History in the Rearview, Why We Can't Drive Dlind

Teaching history the right way is like preparing for a game or customizing a car. In football a quarterback would never go on the field without studying their mistakes and watching film, if he ignores what mistakes he made last game he would get blindsided by the same blitz again. Modding a car can work the same way, if you customize your car without knowing what each part does it can lead to performance issues or your car won't even start. If you ignore past design flaws it will only set your car up for failure.

    

    History can work the same way, if it's taught with gaps or sugarcoated to avoid the truth, students can be left blindsided to dangers that will eventually come up again. Having a bad understanding of history can be like a reckless driver or an unprepared quarterback, it will guarantee the same mistakes.

    Take the USS Arizona memorial for example, it shows why history should be taught honestly. The pearl harbor memorial shows us what happens when we underestimate the consequences of what happens to our nation when we are unprepared. The bombing of pearl harbor changed the course of history, not only because of the tragedy that happened but because it showed us the cost of ignoring warning signs. The memorial helps us to face both the pride and the pain of the past.

    

    For instance, in football, when a quarterback spends his time watching film and studying his mistakes it can help him prevent losses. Cars on the other hand have to be modified with precision, one bad part and you can mess up the performance. In history teaching helps our society grow, without history we are just repeating what happens. Just like in football and cars, we are always running the same failed plays or installing the same bad parts. Teaching history correctly is not about looking backwards, it's about making sure the future is built better than the past.