Week #14- Kirti Kande- The Importance of the Past
The Importance of the Past
Why do we need to remember the past? There are many reasons why we need personal, social, and economical reasons.
Firstly, it is important to understand and remember our past to analyze the mistakes we made. The reason we learn history in school is to understand the mistakes world leaders and countries have made so we will not repeat them in the future. “We can learn how past societies, systems, ideologies, governments, cultures, and technologies were built, how they operate, and how they change.” Our history helps us understand how we are a society today and helps prevent problems that occurred in the past from happening in the future.
Secondly, remembering the past is “fundamental to being human”. Our memories allow us to have “a sense of continuity”. As we live in a world with an ever-changing environment, it is important to remind ourselves that we on the inside are the same even when the outside changes each day. Our memories allow us to remember who we are and whom we would like to become in the future.
Lastly, our past allows us to spread our life stories and experiences to future generations and keeps memories of the departed alive. My dad never met his mother and only knows her through stories: the memories of his grandparents, dad, brother, uncles, and aunts. If my dad’s family did not remember these memories of my grandmother, he would only know her name; however, due to memories, he can pass those stories down to my sister and me even though he never met her.
Memories allow us to remember our ancestors and keep our traditions and people alive in the spirit, change the future, and let us have a “sense of continuity”.
Hey Kirti! Understanding and studying our past is an important part of growing. We need to have a clear perception of what has happened and how to grow from it. As students, this may mean strengthening a math skill after multiple attempts or fixing English citations on our bibliographies. Learning is what we take away from our experiences, and our memories play a pivotal role in that. Personally, my memories navigate the quality of my work everyday. The better I remember a concept, the better I do on the given task. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Kirti, I agree, the past is very important. I have learned and grown so much as a person just by looking back at the past, making sure to not repeat the same mistakes. It's also very fun talking to my friends about memories from many years ago, and it makes room to create stronger bonds. I also hear a lot about my grandparents' parents, which I will never have the chance to meet, but their stories are carried down through memories of the past. It's fascinating to think that every moment we are living now will become the past in the next second, and that everyday we continue to grow from reflecting back upon our memories.
ReplyDeleteHi Kirti! Learning about the history of the world is certainly an important and integral part of our education as we must look to the past to understand our future. I think it is interesting that you mention the personal effects of history rather than the effects that history has on society as a whole (which is usually what is mentioned). Learning about someone purely through memories is also a weird thing, as the bias inherent in human memory is a funny thing to think about.
ReplyDeleteHi Kirti, I remember when I was young, I found history the most pointless and meaningless class out of all the other subjects because I did not see how it could help me in the future. However, after reading your blog, I agree that learning about the past does have lots of meaning especially when we are learning about the mistakes that those have made. My parents have taught me that it is important to learn from my mistakes, but it is even more useful to take away from the mistakes of others. As I got older, I have also found history to be quite interesting and enjoyable to learn because I notice today, we rarely consider the origin of where things came from or how they evolved.
ReplyDeleteHey Kirti, the importance of memories truly is one that is essential to advance humanity. By holding such memories and passing them onto future generations, we are thus guaranteeing that more information is learned by each successive generation. Similarly, they also will educate us on the mistakes of previous generations, ensuring that we do not repeat such mistakes in the future. However, although this is perfect in theory, it does not seem to work as well in reality. After World War I occurred, humanity learned the devastation of global warfare. But as can be judged from the literal name of World War One, there is another global conflict that followed that was even on a worse level of devastation. Our leaders obviously have not learned from the past, showing that such an idea of learning from the past does not necessarily occur in reality.
ReplyDeleteHey Kirti, indeed history is crucial to learn about which is why I feel like maybe there could be some changes to our history classes. Most people I know often complain about not wanting to learn about history, maybe because they don’t like the subject, maybe because the curriculum is more centered around preparing students for tests. History is so important and complex, but I feel like our history classes (like AP Euro) offer mainly linear accounts of history, making us remember dates or names instead of focusing on creating the connections with events and peoples of different eras or analyzing the causes and effects, preventing us from getting any significant value from learning about the past. Hopefully our school can recognize the value of history and alter the curriculum. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThere’s a saying that says “those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it” and I’ve always felt that was true. Many of the choices I make on a weekly basis are because I’ve faced similar situations before and I take the opportunity to make the right choice. I find that interesting, the ability for our minds to apply simplified principles to multiple situations. I think it is important to make history engaging. I had an incredible history teacher in 7th grade who really kept me consistently interested in history. It’s important to have dynamic lesson plans and engage with students.
ReplyDeleteHi Kirti. I definitely agree with you that the past is super important as it helps us learn from our mistakes and have an identity. I can not imagine how it would feel if I do not remember anything and I only see the present. I feel like that would make me feel hopeless and unmotivated since everything we do ends up becoming a memory. I would question the point of working hard if after I give something my all, I do not earn a pleasant memory to look back on. Sometimes I wonder how I can make people in future generations remember who I am. This thought encourages me to work hard to do something remarkable so that my story can live on even after my time. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Kirti! The past is definitely very important to learn about. I didn't realize the importance of learning history as a kid, but now I know that it is important to know history to understand our origins, as well as our past mistakes and successes to learn and grow from them. History is actually more complex and involves multiple viewpoints, despite it being written from the perspective of the "winners." Understanding this is crucial to actually be able to apply what we learn from history to both the present and future, as well as develop our own knowledge. It is often said that no matter how far we go in life, we should never lose touch with our roots. I agree with this saying, and it often inspires me to learn from my past and the mistakes I make.
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