Tutor profile: Alex H.

Why is the study of world geography taught?

World Geography is the study not just of different regions on earth, but of the different peoples and cultures present in all of these diverse places. It's such an incredibly important subject as it helps teach appreciation and understanding of different ideas and lifestyles all over the world. People in today's world tend to be too isolated and stuck in their ways, so exposing students to the beauty of other cultures and belief systems is important to help teach people that differences aren't something to be afraid of, but something unique to be celebrated. World Geography goes beyond just learning about a group of people's homeland and beliefs, it goes into the why and how, taking the extra steps to truly understand different peoples and helping teach that even though students might not come out of world geography knowing everything about every culture, they will have the skills and knowledge that every culture in the world is unique and those differences are something to be curious of and fascinated by, not afraid of.

Why is learning history important? Specifically, why is learning a country's, your home country in this case, history important as well?

History is simply the study of those who came before us and what they did to help shape the world we live in today. It's very much misunderstood to what degree that history shapes our society and country, as so many things taken for granted in modern times can be directly traced back to actions taken by our historical ancestors. Understanding this process and history itself helps us trace how exactly we got to where we are today, and help us create our path to head towards tomorrow. After all, many lessons can be taken from history to help society learn and grow as to not repeat grievous mistakes from our past.

Why is Federalism such an important aspect of government in the United States?

Federalism, at its core, is the idea that a strong central government should have the primary power in a country with smaller local governments being subservient to the larger overall government. This idea stems all the way back to Feudal Europe and is a fairly classic top down form of governance. This is so important in the United States as a strong Federalist government is the response to the many problems with the Articles of Confederation, the first Constitution of the United States which included a very weak federal government and individual states having much more power and influence. This created a chaotic and decentralized country with a multitude of issues, and Federalism was the idea that the current American Constitution is built around. A strong federal government can build the foundation and keep the country in place, while still surrendering some powers to state and local governments for a more democratic and representative country.