Not just dates: Why kids should study history beyond the syllabus with Olympiads

We know history is important, but let’s face it, most school kids find it intensely boring. If you do a deep dive as a parent, you will realise it’s because they look upon it as a dead subject, a pointless study of old cultures, kingdoms and political situations that do not exist anymore.  

But what is your solution to it? How can you solve it? Well, take history beyond the school syllabus and an Olympiad can be a good option. Hindustan Olympiad, scheduled for February can be an option to try out. It will give our child a glimpse of what can happen if they go beyond skin deep into their existing textbooks. Even if they are looking at the same book, the nature of the questions reveal the same facts in a new light. In short, these tests make them think. A class test can be attempted mechanically, by just memorising and writing down some basic details. But for Olympiads, kids need to understand the flow of events, cause and effect relationships and the immense value of learning from the past.  

Perspectives kids develop while studying for a history Olympiad 
Taking a test for the sake of it does not make any sense. You want a better learning experience for your kid, you want them to truly connect with studies, isn’t that why you want them to attempt an Olympiad? So, here are some thought processes your kid will develop while preparing for a history Olympiad. These are the real benefits, it’s a whole new thinking pattern.  

History is not dead, it’s about change: To study history is to study change. Not just individuals, but whole societies and countries change, and history tells us how it happens, when it happens, and what the extent of change is. We are part of it. We are living in our times, and it’s going to be a history chapter for the future!  Years later, other kids will read about the pandemic, lockdown, demonetisation, introduction of new identity cards for a country and so many other changes we are now going through. Preparing for an Olympiad opens students to this amazing view of being part of a living history.   

The ‘puzzle part of history: The second most fascinating point your kid will notice is that actions, reactions, policies, consequences, all fit into a greater scheme of things like a jig saw puzzle. They can never get this feel while studying individual chapters. Only when they look across chapters at a cohesive whole to prepare for an Olympiad, they realise how history is all about interconnected incidents all around us.