Why Study History?

Any subject of study needs justification  . . . [h]istorians do not perform heart transplants, improve highway design, or arrest criminals. In a society that quite correctly expects education to serve useful purposes, the functions of history can seem more difficult to define than those of engineering or medicine. History is in fact very useful, actually indispensable, but the products of historical study are less tangible, sometimes less immediate, than those that stem from some other disciplines. -- Peter N. Sterns


Considering the aforementioned quote regarding history, weigh in by providing your thoughts as to how you would define "history" and why you think we study history in schools.