kimilseung

I have not studied formally, history since I was 16. But, today, I passed the exam to qualify, (or obtain an endorsement for) myself as a History teacher!
Yay for autodidacts everywhere!

Pulaski

Congratulations!

I haven't studied history, formally, since I was 13. It's not that I didn't enjoy it, but I never scored well writing essays, and I could see that studying GCSE history would absorb as much time as I cared to throw at it, so would detract from my other subjects. So against the advice of my headmaster and parents, I dropped history, and as far as I know not having it never harmed my career.

​​​​​​​Now I find history fascinating, and I am currently reading about the collapse of the Ottoman empire, following on from reading about the Crimean war - which I thoroughly recommend to anyone interested in what is, and has been in recent years going on in Ukraine, the Caucasus, Turkey, and the Balkans, as relates to Russia, Germany, France, and the UK/US.

scrubbedexpat091

Congrats.

I like some historical stuff, but I don't care for learning it in an academic setting but on my own.

My HS transcripts make me look like a History pro, but reality was 11th and 12th grade history was the same teacher for me, and being a PE teacher history was not his thing (90's educational budget cuts and all) so we watched movies instead, as long as you showed up you got an A.

kimilseung

PE teachers and history must be a thing. For O'level we had a PE teacher, for two years he just sat at the front of the class and read notes, we copied what he said.
I found I acquired history by being interested in the world, and why it is the way it is, it is really just the sum of everything else. All I know about the Crimea came from Flashman ("Flashman at the Charge" - which I do not under value as an historic primer). I am currently reading about Washingto and his slaves, having read a similar book about Jefferson.

scrubbedexpat091

Only issue I have with history in an academic setting is my memory isn't good enough to remember enough to pass tests and essay writing isn't my thing, but on my own I find it interesting.

I was in normal stream in high school and because of budget cuts of the 90's, the good teachers were doing the AP and IB classes, and normal students kind of got the short end with teachers waiting to retire within a year or 2, or teachers not suited for the subject and unable to actually teach said subject. My history teacher was also the football coach so of course a good chunk of his class was on the football team....

Pulaski

Indeed, my only high school history teacher was also a rugby coach - he was Welsh so I think that rugby was in his blood. AFAIK he spent his entire career teaching history and coaching rugby - and he retired after completing teaching my classmates their GCSE history course …. with ovwe 40 years service, and only at one school!

scrubbedexpat099

If you get to WW1 try this guy, a lot of stuff I do not know especially the Greece/Turkey/Bulgaria etc issues.

BEVS

Well done and congratulations.
Very well deserved IMVHO.

scrubbedexpat142

Pulaski - may I recommend "The Balkans, 1804 - 2012" by Misha Glenny. Excellent book!

​​​​​​​Perversely I was forced to give up history at 13 - much to my dismay!

civilservant

Congrats! I dropped history at GCSE selection and went with Geography instead. It was always more interesting to me - not sure I could have got the A* that I got in Geo if I had gone with History

That said - I do as an adult find history fascinating. My wife tells me that if I don't know the answer to anything historical that she asks, I'll read a quick overview and answer her question in like 10 minutes

SultanOfSwing

Well done, Kim, that's great news. I loved history in school, but I only took it as far as GCSE because I liked science better

Our PE teacher was also a geography teacher, so he didn't follow the pattern. He was also a twat but that's beside the point.

scot47

For those unterested in the Ottomans, I recommend Orhan Pamuk. I became interested in Ottoman History and Turkish Studies ("Turcologia") when I lived in Bulgaria 1991-2008. As a sympathiser with the Bulgarian struggle for independence, I often had to perform mental gymnastics in historical discussions.

Interesting to reflect that some parts of the Balkns were Ottoman as recently as 1912. The Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 effectively ended the Ottoman presence in the area, apart from the rum around Istanbul and Edirne.

scot47

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombul_Mosque

When IU lived in North East Bulgaria I was quite close to this, built in 1745. Travelling around the area it is immeditely apparent that nearly all villages are either Turkish/Muslim or Bulgarian/Christian. I lived in a village which had been ethnically cleansed in the 20th century. Not "vi et armis" but by migration to Turkey. I heard locals in our village (Madara) relate the story of how the historic mosque in the village had been demolished in 1945 by a zealous Mayor and BCP Secretary.

Pulaski

And enclave colonies remained into the 1990's - I am not sure if the Serbs were able to "cleanse" them all during the civil war in Yugoslavia?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boiler

If you get to WW1 try this guy, a lot of stuff I do not know especially the Greece/Turkey/Bulgaria etc issues. ….

That's what I have been reading about, the collapse of the Ottoman empire comprised several pieces of the WWI jigsaw, so while we (UK/ Commonwealth) commonly think of Gallipoli as a WW1 campaign, it was a battle against predominantly Ottoman troops, with some support from the Germans. The book I am reading "The Ottoman Endgame" by Sean McMeekin, covers 1908-1923, and features battles/ campaigns in the Balkans, including Greece, before what we recognize as WW1, then campaigns and battles in modern day Turkey, around the Back Sea, the Caucasus, and modern day Iraq and Iran, as well as Syria, and Suez/ Egypt, which the Ottomans tried to seize twice, supported by the Germans.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Expatrick

Pulaski - may I recommend "The Balkans, 1804 - 2012" by Misha Glenny. Excellent book! ….

I actually have that sitting on my bookshelf, waiting to be read! I bought it at the same time as a book on the history of Ukraine, and another on the history of Russia around the same time "A People's Tragedy - The Russian Revolution (1891-1924)" by Orlando Figes, so I may not get to Misha Glenny's book immediately, but I hope to soon!