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  I think you are oversimplifying what FF is saying. I dont think he is suggesting that the 'why's' or deeper meanings should be forgotten at all, what is is saying is that the core chronology is now lost. For instance there is no reason why the key events and dates of WW2 should not be taught with a 'why' attached. I seem to remember learning history as a timeline with a focus on major events such as wars and battles and for each period talking and discussing deeper issues, whether it was the reasons for the Claudian invasion, to what motivated Napoleon to devastate Europe. What was important was the chronology that held it together placing events into a broader context and in so doing sparking a deeper interest and appeciation of history. It meant I was able to pick up a book, fiction or non-fiction, and to place that into the chronolgy and immediately relate to the age concerned. It was reading a Dennis Wheatley novel about a spy working for Pitt the Younger that led me, for instance, to understand the role of Tallyrand (prompted by the fiction to delve into non-fiction). As a 14 year old I am not sure that I would have been able to relate to quite heavy adult fiction if I did not have a little background from what I learnt in history at school.
  
  History is regarded by many as boring these days but there is no reason why it should, if taught properly. To learn about Wellington's victories in the Penninsular Campaign can spark any boy's imagination and generate a greater interest if done properly. You cannot say the same about having to 'imagine yourself a 14th century peasant'....

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