History Today

While sitting in on a grade 10 History class, I realized just how reflective and intuitive teenagers are. As they were discussing the past 50 years and the impact it has had on the present, the following statements were made by students:

1. It is important to learn our history in order to better understand our present.
2. We would be well served to make links between our past and our present.
3. Politicians must never forget that peace is better than war. This has been learned the hard way and has caused millions of deaths, unfathomable sacrifices and irreparable damages.
4. We should our democratic voice for good.
5. We can predict how people will act by analyzing and appreciating how society has reacted to similar situations in the past.
6. We must not repeat the horrific occurrences of the past but rather learn from humanity's mistakes.

The two statements that truly impacted me on a profound level are:

1. Our country's past is the present for some countries and thus can provide a road map for them to follow and provide insight into how to grow and prosper and avoid some of the pitfalls that we experienced.
2. Today will become part of our history tomorrow. We need to be mindful of the decisions that we make and the directions that we pursue. They will have long lasting consequences.

This class was concluded by the teacher saying: "the past is always present" and quoting a well-known Spanish philosopher.

"Those that forget the errors of the past are condemned to repeat them" -Jorge Santayana