History Belongs in Every Course

"Those who know only their own generation remain children forever." A version of this saying, attributed to Cicero more than two millennia ago, is prominently inscribed in stone on the west portico of the central library of the University of Colorado-Boulder. It captures the wise insight that to develop humility, reduce gullibility, and enhance intellectual maturity- in short, to "grow up"-people need to know about their history. Applying this observation to the teaching of psychology might generate the following "prescription": All teachers of all courses in psychology should develop, and emphasize, an historical perspective on the topic of the course to improve both their students' understanding of the subject and their students' maturity and wisdom. In brief. students are much better prepared if they are exposed to material on the history of a subject.