"If we think the world has always been the same, and that how we live now is the only way for humans to live, then it’s natural to feel that change is impossible and that the problems we face are unsolvable. Even if things are very unfair, what can we do? That’s just how the world is, we tell ourselves. But by studying history we learn that humans didn’t always live like we do, and that the world is changing all the time. People made the world what it is – and people can therefore change it. Of course, that’s no easy task, but it’s been done many times before.

"That’s why history is so powerful. It is the key to changing the world. So much so that, in many places, governments are afraid of history. Leaders seldom ban people from learning mathematics or physics. But many governments forbid people – and especially young people – from learning at least certain parts of history. It all goes back to those dead kings who ruled thousands of years ago, their icy hands reaching out from beyond the grave to grasp our minds and freeze change.

"After all, it was those long-dead kings who invented and spread various stories about gods, nations, money and love that so many people today still believe and adhere to. To gain some freedom from these narratives and behave differently we need to understand how they were created and spread in the first place. Otherwise, we will never see them for what they are: just stories. Children asking 'why?' are a powerful force that can rock these old tales to their foundations." - Yuval Noah Harari

Yuval Noah Harari, author of the bestselling Sapiens, released his latest book, Unstoppable Us, Volume 1: How Humans Took Over the World, this week.

Article: To Change Our Future, We Should Change How We Teach History to Children