In the book Landscape of History” John Lewis Gaddis addresses concepts such as selectivity, simultaneity, and the shifting of scale. The three concepts indicate why a teacher is compared to a historian. The perspectives have a significant role in understanding historical phenomenon. According to Gaddis (2002), like history, a teacher ought to be selective in whatever subject they deliver. A teacher is not an expert of every subject matter and will do good to concentrate on an area that best suits him/her. Even in a given subject, the instructor will still have some limitations. Historians also tend to focus on a specific social phenomenon and narrow their research further. This enables them to do a thorough job and use resources efficiently.
The concept of simultaneity indicates that a teacher, like a historian, can belong to several places and times at the same time. What this means is that disciplines that teachers deliver tend to be interrelated. The consequence is that the teacher might be teaching theology, but it could be tied to politics, economics, medicines, philosophy, and the like. That demonstrates how it is important for a teacher not to be confined in one subject matter, but rather try to enhance his/her knowledge and skills and through extensive research. In the process of knowledge acquisition, the teacher becomes like a historian.
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Finally, in the shifting scale concept, Gaddis (2002) shows how the teacher can connect the past and the present changes that have occurred in a particular social institution. Focusing on the religion, for instance, students learn about the characteristics of early church and understand how the current reformation came to be. Through a continuum of a specific social change, it is possible to demonstrate how the change occurred and the caused behind them.
Reference
Gaddis, L. (2002). The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
