Whether learning local history is more crucial than global history is a topic of fervent and extensive debate. I partly agree with this idea because it can increase national pride through a sense of identity and belonging, but it may also narrow students’ knowledge about worldwide events and opportunities.
On the one hand, I agree that it should be compulsory for students to learn local history. One reason for this is that it can help learners build a sense of identity and belonging. In other words, they can gain a large number of insights about their home countries. Take Vietnamese history as an example. Teachers could encourage students’ sense of belonging through the story “Con Rong Chau Tien” that Vietnamese people are born from the hundred eggs of mother Au Co. They are a big family. Moreover, teachers can boost students’ identity by teaching them about national historical events such as the history of the country’s evolution or the way ancient people tried to protect the country. As a result, local history not only encourages students’ patriotism, but also fosters their national pride.
On the other hand, I disagree that world history is less significant than local history. It is mainly because local history is narrow and it is one-sided from viewpoints. Therefore, only gaining historical knowledge from local history might lead to national bias or ethnocentrism. In addition, understanding the students’ local history within the context of a wider world could open their eyes to interconnected worlds and promote their awareness about the world. For example, instead of learning local history only, students can learn how the world changed over time and how it affected their local history. This could lead to the fact that students will obtain a deeper knowledge related to historical contents and they will have more opportunities to go or stay abroad.
Therefore, the best solution is that education authorities should launch a curriculum that incorporates local and global history. This is because the two are not mutually exclusive but complementary. What this means is that local history is the foundation for the students and they can broaden their knowledge based on global context. That explains why schools should teach local history aligned with world history to help students see how local events connected to global forces.
In conclusion, I am of the opinion that learning local history is essential as learning global one, so it must be balanced to learn history so that it not only boosts the students’ pride in their roots but also helps them avoid misunderstandings about global cultures and events.