Where to start? Learning about Politics and History

I think you have to want to learn about politics and or history to be able to comprehend it. For me politics, no way and history I like to read and hear about but I am not good with dates and events. I can't remember what date goes with what event. In school my kids got lucky and each had the same history teacher at one time or another and she made learning history fun so they still to this day love it. Sorry I can't be of any help to you leading you in a direction on where to learn about these things other than libraries and or internet.

I'd go to past political events 1st. Say maybe Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs. Go to the library. I consider it important. And read what might interest you 1st. Catch the bug. Look at debates. What happened in the past can effect you as much as the future. Make yourself a part of the present.

History and politics were always beyond me in high school. I quite honestly don't know how I ever graduated because those classes were misery for me.

Textbooks don't make any of it interesting and they only cover a paragraph or two of something and move on to something else, leaving students to learn these things by rote memorization . . . just learn the facts long enough to pass a test and go on.

The best way to learn history and politics is by reading interesting books. Some children's books are actually nice for adults. I've found that out when I go to the library with MK. They have stories and the pictures are coloful and interesting. If history books and been written as stories instead of fact after fact, I might have been able to stay awake to read them.

PBS is great for learning some history. And, I've never been into politics until this year and MK and I did some volunteering for Hillary Clinton's campaign as her community service work for her pageant. That is a great way to learn about politics because you get involved and it comes to life for you. You end up wanting to know and you start asking questions. It was great for us! MK was only 7 and she learned so much and she met Hillary, Bill, Barak Obama, and Hillary and Bill's friends Ted Danson and Sean Astin.

I write newspaper articles for a historical society. I would never had done this except that someone referred me to them . . . and I started visiting the museum to choose things to write about. I found out there is some things to be learned there. Me in a museum of historical things from our town? Unbelieveable. But true. That would be another way for people to learn. Go and find something interesting and research it.

First of all, you should start watching the news so that you know what is going on in the world. I suggest that you watch the Fox News Channel so that you get both sides of the story. As far as understanding history, do you get the History Channel on tv? They have some very interesting programs on that will teach you a lot. You could also go to the library and ask the librarian if she can recommend any reading material that isn't too dull and boring. Old magazines can give you some insight into the history of this country in a more interesting way than reading regular books.

First, i must thank you for having a clean state of mind.. No politician in any country is unselfish.. and have dedicated for the nation. Why to worry about them?

Secondly, the learning history.. is somewhat interesting.. but then i feel no special stress, need to put up to update your knowledge on stale pages of the past.

But as you said, you are very serious in knowing about, politics, what i suggest is just to have some thought sharing session with your friends, about politics.. because once you start interacting with them.. with questions like,, when, why .. you could learn about the politics and history simultaneously.

Just start from the beginning and the Revolutionary War - why we fought it - and go from there. Get a history book that is about 20 years old or more as the new ones these days leave so much out - all in the effort to be politically correct.

Hello Oreo,

What a terrific topic!!! I'm certain that you are not alone in this situation. So, you're having presented the topic for discussion may assist you, and others as well.

The first question that comes to my mind is: What was your best subject in school? I ask because this will help determine 'how' you can best adapt your skill-set, and cognizant patterning to tackle your goal.

My next question is are you a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner. We each have a very unique 'blend' of the three learning modalities. So, when you meet someone, and see them a week later will you recognize the face? Will you remember the name, as if you are re-hearing it? Or will some aspect of the person 'seem' familiar based on another sense -- say smell, or size perception? I ask this question because many people go their whole lives without ever identifying their primary modality. They instead just resign themselves to a perceived learning 'block'.

Auditory learners: These folks will remember the words to song lyrics with great ease, or 'connect' the sound of a train whistle (or some other sound) to life events. Auditory learners excel when using audiobooks, or listening to the radio, or listening, as opposed to watching, the t.v.

Visual learners will visually connect either simple or complex patterns of thought inside of their minds. So, watching someone else do something, or act out a scenario is a perfect learning environment for them. They see it, and 'get it' with apparent ease.

Kinesthetic learners are best in a hands-on environment. They may see someone do something, yet will better grasp the concept if they are the one performing the task, either with or without guidance.

For all three modalities the function of reading text, and absorbing the data is a learned skill, where the reader/learner will incorporate their particular blend of learning 'style' into the absorption of the information. They'll either say the words (either aloud or in their head) as they read them. Or, they'll visualize the concept in their own mind. Or, they'll sense (using imagination) what it would be like to do or say what the text describes.

So, once you identify your primary or most comfortable, reliable modality, then you can choose a medium that will offer you the most comprehensive absorption of the information.

For example: My primary modality is auditory. So, I always speak my thoughts in my head before I express them. Same with reading text. In fact, a friend in school was so primarily auditory that I used to help her study by putting concepts to limericks or songs -- which she remembered with great ease.

OK, so that sounds like gobbledygook. Though, it is a dynamic means to improve retention of learning. A few suggestions to get you started -- that might be great fun as well ...

Are there any re-enactment clubs or groups in your area? Like Civil War re-enactment clubs, or the Society for Creative Anachronism (S.C.A.)? SCA may advertise its functions as Renaissance Fairs, or Midieval Fair or Re-enactments. Here is the S.C.A. link:

http://www.sca.org/

Attending such an event can trigger and coalesce learning modalities to allow for follow-up text learning. Being in the presence of a re-enactment can 'trigger' the desire to absorb more, say by reading. Though, highly enjoyable reading is a huge aid. To begin, it isn't even necessary to focus on factual significance. Just 'getting bitten' by the history bug can anchor the mind to want to absorb more. I will recommend a series of books that are so far beyond captivating, that they're most certainly capable of instigating the 'bite'. They are the "Outlander" series by Diana Gabaldon. I make this recommendation because although the series is fiction, the writer made a significant commitment to historical accuracy. The series traces a time-line from the Jacobite Revolution in Scotland, to the early settlement of the American Colonies. There is every kind of every day task presented in the books. This helps with the relatability factor.

Your English composition and grammar skills are fine. So, I'm guessing that you just never got 'bit' by the history bug. The key to having the bite 'stick' is to personalize or empathize with the information conveyed via the writer. So, I'd suggest just playing around with The History Channel, Talk Radio, Audiobooks, and perhaps a little first-hand interaction with history via SCA or Civil War re-enactment. I have every confidence that once you allow yourself to be bitten, and make a concerted effort to personalize what you are learning, that your fine mind will kick in to organize the data in such a way that you can relate to, and remember it.

Have I made sense here? If you have any specific questions, I'll be happy to help in any way possible.

Good luck Oreo! Being a huge fan of history, I readily await the time when I am able to welcome you to this terrifically fun, and very advantageous obsession.

I never did like history in school. I made good grades in it though because I studied hard. I have forgotten most of what I had learned also. I like to watch history shows now. It used to bore me years ago. I watch the news just to stay current on the events but you are right about all of the corruption and violence in the world. It gets on my nerves. I mainly watch the first few minutes of the news and turn it off. I have no clue how to go about explaining to people either about history. I think alot of people are better off being clueless in this world. They seem to have a better outlook on life than those of us who know what has happened and what is going on now in the world.

You can blow away most history except where it relates to the construction of the constitution.

Politics on the other hand, is something you have to pick up one day at a time. There is some history attached to the activities of today.

So, I would suggest that you FIRST read the constitution. Then you will know the rules upon which government operates. Don't forget the amendments either. They finish up with the mess you folks are in right now.

THEN you will see what the constitution says, and what the politicians are actually doing. They might be different.

A political can afford the history too. So not only talent all people can learn politic.The best way to learn politics is you must take the political science as a major subject with other subjects.A politician must be wellkown about the current happening and news.
I hope you will understand my suggestion and try out.
Oh one more thing you can try out the word political in the search engine and you may be able to learn many things.
have a nice time.