is a small segment of the course complete in itself with no gaps,giving us a continuous and uninterrupted information related to the topic It has a definite theme such as Bhakti

sub-Movement, Mughal's Administration, Rise and fall of the Sikhs etc Thus it has a well spelt out focus and it concentrates

on it, leaving aside other events or information of the contemporary period not related to it Its focus is well defined orwell articulated and the aim is to do as much in-depth study as possible It is also relevant for the class

How to Form Units

Units are formed by the teacher to help children to learn the content more effectively The purpose is to give them suitablelearning experience focussed on a definite issue and place them in the position of an active learner and not a passiverecipient of information

In consonance with the above principle the units should be child-centred, or while forming them we should keep in mindage, capacity, capability and interest of children, for instance the level of difficulty should be less for smaller childrenwhereas it may be more challenging for senior classes

The units should have a direct relationship with the whole syllabus It should be an integral part of it, and its study shouldresult in better understanding of the whole course

While formulating a unit, teacher should himself be well informed and well read and should be well familiar with thesources from where relevant information may be collected by children without much difficulty He should always keep inhis mind that his role is that of a guide, so as to ease their difficulty, and make their quest of knowledge a voyage into apleasurable adventure

A good unit must involve a lot of active work on the part of children It must put them on the high road of discoveringfacts and it should also give them opportunity to establish linkages with the relevant facts falling in the domain of anyother subject It should also give them opportunity to correlate history with other subjects, wherever possible and

necessary, history should be correlated with Geography or Civics or Economics or literature etc

Since it is goal-centred or purposeful, its completion should give them satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment and thissense inspires one to work still harder and harder and reach higher and higher goals

Steps of Unit Method

At this stage let us discuss the method itself H.C Morrison in this context suggested some steps They are:

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(a) Exploration — The teacher takes up a unit and discusses it in a formal way in the classroom seeking the full

participation of the children He can also ask them to write whatever they know about the subject matter related to theunit Having known the background of the class, teacher is in a position to motivate them still further to collect moreinformation He also tells them the name of books, journals or magazines or other sources from where more informationcan be gathered

(b) Presentation — After this the teacher in a short and crisp way presents a bare outline of the content In this way

children have a sketchy outline of the matter sans details Thus the teacher convinces himself that the children have beensufficiently motivated to explore the new knowledge by themselves Then he asks them to go ahead with the job

(c) Assimilation — The children through their own efforts collect the relevant information from different sources, theydiscus about the content among themselves, they write their own papers and all this they do with the active guidance ofthe teacher The teacher goes through their study sheets, asks them to refer to more sources if need be and also seekcooperation from one another In this way they are put on the high road of self learning

(d) Organisation — Then every child is asked to prepare a systematic and well organised version of his findings Thiswrite-up can very well reveal as to how far he has been able to comprehend and imbibe the content of the unit Teachercan still at this stage give him some more concrete suggestions for further improvement if needed

(e) Report Presentation — In the end individual pupil gives a presentation of what he has done This may also involvesome discussion from others

Critical Estimate

In short this approach is child-centred and hence learning/

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learner oriented It is activity based and children no longer remain passive learner, they on the other hand become

discoverer of knowledge The learning becomes interesting and also helps children to be creative Children also learn toshare their experiences and views with other members of the class They indulge in healthy discussions where freedom isgiven to them and an exchange of ideas at academic and intellectual plane takes place These features of Unit Methodhelps them to develop a healthy and wholesome democratic outlook In addition to this they also get training in

cooperation and fellow feeling

Children are given due opportunity to work according to their own pace They tackle with the problem according to theirown perception and thus their individuality is granted full scope to grow

No doubt we talk at length about Unit as a method but the truth is that unit is an organisation of syllabus in a specificway On the pain of repetition it may be stated that it is a subdivision of the syllabus

The method followed requires a lot of self study on the part of students It entails collection of data from different sourcesand it would mean extra work and hence putting in extra hours of work even beyond school hours So it can createproblems in the school schedule which is by and large fixed and followed religiously

The method adopts a thematic approach So the unit runs vertically through the time span — focussing on one aspect onlywhich is the main theme of the unit For instance if the unit is on the Rajput Policy of the Mughals from Babar to Akbar,then the main focus will be on the Rajput Policy of the kings during this period ignoring many other important eventswhich took place during this period Hence the chronology of history would be a casualty and it may create a lot ofconfusion in the minds of children

It may also be borne in mind that in the teaching of history a teacher should use as many methods or devices as neededaccording to the need of the lesson and not religiously follow one and only one approach Ultimately the aim is learning

on the part of children, and to achieve it, there can always be more than one method or approach

SOURCE METHOD

Introduction

As stated again and again, history is a record of the past, and a good and honest historian always tries to present it in anuntainted way His efforts are to present it in the form in which things actually happened But to say so, is the easiest ofall things but to translate it into action is a Herculean task No historian who writes about the past witnessed the eventshimself Naturally he has to fall back upon some information authored by some one else or else he tries to build up hisaccount of history on the basis of some monuments or relics or some other things connected with the past which maythrow light on it

Sources are in fact the information which help a historian to reconstruct the past honestly and accurately They are thebricks, mortar and other raw material which helps the historian to build the edifice of history They give him sufficientlygood material to write history or reconstruct the past Sources also prove the fact that history is not a figment of

imagination of the historian; and that they are the dividing line between history and fiction and they also define theparameters within which a historian should work

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Types of Sources

The past has left for us different types of sources We can broadly classify them as follows:

1 Archaeological Sources

— their religious practices, their customs or in one word about their culture These sources give a lot of information to adiscerning historian to build up his theme in an authenticated way.

In addition to this, we find inscriptions on stones, rocks and pillars etc and they also reveal several things of the past andthese sources are almost above board

2 Literary Sources

The literary sources are also a source of information Historians in the past wrote about the events of their times; theygave us accounts of the deeds or misdeeds of the rulers or other great people who contributed to the shaping of history atthat time They, also, many a time, threw light on the social, economic and cultural life etc of the people and thus left arich treasure of information for the historian to reconstruct the past In addition to them the novels, stories, poems, essays

or other writings of the authors also provide enough material to write about the past Besides, diaries, firmans (Courtorders), official documents like the appointment orders of officials, their transfer orders or the orders of their dismissalsetc give us a lot of information and insight into the contemporary life A

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historian falls back upon these literary sources, attempts to remove the chaff from the grain and then give a reliable

account of the past

Another type of literary sources available almost all over the world are religious books or scriptures These religious booksgive a very rich account of the contemporary world Though they may contain sometimes quite imaginative or fictitiousaccount of many things yet with our insight we can pick up what is relevant and leave what is not Our mythologies

— Ramayana and Mahabharata and Puranas etc throw light on the Hindu psyche and thus provide us with a lot of

information about the Hindu society And same holds good with regard to the mythologies or the religious books of otherfaiths

3 Oral Traditions

In addition to the above, we also get information about the past from oral traditions or oral accounts passed on to us from

a long chain of our ancestors They may, in many a case, be nothing but the figment of imagination on the part of theircreators and in many cases be highly exaggerated accounts of what actually happened, yet they are sources of lots ofinformation It is the job of historian to classify this information, sift it and then try to find out the truth

Further Classification of Sources

These sources can be further sub-divided into two categories

— (a) Primary, (b) Secondary

(a) Primary Sources — Primary sources are also known as original sources They are either written by the eyewitnesses or

by contemporary historians or they may be in the form of contemporary court orders, laws, treaties, letters,

autobiographies etc Their authenticity springs from the fact that they were written by the people who were quite close tothe events in terms of time and space

How to Use Sources

As teachers our main thrust should be on 'How to use Sources' in the classroom So whatever has been said above is just

to apprise the teacher with the basic information about sources in a summary fashion But before using sources we have totake some precautions

Precautions

It may be noted that all sources are not necessarily the true accounts of what actually happened Even the accounts written

by the eyewitnesses may be tainted The person who writes it, if he happens to be an employee of the ruler or getting thepatronage of his benefactor in some form or the other, or if he has some religious bias or has some grudge against someone then his version is likely to suffer from his prejudices or biases So the personality of the author and his backgroundare likely to give a particular tangent to the truth and distort it Besides in the world of today many cheats and

unscrupulous people do manufacture spurious or fake documents claiming them to be original So the teacher has to keep

an open and discerning mind and while using the sources keep in mind the background of the author and also keep an eye

on the genuineness of the source Therefore due care be taken about the origin and originality of the source

SOME PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES

As regards archaeological sources like monuments, ruins, terracotta figures, paintings and other sources such as coins,56

dresses, etc., no history teacher in the world can possibly claim to have an expertise to sit in judgment upon their

genuineness because he is not a trained archaeologist or a scientist In many a case he may not read the language of theart or of the stone But this should not dishearten a good history teacher in the least because the versions of the scientistsand archaeologists are easily available and a history teacher can conveniently build upon them As regards literary sourcesthey may be found in old classical languages, or in some languages which have become obsolete or may be one withwhich the history teacher is not familiar By no stretch of imagination can we expect a history teacher to be familiar withall the countless languages of the past or the present But even this is not an insurmountable problem A resourcefulhistory teacher can make use of the authentic translations of these sources, and the truth is, that most historians do use thetranslation of the original material

Method of Using Source Material

Having discussed precautions to be taken while using sources and also difficulties that come in the use of sources, let usnow focus our attention on the method to be adopted to use them in classroom situation As regards ruins or monuments orother archaeological sources it is ridiculous even to think that they can be transported into the classroom So teachershould use their authentic pictures or models which in many a case can be made by children themselves With a littleresourcefulness and imagination the teacher can inspire children to prepare the models of coins on the clay So the teachercan inspire the children to make the replica of the original thing and the same can be used in the class to make the lessoninteresting and real In addition to the above, wherever possible or feasible, teacher can take the class on a historical tourand give them the opportunity to see the archaeological remains for themselves, but as it may not be possible for anaverage poor child in a poor country, as stated above, pictures and models will be a very effective substitute In somecases, if possible the slides can be shown to children

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With regard to the literary sources a teacher can adopt more than one approach He can collect the relevant extract of theoriginal source or its translation and distribute it among the children and ask them to come well prepared to the class afterstudying it at their home Then in the classroom he can, while dealing with that topic, ask students to give their ownreactions on the basis of what they have read from the source material To give an example, let us think that the teacher isteaching about the measures taken by Asoka to spread Buddhism He can distribute among his students the translation ofwhat is inscribed in his edicts and ask them to study it at their home Then in the classroom while dealing with that aspect

he can ask his students to substantiate or contradict it and the discussion that will ensure would naturally enthral studentsand history would become vibrant with life The other approach is that while dealing with a particular issue, teacher readsout the relevant passage from his own collection and then displays the same written by him on a roll-up black-board andthen through intelligent and thought provoking questions invites them to give their reactions In this way he can securetheir full and complete participation in the development of the theme Still another approach can be that at the end of thelesson students are introduced to the relevant extract of the source material and thereafter a discussion is initiated so that

children may express and form their own opinion in the light of this fresh evidence in a logical but dispassionate way Itmay be asserted here that these approaches are recommendatory and not mandatory An intelligent and imaginative teachercan formulate his own device which may be still more effective However, the use of source in no way should

compromise with the traditional approach in which students are forced to listen to the teacher in a passive way

While discussing the topic based on the information contained in the source material, teacher should also, if need be, tellthe students about the veracity of the source in the light of the background of the author so that children may also thinkabout the possible prejudice that might have crept into the account presented by the author In this way even at the school58

stage, particularly at the secondary and senior secondary stage, children may be trained to think in an objective and

dispassionate way in which a good historian also thinks and to give such a training to the children, is, what is needed Toargue that it is time consuming and so not feasible is an argument which emanates from those who have never tried to putthis in action In fact it does not require any extra time In fact this all is done when we present the subject matter and as

it makes the learning very interesting, child imbibes it for good No doubt it calls for more labour and hard work on thepart of the teacher but the learning on the part of children becomes exhilarating

As regards oral traditions which have percolated to us from the past by way of words from the mouth, we must considerthem very judiciously and carefully In many a case our folk songs, our folklores and traditions and beliefs are steppeddeep in superstitions But still in their own way they communicate to us a lot of information A discerning history teachercan with his ingenuity and insight sift the chaff from the grain and thus with their help give a good deal of informationabout the past An example of a folk song sung by women in the western part of the Uttar Pradesh near Agra will be quiteinformative While going to worship the well from which they draw water, they sing in chorus on the road The song says

"O White man (Firangi) do not install water taps, the water of these taps is not good and by drinking it I get a feeling ofnausea" Now such songs give a lot of information about the mistrust that Indian masses might have had towards thewhite people A good and effective teacher while teaching about the invasion of Alexander on India can always refer towhat was said by King Porus to Alexander when Alexander asked him (Porus) as to what sort of treatment should bemeted out to him (Porus) Such anecdotal references which have come down to us through our ancestors may be talkedabout in the classroom with due precautions

Sources also give even small children a chance to critically analyse the facts They also help them to logically reach someconclusion and also help in the development of their power of imagination

Their use also instils in their mind that history is not fiction; that it is real Contradictory views and controversial factswill also give them the understanding that it is a very tedious task to reach the truth They will also learn that truth is notsimple, it may be grey and may also be cross eyed So sources may also give them the understanding about the intricacies

of the human mind and his behaviour and the message, that, to reach the truth one needs a constant and endless endeavourand sources are the tools which help us in this endless endeavour

No doubt historical facts are based upon the findings drawn from the sources available to us thus far, but there is everylikelihood that tomorrow we may find some new sources giving us additional information So teacher should very wellbear in his mind this fact that truth in history, at least in regard to the controversial issues is relative and if tomorrow someother information is found out then another relative truth may take its place because history is an endless dialogue betweenthe facts of history and the historian So sources also help us to indulge in the dialogue and thus keep our mind open forfurther and still further query

Conclusion

In our schools we should use the source method as and when necessary at all stages - Elementary and Secondary Weshould not shy away from it saying that it is time consuming and expensive In fact it is neither time consuming norexpensive It only requires imagination, ingenuity, sincerity and a hard

work on the part of the teacher It may be said that these are the basic prerequisite of becoming a good and effectiveteacher and every society has a claim over the teacher to possess them or else cultivate them in the interest of children andhis own sacred profession In sum it can be asserted that it is one of the most effective methods to make history

interesting and making the learning a joyous experience

MESSAGE FOR TEACHERS

Different methods discussed above are various approaches through which a teacher can realise the goal of inspiring

children to learn by themselves These methods are different path-ways to reach the goal of involving children actively inthe pursuit of knowledge They follow the accepted pedagogical principles which regard the child as the centre of

teaching-learning activity or which make this activity paedo-centric

A teacher is only to follow this principle as the guiding star, and in this process he can use these methods as per the needand requirement of the specific occasion The main purpose is to help the child feel that he too can adequately contribute

in an intelligent way to the development of the theme This feeling, if aroused in the child, will inspire him to appreciate,analyse and also internalise the content of history and this will make the past re-live in the mind of the child, and thusenable him to understand the present more intelligently and prepare him for the future But once again it may be repeatedthat all these methods should lead to the active participation of the child in the classroom deliberations

Q 3 "Lecture Method is not suitable for teaching history at school stage" Comment

Q 4 "How can you use Project Method in the teaching of history"? Discuss its merits and shortcomings

Q 5 Explain Unit Method and critically evaluate it in the context of teaching of history

Q 6 What are different kinds of sources? Explain their importance in the teaching of history

Q 7 Explain how would you teach history in the classroom using the source method? What precautions will you takewhile using this method?

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Chapter 6 AUDIO VISUAL AIDS

INTRODUCTION

At the very outset let us refer to the word "Aids" used in the title of this chapter We must keep in our mind the fact that

"Aids" are only "Aids"; they are by no stretch of imagination an end in themselves They are tools or means with the help

of which a teacher can reach his goal with greater effect If, as a teacher, we can keep this fact constantly in our mind,then many problems which crop up will not arise at all

History primarily deals with what happened in the past and through his verbal exposition a teacher can give a narrative ofthe events or the happenings but to make things really effective and pulsating with life, if some concrete representation ofthe facts is also given then it will make a permanent impression on the minds of children The verbal communicationmade by the teacher is received by children through the auditory senses whereas visual aids reach the mind through thevisual senses and when the knowledge is received simultaneously through both the auditory and visual senses, learningbecomes much more effective and in case of history it becomes lively The visual and audio aids arouse interest in thelesson and students are then able to see the situation or the event in a concrete form as these aids make the abstract,

concrete and enliven the past.

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AUDIO VISUAL AIDS—THEIR MEANING

Audio-Visual Aids may be defined as devices, which stimulate auditory or visual senses, or both and thus help the child toreceive knowledge or information with greater intensity They provide an experience which combines words with objects

or their replica and thus enrich it Their appeal to the mind is quite irresistible as combination of visual with voice ortouch lends reality and life to the experience and knowledge, thus gained, gets imprinted on the canvas of the mind of thechild They also concretise the abstract

MERITS

Before discussing the merits and utility of these aids it would be advisable to refer to Edgar Bruce Wesley's statement inthis regard Wesley says "Audio Visual aids furnish experiences They facilitate the association of objects and words.They save pupil's time and they provide simple and authentic information They enrich and extend one's appreciation andfurnish pleasant entertainment They provide simplified view of complicated data They stimulate the imagination anddevelop the pupil's power of observation These aids may need explanation but they do not need translations They speak auniversal language of form, colour, position and motion They constitute one of the royal roads to learning"

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Motivation

Pictures, models, charts, films etc make the lesson colourful and generate interest in the classroom proceedings andchildren automatically get motivated to learn still further This interest and motivation helps them to imbibe the facts andretain them The mental images created by models, charts or pictures etc make a lasting impact on them and thus thecontent is easily stored in memory

Stimulates Imagination

These aids stimulate imagination too A picture showing an attacking army, trying to scale the walls of a fort and thedefenders defending it desperately, can give a world of ideas to children with regard to strategies adopted, strengths andweaknesses of the two armies and other related things Children can understand the ways the wars were fought, the role offorts and strategies adopted Thus the material aids help the child to visualise, analyse and also draw conclusions

Concretises the Verbal Information

Material aids also concretise information given in the text We all know that written or verbal information is not as

forceful and effective as the concrete one is While talking about the killing of two sons of Bahadur Shah Zafar by theBritishers and presenting their heads to him on a plate, if the same is shown to the class, in the form of a pictorial formtoo, the result or effect would be tremendous Children will never forget this part of history (Here we are not dealingwith the desirability of showing such pictures)

Helps Slow Learners

Material aids are also a boon to slow learners The concrete replica of things in the form of models, pictures, films, filmstrips etc motivate them to learn The abstract representations when presented in such a concrete way help them to

understand

the lesson readily and more quickly and easily as compared to information passed on to them through words by teacher orthe information received by them from the cold print of a book It is said that one picture, sometimes can convey what athousand words cannot

Makes the Past Real

In one word it can be said that material aids make the past real They help children to recreate it by seeing them or bymaking pictures or models or charts etc Thus they are able to feel the past from close proximity Even when they hearcassettes or recorded speeches or talks or see the models or pictures etc they become active participants in the learningprocess or an active spectator of the event and thus they easily internalise knowledge Thus these aids are of immense help

to a teacher They can even bring the world inside the classroom They act as effective means to help the child to feel, seeand even touch the past Thus these aids make the past alive and real

KINDS OF MATERIAL AIDS

Material Aids can be broadly divided into three broad categories

(a) Visual Aids

(b) Audio Aids

(c) Audio Visual Aids

(a) Visual Aids

These are the aids which appeal to the visual sense They may be figures or diagrams etc drawn on the black-board infront of the class, or ready made charts, pictures, models, globe, silent movies, bulletin boards, flannel boards etc Sochildren see them in the classrooms and with their help build up an image of the real thing

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But some critics may argue that many schools in our country may not even have these aids However, it may be stated thateven in the most deprived or the penurious school, one can expect to find at least a blackboard in the classroom, and inthe context of a very large majority of our schools, which by and large are known for their poor conditions in terms offacilities, at least we may expect this to be true With this minimum equipment, a good and sincere teacher can do

wonders He can use the chalk to show the movement of armies, the routes taken by the invaders and with appropriategraphs drawn on the blackboard show the rise and fall of empires, draw the time line of important dates etc And all this

he can do in a jiffy without consuming any extra time While talking about an important event he is only to draw a roughgraph or a time line For depicting the movements of armies or people he can draw arrows in the relevant direction toheighten the effect If a teacher can provide a roll-up blackboard also then he can do still greater wonders It may be statedthat the cost of a roll-up board is not at all prohibitive and can be borne by every school On this roll-up board he candraw an outline of India or of any region or country and with the help of some signs he can very effectively show themovement of soldiers or the gradual expansion of an empire or the important places etc where the events took place Infact the blackboard and the roll-up blackboard can be used as the screens of the classroom on which scenes of history mayemerge one after another

Charts, pictures, graphs, flannel boards, bulletin boards etc are also very effective aids Teachers can ask students also toprepare them Some of them can be stored in the school library or in a store room or in the history room for ready

reference so that they may be used by the students as and when needed It may be noted that the aids prepared by childrenthemselves give them tremendous sense of achievement and because of their active involvement in the process, learningbecomes very effective In fact in this process words or ideas or events become graphic or concrete and so they

comprehend historical facts easily

Map is also an extremely useful and important material

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aid A detailed discussion about them has been attempted in another chapter, but here it would be suffice to say that mapsgive children space sense — an integral constituent of history A relevant map should be placed before the class right at

the start of the period so that children may constantly associate the events of history with the place or places where theytook place Teacher must always point out relevant places on the map so as to forge due association between events andspace.

Another important visual aid is Time Line History has to deal with time Whatever happened, happened at a particularpoint of time In order to give students proper concept of time, a timeline is to be presented before the class so that theymay be able to develop the time sense, an extremely important ingredient of history It may be stated here that the

cultivation of time sense has been discussed in another chapter

Use of models is also very essential in the teaching of history It is stupid to think that the Taj or the Qutub Minar can betransported into the school or the classroom, but its replica in the form of a model can be shown to children Since modelsare three dimensional, they are closer to the actual object and metaphorically it can be said that children through theirmind's eyes can visualise it and even feel it Besides, children can be inspired to prepare these models using clay,

plasticine or thermocol etc under the guidance of teacher

Some of the models which can easily be prepared by children with the help of teacher and under his guidance can beweapons, used by man during different ages, models of utensils, ornaments, dwelling places, vehicles used for transport,and costumes etc Students can also prepare models of some coins, and also of rock inscriptions or pictures or printings Itmay be stated that the preparation of these models will not entail much expenditure and they can be prepared in everyschool if the teacher has the will to do so The effect on children of these models would be almost everlasting and historyteaching-learning would turn into a joyful experience, as these models would make history vibrant and living

Slides and silent motion pictures are other important visual aids which give children a vivid and detailed information A68

child sitting in a remote village in North India can see temples of South or the ruins of Lothal Silent motion pictures cangive them the story of a period or of an event, and we all know that what we see on the screen has a very powerful impactupon us

So we can use various visual aids depending upon our resources, but at the pain of repetition, it may be stated once againthat chalk and blackboard which are almost universally available, are extremely useful and effective and any and everyteacher with sincerity, dedication and imagination can make the best use of them in the interest of children and in theinterest of academics

(b) Auditory Aids

These are radio, transistor, loud speaker, gramophone etc They appeal to our auditory senses Knowledge communicated

to us on radio by learned scholars or educationists is also very effective The recorded voice, carrying the words of

wisdom has its own effect on children Speeches or discourses of the great men if recorded in their own voice, leave apowerful effect on children For instance speeches of Netaji, Gandhiji or Pt Nehru or Patel etc will leave an indelibleprint on children's mind So all types of auditory aids are also very important

(c) Audio Visual Aids

These are the aids which are audio and visual both at the same time We see a historical building or a place and alongwith it we hear a commentary on it and thus we receive knowledge simultaneously through auditory and visual senses Asuitable and powerful commentary can infuse life into the inanimate buildings or the relics or the monuments whichchildren see on the screen and thus past once again becomes alive

In addition to this we can see characters acting on the screen and presenting the story of their times Children can see allthis in their classroom or in the school itself on a television or on a video Though these are costly gadgets, yet wherever69

possible and feasible use of T.V and video should be made But before screening a picture or a documentary childrenshould be academically prepare for it Teacher should tell the class that the film or the documentary is not meant only forentertainment They should be told that they should be mentally prepared to discuss the information which they wouldreceive from the film and after the film is over children should be helped to discuss it and in this way they would be able

to receive the knowledge for good

HOW TO USE THE MATERIAL AIDS

Let it once again be stated that these aids have no meaning or significance in themselves They are lifeless and deadobjects It is the teacher's intervention which gives them life, meaning and significance Moreover they are only aids andare to be used to attain some specific objective Therefore the teacher must know fully well that a display of these

material aids needs a careful and intelligent handling

Now let us consider as to how these aids should be used In the first instance the relevant material aid should be

displayed at the time when the teacher is discussing the event or the situation related to it Teacher may then ask students

to give their opinion or reaction in view of the material aid placed before them For example if a teacher wants to projectthe secular image of Akbar, he can show a picture of Akbar with a 'Tilak' on his forehead and giving "Jharokha Darshan"

to his Hindu subjects from the balcony of his palace Now children will automatically form an image of Akbar andthrough skilful questions teacher can elicit from them their reactions about Akbar and his secular attitude

Take another example of showing a film to children In this context the teacher must tell the students that the film showwill be followed by a question-answer session, and students will be required to give their reaction For better result theteacher may even give them a list of questions right in the beginning and till then that they would be required to answerthem after the show So after the show is over, teacher would

In the end, it may be again repeated that these material aids should help in the development of the lesson and its theme.They should not throw a spanner in the systematic and logical and well knit development of lesson In no way they shouldlead to digression

Moreover they should be almost true representative of what they want to depict, for instance the portrait or picture of aperson should bear resemblance to the real person and for this purpose teacher should try to present authenticated aids asfar as possible In a word the resemblance with the original should be as close as possible In case some films go beyondthe parameters of history, then they should not be shown, and if for some reason they are to be shown then teacher musttell them what is fact and what is fiction

MESSAGE FOR TEACHERS

In sum it can be said that every teacher must use the material aids depending upon the resources of the school He shouldalways keep in mind the fact that the use of these aids do not demand any extra time They are used in the course of alesson in the context of discussions or the narrative He/she should remember that they are the spices of the lesson whichmake teaching-learning a joyful experience

Whatever happens, happens at a point of time and at a given place, and in history we primarily deal with the events or thetrends or movements etc and they all happened at a given point of time and at a given place or places Therefore wecannot conceive of history without reference to time or space History as a matter of fact has been compared to a tripodwhose three legs are events, time and space If we remove any of them then the entire tripod would fall down Hence theirimportance is self proven

But the concept of time is a little difficult and abstract Small children by and large cannot comprehend it easily, but eventhen it is the job of the teacher to cultivate it and accept the challenge because for a proper comprehension of history,development of this concept is essential

WHAT IS TIME?

It is difficult to define time But we can try to understand it through its well-known characteristics One of its traits is that

it is not static It is continuous like the flow of a river It is ever changing It is the harbinger of change It is perhaps inthis vein that a Greek Philosopher remarked that they do not take bath in the same river again The message is clear;ostensibly

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the water changes the very next 'moment', but here along with the water equal emphasis is on "moment" too How muchmighty the time or the "Kaal" (the name given to Time by the Hindus, a synonym of Death) is, can be understood by thefact that every second, every minute we are undergoing some change and are drawing nearer to our death Even the earthbelow our feet is not where it was a moment ago

Entire history of the development of the mankind has taken place in this fast changing time frame So it is essential thatour children should have a proper concept of this time For instance if we say that we were subjected to foreign rule fromthe beginning of the 13th century to the middle of the 20th century then we should also convey to children that this period

of seven and a half century is very small in the context of our history of about five thousand years and such a small piece

of understanding will give a lot of inspiration and vision to the young children, and they will understand that in the usualcycle of rise and fall of a nation this period of 750 years is quite insignificant in our context

HOW TO DEVELOP THE TIME SENSE

Location

Time, as has been said earlier, is an abstract notion and it is very difficult to understand it But, here as students of

history, we are not much concerned with the scientific theory or other theories about its measurement etc But it is quitesufficient for us to remember that children do have some elementary understanding of the time span of a year, a month, aweek, a day, an hour and a minute Children by and large are able to grasp it and comprehend it On the basis of this weshould try to build up their time sense However, we should keep in mind that it is incumbent upon a successful andeffective teacher to tell children about the date or the period in which a particular event took place So the location of time

is to be conveyed But this information in itself will be quite uninteresting To give any date or a period of time in

isolation is a sort of meaningless

sense He has some idea about the space of time between one birth day and the other He, also, in his own limited waytries to calculate as to how much time span stands between now and the next birth day Actually in his tiny mind he hassome hazy idea about the duration of time and he does make an excursion into the past and future too Therefore it will be

a folly to believe that children have no time sense In fact they have one, and they are struggling to develop it and

therefore it is the bounden duty of history teacher to help them to develop it and conceptualise it In order to illustrate thisassertion, it would be worthwhile to give some more examples Suppose we tell them that Shivaji was born in the year

1627 In that case after giving them this information we can ask them to calculate the time distance from today Whiletelling them that the Taj Mahal was built during the reign of Shah Jahan, between 1631 and 1653 we can ask them tocalculate the time distance from today rather than tell them that it was built about 350 years back Since children will dothe simple calculation themselves they will be actively involved in the exercise and it will have a deep impact on their75

mind and thus help them to develop proper time sense So distance from today is a powerful strategy to develop the timesense in the child

We can and should relate one date with the other if it has some relevance or if it can help children to remember them Forinstance while talking about 1857, in order to help children to remember and retain it, we can say that just 100 years agoi.e., in 1757 another great and significant event, that is, the battle of Plassey was fought Here the principle of learningthrough meaningful association will operate and this will facilitate children to retain both the dates in their mind

Caution

However, let it be clearly understood that our history of 5000 years or even more is dotted with innumerable events andhence with countless dates It is well nigh impossible for any one to remember them Besides, the purpose of history is not

to recount each and every event with its date A good history teacher is supposed to weave a continuous, logical,

chronological and systematic theme and underline only the important and significant events or trends, leaving out thetrivials In no way history should be presented as an unbearable burden in the form of innumerable events with their dates

In sum, only relevant and important events are to be highlighted and only very few dates which are significant should bementioned

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it reached its climax and when it gradually started to decline and finally when it ended The rise and fall of empires,dynasties with reference to their duration can be given to students In order to involve students actively, they can be calledupon to calculate the duration of these events, for instance if Babar founded his empire in India in 1526 and the Mughalsruled the country in full glory till 1707, then students can be asked to calculate the effective period, and if the dynastycame to its end in 1857 then they can be asked as to how long it lasted in its degenerated form i.e., from 1707 and

onwards This exercise also gives children the idea how the empires grow, flourish and then ultimately disappear Thusthis phenomenon of the rise and fall also become intelligible to them

Time Line

To give children better and clear understanding or concept of time, Time Line is a very good and effective device In theclassroom a resourceful teacher can draw a time line on the blackboard displaying the occurrence of the events at differentpoints of time However, in order to be more precise and accurate, he can also carry with him a properly prepared timeline accurate in its measurement, for example he can draw a line measuring 10 cm divided into ten equal parts of 1 cm.each, and each part denoting a period of 10 years On it he can pinpoint the year in which a particular event took placeand then another one which took place later on For instance on a time line covering a period from 1701 to 1800 theteacher can mark 1707 on it, when Aurangzeb died and then 1757, the year when the famous battle of Plassey took placeand then 1761, when the third battle of Panipat was fought Now this will give a complete understanding of the time tostudents, distance of one event from the other in terms of time and with his ingenuity and intelligence the teacher withintelligent questions can also bring home to students the distance of these events from today

Features of a Time Line

The time line should have a uniform scale Moreover only selected and significant dates should be shown on it Theteacher should mark the ten year scale or whatever scale suits his requirement on its left hand side On the right had sideimportant dates with the name of the events should be marked Such lines can be drawn to represent 50,100 or even moreyears depending upon the requirement of the situation

This visual representation will invariably give students the idea of chronological development along with the sequence ofthe events and a broad concept of time span It may also be mentioned that in some cases some parts or the units of thetime line may be over crowded whereas some may have few or no entries But it is natural because in human historysometimes some very significant events occur in quick succession and sometimes they happen after a long gap However,the basic consideration which should be religiously adhered to, is, to make the scale uniform so that children may not beconfused

Progressive-Regressive Approach in the Use of Time Line

History is the chronological account of events, and this chronology is always progressive It is always from the past that

we move to the present and then to the future So time always moves forward Today will give way to tomorrow, andtomorrow to day — after and so forth and so on This cannot be reversed As such to prepare progressive time line islogical and is the demand of the subject But we should keep in our mind the basic fact that our aim is to give the conceptand for small children it is difficult to comprehend the time without its relationship with the present They understand thepresent and have a proper idea of today and for that matter have some concept of recent important days, months or years,but they cannot easily comprehend or visualise the time span of 100, 200 or 500 years or more, hence we can movebackward too We may start from today and then say that in the year 1526 Babar fought the first battle of Panipat, i.e.,about 477 years

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back Thus in this case on the time line we start from the year 2003 and then move backward to 1526 After giving thisconcept we may discuss Babar's feats and achievements etc in the progressive way In this way we make a start frompresent, go backward and then revert to progressive approach starting from 1526 and onwards This will illumine theminds of the children and give them a sufficiently good concept of time

SPACE

Another most important requirement of history teaching is to develop concept of space As stated earlier whatever

happened or happens, it happened or happens on this earth at a given place or places Figuratively speaking, the earth isthe stage and we are the actors who play the drama of our life on it As we cannot enact a drama without a stage, so wecannot think of history of man without this stage - the earth Therefore our narrative or understanding of the history willhang in the air if it is not related to the place or places where the action took place To understand and comprehendhistory this stage is extremely significant

MAPS

Maps are the surest and the most convenient tools to fulfil this demand They can bring the entire world into the

classroom No doubt an ideal thing will be to take children to the actual place where the drama took place, but ostensiblyeven to think about this impossible thing is ridiculous and senseless But maps fulfil this requirement to a great extent Wecan take children on an intellectual journey to all the relevant places with their help The entire district, region, country oreven the world can be brought inside the classroom with the help of the maps

Two Dimensional Device

It may be clearly understood that the map is a two dimensional device, whereas we live in a three dimensional world Toreduce

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the three dimensions into two is not easy, and to comprehend it, is still more difficult, but what cannot be cured has got to

be endured We have to deal with this problem and that too quite effectively

We know that in the map the North is shown at the top and the South at the bottom But on the earth there is nothing likethe top or the bottom But even then we have to give a clear concept to the children and one very useful and effective way

is to take the children in the open and ask every child to keep his or her map on the ground in a manner so that the northshown in the map is placed in the actual direction of the North This will give them real understanding and with repeatedpractice they will be able to do away with any confusion associated with this problem of its being two dimensional

HOW TO USE THE MAP

But the question is how to use the map? In the first instance we should always keep in our mind the fact, that map is not

an object of exhibition It is to be used effectively and usefully as and when required If a teacher hangs it on the wall infront of the class and then thinks that his job is over then he is sadly mistaken In that case he does injustice to the map,

to the students and also to himself as well as to the academics He should on the other hand point out in the map the place

or the area where the action took place If he is talking about the route taken by the invaders to attack a particular place/sthen simultaneously, with the help of the pointer, the same should be shown on the map If he is talking about Shivaji'smeeting with Afzal Khan then he must show the place and the terrain around it on the map If he is talking about Shivaji'ssurprise attacks on Aurangzeb's army then he must point out the Sehadri Hills from where he used to swoop down on theMughal armies and then suddenly disappear in a flash This synchronisation of the narrative or the discussion with thepointing out of the place/s on the map with the help of a pointer is the most essential and important part of teachinghistory The teacher can also call upon the students to prepare maps on the chart

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paper and show in them the places or the areas concerned with the relevant events

The teacher can also ask the students in the classroom to come to the map and show in it the relevant places referred to inthe discussion In any case, students should be made completely familiar with the geographical locations of the places sothat they may visualise and internalise the impact of the Geographical surroundings, if any, on the course of the events Inorder to illustrate this point still further let us take another example — the transfer of capital from Delhi to Devgiri byMuhammad Bin Tuglaq The use of map here can work wonders and children can fully comprehend the agony and tortureexperienced by the people in this arduous and painful journey We should also think about the expansion of empires,addition of new territories to it and also its gradual disintegration; this all cries for the use of the appropriate map Thiswill always make the proceedings in the class lively and vibrant

How to Give Concept of Distance and Direction

Another important thing with regard to the use of maps is to give to students the concept of distance and direction Thebest way is to follow the maxim "From the Known to the Unknown" In this context they should be helped to

conceptualise the distance from their home to the school and also to some other important place in the city Then theymay be asked to think about the distance from their town to some other important town in their own region Such

exercises will give them sufficiently good idea of distance and then it can be extended still further They will also be toldabout the scale given in the map Along with this they should also be fully made familiar with the concept of direction If

we relate the distance and direction to our own habitat, the exercise will become meaningful Actually the purpose is tobring home to the children the fact that the map is not a show piece It is on the other hand a lively and effective aid tohelp every one to imbibe and comprehend the subject matter in its proper perspective and spatial setting

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USE OF ROLL-UP MAPS

Another very useful and effective aid in this category can be the roll-up boards on which students can draw the outline ofdifferent countries or continents or the world These are easily available in the market On these roll-up boards we canshow or draw the things we require every time when we go to the class and then rub it off so that the information withregard to the subsequent class may be drawn on it In a way their utility is very great as they are not very expensive andlike the blackboard can be used regularly without incurring any further expenditure

In addition to these roll-up boards, we can also use the printed outline maps of countries, continents and even of theworld These outline maps are made of the stuff of which roll-up boards are made We can rub off what we show or draw