"What's the point of studying things that happened hundreds or thousands of years ago?"

Well, here are some great reasons.

You see where many of your cultural traditions (like holidays, manners, sayings, music, etc.) come from.

You understand modern conflicts because you know how they started.

You have compassion for people from other cultures because you understand "where they are coming from."

You can be an effective leader because you learn from great leaders of the past.

You can solve difficult problems because you know how they've been solved in the past.

I treat others as I would wish to be treated.

I don't interrupt others when they are speaking.

I clean up after myself.

I don't bother others when they are trying to work.

I am honest.

While I hope you will learn many things in my class, the following are the three key skills that you should master by the end of the year:

I can gather reliable research from different sources, and identify information that is important to me.

I can draw conclusions and form ideas and opinions from historical facts.

I can support historical theses, and my own ideas clearly in writing.